ROY HARLEY LEWIS – A Cracking of Spines. Matthew Coll #1. St. Martin’s, US, hardcover, 1981. Previously published in the UK by Robert Hale, hardcover, 1980.

   Mood, atmosphere, and background are essential attributes of a detective story, but in and of themselves they’re hardly enough.

   Any number of examples abound, but let’s take A Cracking of Spines as one in particular.

   Mystery readers invariably gobble up mysteries that involve both books and book collectors, so at first glance here’s one they (we) should go for right away.

   Completely permeating Matthew Coll’s hunt for a ruthless gang of antiquarian book thieves is a love for the printed page and showy leather bindings, but — and it hurts to say this — that’s about all this book has going for it. The plot has to be turned upside down before it begins to make any sense at all.

   Coll, formerly of military intelligence, is now retired as — guess what? — the new owner of a small English bookshop. His detective abilities turn out to be hampered by a puzzling taste in women, however, and he cripples his own investigation by two disastrous (and obvious) errors in judgment.

   In spite of his several faults as a detective, Coll is a rather likeable fellow, and I’11 be looking forward to his follow-up case, due to be published any day now. Let’s hope it’s a little bit more solid than this one, though.

Rating: C

– Slightly revised from The MYSTERY FANcier, September/October 1982.

   

      The Matthew Coll series —

A Cracking of Spines. Hale 1980.
The Manuscript Murders. Hale 1981.
A Pension for Death. Hale 1983.
Death in Verona. Hale 1989.
Miracles Take a Little Longer. Lythway 1991.