THE MALTESE MANUSCRIPT

The Maltese Manuscript
By Joanne Dobson
Poisoned Pen Press
February 2003
ISBN: 1-59058-039-78
Hardcover $24.95
266 Pages

The Maltese Manuscript is a must read for any book lover. With this plot involving the treasured first editions and rare books in many university libraries, Joanne Dobson has successfully written a story that you can’t put down once you start this book.

A concern I had with this book was that this is the fifth-book in a series, and I haven’t read the preceding books. The story fortunately does not rely on events in previous books, or was so masterfully written, that any character development required was not necessary to completely enjoy this book.

Karen Pelletier is the main character who is an English professor that circumstantially is thrown into solving the mystery of the stolen books, including an original manuscript with notes of The Maltese Falcon from the library and a death of the thief within this library. With her boyfriend, the police lieutenant, and her task of escorting a well-known mystery writer throughout her town, Karen is thrown into solving this mystery while still trying to maintain a normal life with her usual daily duties. With all this keeping her extremely busy, Karen makes time for her high-school class reunion where she is reacquainted with an old friend. As luck would have it, this old friend is a hunky private investigator who has been hired to find the missing books and begins to possibly romance Karen or her friends. Of course, during this time Karen has to prepare for her classes, a special women’s mystery conference, and her daughter comes home from college with mononucleosis. Joanne Dobson has realistically developed this character into someone I could easily recognize in a crowd.

Overall, I found this book thoroughly enjoyable. (I also found myself wanting the thief’s house complete with the books.)