Death of a Bookseller by Bernard J Farmer

Books, book sellers, the second hand book trade, the "runners", and the greed and avarice to procure a rare book at any cost is the basis of this story. Michael Fisk dealt in books, Sergeant Wigan's hobby was collecting the books he liked. on the fringe were all the other elements oftge trade. The story of a murder over a rare Keats, the investigation handled by Wigan and the meticulous following up of every detail. When the powers that be decided that Hampton was the murderer because everything pointed to him Wigan was the only one convinced thatthey had the wrong man. He embarked ona private investigation along with Charlie and Connington whom he was able to convert to his point of view, and despite the fact that the accused was a disagreeable character who quarrelled viciously with all even berating Wigan, the end result was excellent with Hopton escaping the execution by a whisker. The story was full of characters - all linked to the trade and it was detailed and descriptive of how bookselling operated at the time. Anyone interested in books should read this story as it told the story of a murder as well as the book trade in equal measure. Sent by Poisoned Pen Press for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.