bibliomystery

Over the weekend I was out "booking" for a few hours without my little "helpers" (Julia & William) and I went into a used bookstore that I frequent and there on an end-cap were a number of books in this particular 'genre'. The genre is relatively recently named : bibiliomystery.

I was waiting for this, actually. I was waiting for someone to come up with this named genre. Whether it sticks or not is something else, of course.

As I reflect upon the origins of this "genre", It seems to my non-scientific mind that it started with The Name of the Rose. Certainly that book boosted the genre as shortly thereafter came The Club Dumas, The Dante Club, The Shadow of the Wind, People of the Book and the entire Cliff Janeway series by John Dunning.

Unfortunately, as with any other genre, there are the occasional charlatans, Larry Beinhart's The Librarian for example. The book misuses the title to suggest that there would be something in it about being an actual librarian....perhaps supposing actual research methods and discovery. Instead, it's a Clark Kent becoming Superman within a political thriller set-up novel. It's terrible. Misnamed garbage. Ugh.