Review: The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book.
I enjoyed this book. And this is despite the fact that I think it is being falsely marketed as a whodunnit mystery. While there is a strong mystery component that does really drive the story, it is not really the focus of the book. The focus is Liesl, a librarian on the cusp of retirement who is called back in from her sabbatical to fill in when the director of her library suffers a debilitating stroke. Leisl finds that she does not enjoy the mantle of leadership, full of appeasing donors, following the wishes of out-of-touch administrators, and mediating between feuding co-workers. Matters are made worse when it is discovered that a priceless new acquisition has disappeared into thin air, at almost the same time a quiet employee of the library goes missing. Why is the book gone? Why is the employee gone? Why are her boss and so many of her friends and colleagues telling her to NOT contact the police? Liesl has to decide how to proceed and how to figure out the right course of action--right for her library, the missing book, her missing employee, and her own peace of mind. What ensues is not a twisty mystery full of false leads, red herrings, and crafty deductive reasoning. Instead, the story more closely follows Liesl's journey as she attempts to come to terms with where her choices in life have led her and then how to proceed in the future.
I would definitely classify this book more as literary fiction than mystery. That did not take away from my enjoyment of the book, however. Liesl is a well-drawn character and it is compelling to watch her develop over the course of the book. The secondary characters are very interesting as well. I also enjoyed the details about the library and the rare book collection.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves books and libraries and enjoys a VERY slow-burn mystery mixed in with a great fiction book.

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