Synopsis
(from the publisher):
In classic noir tradition, English Professor Karen Pelletier gains a
client when her office door opens and a famous Private Eye novelist
enters. The author is dogged by Trouble (a Rottweiler) and by a
problem. And since Sunnye Hardcastle (a Patricia Cornwell lookalike)
will be a featured speaker in the English Department's upcoming
conference on the murder mystery (from a Feminist Perspective), Karen
is intrigued.
The next thing you know, one midnight someone rushes out of the Enfield
library with an armload of rare books. In fact, the library is missing
a truckload of its treasures. Then a suspect is found dead in the
stacks, his neck broken. With a real private eye on the case, the hunt
is on -- for the manuscript of Hammett's famous novel, The Maltese Falcon,
for the missing books, and for potential murder suspects.
A sparkling fifth entry in an award-nominated series by Fordham
University professor Joanne Dobson riffs the hardboiled genre and
several sacred icons. What is truth? What is fiction? No one seems
certain. Perhaps most frustrated is Karen's boyfriend, Massachusetts
police lieutenant Charlie Piotrowski, a man having trouble dividing his
personal and professional life, let alone translating modern
academic-speak. But then, don't we all?
— ◊ —
— ◊ —
The
Maltese Manuscript
A
Karen Pelletier Mystery
Joanne
Dobson
Poisoned
Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-039-7 (1590580397)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-039-4 (9781590580394)
Publication Date: February 2003
List Price: $24.95
— ◊ —
Review:
English Professor Karen Pelletier returns after an absence of several
years in The
Maltese Manuscript, the fifth
mystery in this academic series by Joanne Dobson.
There is much for mystery readers to enjoy in this book. Using a
classic mystery novel (The Maltese Falcon) as a component to the plot
which takes place during a mystery writers conference is clever and
Dobson clearly makes the most of it. Academic environments always lend
a interesting atmosphere to mystery books, and the setting here works
well for the story. A feminist mystery author, rare first editions gone
missing, and the inevitable murder victim are more elements in this
enjoyable book.
Academic mysteries take many forms, from highly literate to
exceptionally soporific, but The
Maltese Manuscript
tends to be casual and light. Maybe not the best of this series, but
certainly one of the most entertaining to read.
Special thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of The Maltese Manuscript for this review.
Review Copyright © 2003 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read The Maltese Manuscript? How would you rate it?
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Doubleday (Hardcover), October 1997
ISBN-10: 0-385-48692-8 (0385486928)
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-48692-7 (9780385486927)
The
Northbury Papers
Doubleday (Hardcover), October 1998
ISBN-10: 0-385-48693-6 (0385486936)
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-48693-4 (9780385486934)
The
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and the Nightingale
Doubleday (Hardcover), October 1999
ISBN-10: 0-385-49339-8 (0385493398)
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-49339-0 (9780385493390)
Cold
and
Pure and Very Dead
Doubleday (Hardcover), December 2000
ISBN-10: 0-385-49340-1 (0385493401)
ISBN-13: 978-0-385-49340-6 (9780385493406)
The Maltese Manuscript
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), February 2003
ISBN-10: 1-59058-039-7 (1590580397)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-039-4 (9781590580394)
Death Without Tenure
Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover), January 2010
ISBN-10: 1-59058-585-2 (1590585852)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-585-6 (9781590585856)
Omnimystery
keywords for The Maltese Manuscript
...
Location(s) referenced: New England
