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Title: Enter the hard-boiled bookworm
Review: John Dunning makes the combo work for a fun read on two levels. His tough-guy protagonist can hold his own with the best of them, doggedly pursuing his brand of maverick justice, meeting and beating the low-lifes on their own level. At the same time he's a smart man whose passion for book collecting provides lots of insights bound to intrigue the avid reader.I recently read Julie Kaewert's "Un" series, which also involves the acquisition of rare books but with an emphasis on secret societies and arcane messages that give it an "Indiana Jonesish" quality. Dunning's tidbits about what makes a book valuable are more accessible and interesting, and his hero's brushes with violence arise logically from who he is. Kaewert's Alex Plumtree is beaten, stabbed, shot and otherwise assualted with a regularity that seems a tad excessive in the publishing industry. Besides, you've got to love a mystery that reveals one of its secrets in the very last line of the book.
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