TLC Book Tours Book Review: Left Turn At Paradise

Author: Thomas Shawver
Title: Left Turn At Paradise
Publisher: Alibi
Publish Date: August 26, 2014
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley & TLC Book Tours
Book Blurb: 

Michael Bevan is barely scraping by with his used bookstore and rare book collection when he discovers a timeworn journal that may change everything. Dating back to 1768, the tattered diary appears to be a chronicle kept during the first of legendary seafarer Captain James Cook’s three epic voyages through the Pacific islands. If it’s as valuable as Mike thinks it is, its sale may just bring enough to keep his faltering used bookstore afloat for another year.

Then he meets a pair of London dealers with startling news: Adrian Hart and Penelope Wilkes claim to possess the journal of Cook’s second voyage. Is it possible a third diary exists? One which might detail Cook’s explosive final voyage—and his death at the hands of native Hawaiians? Together, all three would be the holy grail of Pacific exploration. But before Mike can act, the two journals are stolen.

Chasing them down will sweep Michael, Adrian, and Penelope across the globe—past a dead body or two—and into a very sinister slice of paradise. High in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, in a remote and secretive Maori compound, a secret rests in the hands in of a man daring enough to rewrite history . . . and desperate enough to kill.

Review: Left Turn At Paradise is the second book in the A Rare Book Mystery. If you are so inclined The Dirty Book Murder is the first book, and an awesome mystery as well. However, you can jump in with this book an not be confused or disappointed.

It was a little slower in pacing for me, which right now isn't a good things, as I have the attention span of a fruit fly on pot.

But I still love the idea of a series of mysteries based on rare books. Really, how cool is that? And Michael Bevan isn't a cozy mystery sort of sleuth. He's really not all together likable, but you do root for him to solve the mystery.

His quest to find the two stolen books does make you wonder, considering his shop isn't doing all that well, but hey, this is fiction and anything can happen. (And it usually does) Like the rare volume being stolen and just as he's getting ready to close up shop and go back to law, he ends up on a hunt for all three journals.

I actually found the parts with the diary entries to be the most interesting. I also liked how Shawver weaved that story in with one of the antique book dealer's life.

Pillow was the most interesting character in the book. She's a bit dark and yet naive, and to be honest, she's broken. She's the sort of women you'd expect to find Bevan.

I didn't like this one quite as much as the first, but it was still a fun read.

Rating: 3 flowers

TLC Book Tours Book Review: The Dirty Book Murder

About The Dirty Book Murder: An Antiquarian Book Mystery

• Publisher: Alibi (May 6, 2014)
• Sold by: Random House LLC

In this smart, fast-paced mystery debut, Thomas Shawver introduces a charming, unlikely hero from the rarefied world of antique books.

Book merchant Michael Bevan arrives at the Kansas City auction house hoping to uncover some hidden literary gold. Though the auction ad had mentioned erotica, Michael is amazed to find lovely Japanese Shunga scrolls and a first edition of a novel by French author Colette with an inscription by Ernest Hemingway. This one item alone could fetch a small fortune in the right market.

As Michael and fellow dealer Gareth Hughes are warming up for battle, a stranger comes out of nowhere and outbids them—to the tune of sixty grand. But Gareth is unwilling to leave the auction house empty-handed, so he steals two volumes, including the Colette novel. When Gareth is found dead the next day, Michael quickly becomes the prime suspect: Not only had the pair been tossed out of a bar mid-fistfight the night before, but there is evidence from Michael’s shop at the crime scene.

Now the attorney-turned-bookman must find out who wanted the Colette so badly that they would kill for it—and frame Michael. Desperate to stay out of police custody, Michael follows the murderer’s trail into the wealthiest echelons of the city, where power and influence meet corruption—and mystery and eroticism are perverted by pure evil. Unfortunately for Michael, one dead book dealer is only the opening chapter in a terrifying tale of high culture and lowlifes.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Review

The Dirty Book Murder may look like another cozy mystery, but that really isn't the case. Sure it has the elements of most cozy mysteries, a bookstore owner with a cat and some really quirky characters, but there's a real dark side to this story and as you read on, you'll definitely see that it isn't a cozy, but a good opener for a new series. But don't worry, it isn't a scary mystery that will have you fearing for our sleuth's life.

The book stolen is from an auction by one of Michael's book merchant friends lands that guy dead, but only after he and Michael had come to blows, thus making him the suspect numero uno! (As the murder weapon seems to be an item owned by Michael)

Michael knows he has to find out what's going on, or he would end up behind bars, and then another book merchant ends up dead.

There's a very seedy side to this mystery and it has to deal with the erotic novels all three merchants were looking to buy. The original owner had some interesting sexual habits and that might just be the reason someone wanted these books no matter the cost. (The owner of the books wife is quite a character, especially when he first meets her) Its a bit hilarious to try to envision an older lady that's a dominatrix!

That's when he learns there's more to these murders than just the theft of some very rare books. Some prominent people in town are part of a sex club and someone took names and pictures!

Thrown in the mix is Michael's daughter and her new boyfriend, who happens to be an old geezer, that's trying to revive his acting career.

There's a lot of drama between father and daughter and Michael's sleuthing seems to land him in more hot water with each new discovery.

This was a super fast paced read, and quite a good mystery. A wonderful start to a new series, and I look forward to the next book.

Rating:  4 flowers

About Thomas Shawver

Thomas Shawver is a former marine officer, lawyer, and journalist with American City Business Journals. An avid rugby player and international traveler, Shawver owned Bloomsday Books, an antiquarian bookstore in Kansas City.