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A review by saareman
Mystery, Inc. by Joyce Carol Oates
4.0
Murder for Merging - Bibliomysteries #21
Review of the Mysterious Press/Open Road eBook (April 7, 2015) of the Mysterious Press hardcover & paperback (July 15, 2014).
A stranger using the alias of Charles Brockden makes a late day visit to an exclusive rarities and first editions bookstore named Mystery Inc. We learn that his plan is one of murder and acquisition and that he has amassed a small network of bookshops through this very same method.
The owner appears to be very welcoming and appreciative of Brockden's interest in the store and tells him about its somewhat haunted past. But there are increasing hints that the owner is aware of his visitor's malevolent intentions and may be preparing to turn the tables on him.
I admired the rising tension of this story and its regular references to book rarities. I hadn't been previously aware of [a:Charles Brockden Brown|46594|Charles Brockden Brown|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1296497161p2/46594.jpg] (1771-1810) who has been referred to as "the father of the American novel", see Wikipedia for that reference.
Trivia and Links
Joyce Carol Oates (1938-) is a prolific writer of novels and short stories, the most popular of which (according to its number of GR ratings and reviews) is [b:We Were the Mulvaneys|5204|We Were the Mulvaneys|Joyce Carol Oates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309282868l/5204._SY75_.jpg|420701] (1996). She is also known for the Wonderland Quartet (1967-1971) and the Gothic Saga (1980-2013) series. Her fictional life of Marilyn Monroe [b:Blonde|15975|Blonde|Joyce Carol Oates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334350083l/15975._SY75_.jpg|1393722] (2000) was recently adapted for the feature film Blonde (2022) directed by Andrew Dominik and starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe.
The Bibliomysteries series are short stories commissioned by Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Press to be written around the theme of deadly books. They are individually published in limited edition hardcovers, paperbacks and ebooks, and periodically collected in anthology editions such as [b:Bibliomysteries|32191848|Bibliomysteries|Otto Penzler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1478278696l/32191848._SY75_.jpg|56893092] (2013, containing stories 1-15) and [b:Bibliomysteries: Volume Two|36327114|Bibliomysteries Volume Two|Otto Penzler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507842055l/36327114._SY75_.jpg|58003435] (2018, containing stories 16-30). There does not appear to be a Goodreads Listopia for them, but on Library Thing the current listing (as of mid-September 2024) includes 40 short stories.
Review of the Mysterious Press/Open Road eBook (April 7, 2015) of the Mysterious Press hardcover & paperback (July 15, 2014).
A stranger using the alias of Charles Brockden makes a late day visit to an exclusive rarities and first editions bookstore named Mystery Inc. We learn that his plan is one of murder and acquisition and that he has amassed a small network of bookshops through this very same method.
The owner appears to be very welcoming and appreciative of Brockden's interest in the store and tells him about its somewhat haunted past. But there are increasing hints that the owner is aware of his visitor's malevolent intentions and may be preparing to turn the tables on him.
I admired the rising tension of this story and its regular references to book rarities. I hadn't been previously aware of [a:Charles Brockden Brown|46594|Charles Brockden Brown|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1296497161p2/46594.jpg] (1771-1810) who has been referred to as "the father of the American novel", see Wikipedia for that reference.
Trivia and Links
Joyce Carol Oates (1938-) is a prolific writer of novels and short stories, the most popular of which (according to its number of GR ratings and reviews) is [b:We Were the Mulvaneys|5204|We Were the Mulvaneys|Joyce Carol Oates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309282868l/5204._SY75_.jpg|420701] (1996). She is also known for the Wonderland Quartet (1967-1971) and the Gothic Saga (1980-2013) series. Her fictional life of Marilyn Monroe [b:Blonde|15975|Blonde|Joyce Carol Oates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334350083l/15975._SY75_.jpg|1393722] (2000) was recently adapted for the feature film Blonde (2022) directed by Andrew Dominik and starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe.
The Bibliomysteries series are short stories commissioned by Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Press to be written around the theme of deadly books. They are individually published in limited edition hardcovers, paperbacks and ebooks, and periodically collected in anthology editions such as [b:Bibliomysteries|32191848|Bibliomysteries|Otto Penzler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1478278696l/32191848._SY75_.jpg|56893092] (2013, containing stories 1-15) and [b:Bibliomysteries: Volume Two|36327114|Bibliomysteries Volume Two|Otto Penzler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507842055l/36327114._SY75_.jpg|58003435] (2018, containing stories 16-30). There does not appear to be a Goodreads Listopia for them, but on Library Thing the current listing (as of mid-September 2024) includes 40 short stories.