A little disappointing based on the title I had hopes for the supernatural. It was kind of a spy/mystery with the author able to promote books in the telling. It's kind of slow – takes a while to get to the intrigue but interesting after it gets going.

What a disappointment, after the delight of Parnassus on Wheels.

So much racism and sexism, makes this hard to read. Sure, some allowance must be made for its 100+ years age, but ew, those domineering men and ugh, that creepy stalker hero.

This sequel lacks the charm of Helen’s voice (narrator of the first volume) but I guess Morley no longer finds her interesting. Being a married woman, she is a resolved plot point, busy doing for a husband instead of a brother. Doing cooking, baking, cleaning, washing, ironing, and mending, and of course doing half the work of their bookshop as well. Where is the life as partners on the road, that they envisioned in Book 1?

And where’s that sense that Helen might, amazingly, be at least the intellectual equal of both her brother and her husband—though she herself would be far too humble (raised too female) to think so?

With all the racial slurs and jingoism it's difficult to hear the message of world peace and brotherhood no matter how long-windedly it's preached, but for that message, for that one shining dream, that the war to end all wars would do just that, I award a sadly tarnished two stars. Sigh.

A bookshop, a book, a German chemist and a mystery. A good read for fun...nothing to heavy and a little romance thrown in. I enjoyed this nice break from my usual heavy readying.

Can't say there's much in here that's worth reading today. Not zero, but not much. I think contemporary authors can get the valuable message across much better without so much patriarchy vomited all over it.

Because it was written before 'genre' fiction really was invented, this book is hard to define. It is mostly a mystery, a little romance, and alot of literary criticism. The main character, Roger Mifflin, is the owner of a secondhand book store in Brooklyn. The story takes place right after WWI ended, and as it was written then, they did not know there would be another one. It is a wonderful slice of 20th century life, a charming little mystery that gets more engrossing as the book goes on, but modern readers might not enjoy it as it ocassionaly detours into literary criticism. This, however, is one of the things that sets it apart for me, and regardless of how versed you are in turn of the century books, the authors passion for them shines through.


For more on Victorian lit, a publisher is trying to bring back some of the forgotten greats. http://www.victoriansecrets.co.uk/

The book started out sweet....with references to a bookshop I dream of losing myself in on restless nights when I need a change of thought. The story.....was a bit hard to get through at points....as Aubrey is a bit daft (he should not be a detective)....but the mystery kept me readingso I could read more about the love of books.

I thought the book was about a haunted bookshop...with ghosts and murders, but sadly...the title is in reference to the haunting done by book characters and authors.

It is about a bookshop in Brooklyn---the continuous disappearance of a book.... and an advertising man who wants to protects a beautiful woman he met who is working there.