Author: Charlie Lovett
Genre: Fiction (mixed)
Publisher: Viking
Published: 2013
Book Description: Guaranteed to capture the hearts of everyone who truly loves books, The Bookman’s Tale is a former bookseller’s sparkling novel and a delightful exploration of one of literature’s most tantalizing mysteries with echoes of Shadow of the Wind and A.S. Byatt’s Possession.
Nine months after the death of his beloved wife Amanda left him shattered, Peter Byerly, a young antiquarian bookseller, relocates from North Carolina to the English countryside, hoping to outrun his grief and rediscover the joy he once took in collecting and restoring rare books. But upon opening an eighteenth-century study of Shakespeare forgeries, he discovers a Victorian watercolor of a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Amanda.
Peter becomes obsessed with learning the picture’s origins and braves a host of dangers to follow a trail of clues back across the centuries—all the way to Shakespeare’s time and a priceless literary artifact that could prove, once and for all, the truth about the Bard’s real identity.
Rating: 4 Stars
Review: I am not even sure how I missed this book. I have read other books from Charlie Lovett and just loved them. This was no different. I love how Lovett writes a great bookish mystery. This has all the elements, love, mystery, murder and everything in between.
The Bookman’s Tale is told over multiple timelines. 1500’s-1800 that really perpetuates the mystery, 1980’s where Peter and Amanda are falling in love and 10 years later after Amanda’s death and Peter has just moved to England.
Peter is an antiquarian bookseller, and he quite good at his job. After moving to England a man reaches out to him to go through his book collection. What Peter finds is a bounty of riches or is it. He comes across a book that sets Peter on a trail of deception and he will do anything to find the truth out.
This was such a fun read and I did not want this to end. Really loved how Lovett writes, he is able to incorporate so much historical detail yet keep this very fiction book so fun. It is a wild ride and you will just love our hero Peter all the way through. There are few surprises that Lovett does a great job doling out throughout the book. Have fun with this and at the same time savor, there are so few books like this out there.
Obsessed Bookaholic 