Death in Fine Condition
The first Paperback Sleuth Mystery
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3.1 • 9 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A cast of lovable rogues faces fiendish puzzles and murderous villains in this “devilishly clever” love letter to Agatha Christie murder mysteries and classic whodunnits (Booklist).
The first quirky installment in a series of cozy crime capers from the author of the Vinyl Detective mysteries!
Cordelia knows books. An addict-turned-dealer of classic paperbacks, when she’s not spending her days combing the charity shops and jumble sales of suburban London for valuable collector’s items, she’s pining for the woman of her dreams and nimbly avoiding her landlord’s demands for rent.
The most elusive prize of all, her white whale, has surfaced—a set of magnificent, vintage Sleuth Hound crime novels. Gorgeous, and as rare as they come. Just one problem. They’re not for sale. Still, that won’t stop a resourceful woman like Cordelia . . . One burglary later, the books are hers. Unfortunately, the man she’s just robbed turns out be one of London’s most dangerous gangsters, and now he’s on her trail and out for blood.
Cordelia’s best laid plans to pay the rent and woo the object of her affections start to fall apart, and she realizes she may have placed herself in the crosshairs of a villain torn straight from the pages of her treasured novels.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cartmel (the Vinyl Detective mysteries) has never been better than in this darkly funny series kickoff centered on London bookseller Cordelia Stanmer, a former addict who has fallen in love with vintage paperbacks and has no scruples about how she'll feed her growing collection. Cordelia often forges author signatures to jack up a book's resale value and offers bribes to church sale organizers for a first crack at rare volumes. While picking up weed at her dealer's house one afternoon, she glimpses a photo of a bookcase stuffed with rare crime novels and resolves to find out where the photo was taken, break in, and steal as many of the beautifully illustrated editions as she can. Her scheming hits an unexpected snag when she successfully makes away with the volumes—only to realize she's just robbed one of London's most notorious criminals, who sets out for revenge. Cordelia is a memorable, devilish antihero, and Cartmel's delightfully dexterous plotting bodes well for a sequel. Fans of Lynne Truss's Constable Twitten novels will find much to love.
