The Case of the Missing Books

October 30, 2006
British author Sansom (The Impartial Recorder
) launches a humorous new series set in Tumdrum, Northern Ireland, the small village that transplanted Londoner Israel Armstrong reluctantly makes his home. The nebbishy Jewish vegetarian shows up at the Tumdrum and District Public Library eager to assume his post as the new librarian, only to find the place boarded up and that it's his job to steward the beat-up mobile library instead. When he finally gets inside the library building, he discovers its 15,000 books are missing. Less astute than the detective characters in the novels he has devoured, Israel blunders through an investigation, making startling discoveries while suffering some hard knocks along the way. Israel's fish-out-of-water dilemmas and encounters with kooky locals will resonate with Alexander McCall Smith fans.