Struggled with this one. I didn't care for any of the characters and the plot seemed a bit esoteric to me. If someone is particularly fond of books and libraries, they might approach this book with a great deal more interest and find it more enjoyable.
The book also seemed a bit choppy, jumping around timelines with no explanation, introducing characters in one timeline who haven't been introduced in the main one left me confused. In looking around, In looking at reviews on NetGalley, there are some highly rated, so clearly there are some people who feel differently. For that reason I would say that there is a subset of readers who may find this an excellent mystery/
I did switch to skim reading the book after about 50% read in order to complete. I simply didn't care who was responsible for the events in the book.

Books about books and about libraries are a favourite of mine. Unfortunately, this one isn't a favorite. It's slow to get started, then it was interesting, but then it started to drag until the end. We spend a lot of time in Liesl's head and the dialogue is stunted in a way that we should know what's really being said, but I didn't. She's also not a character I liked very much. We never really get to know her. The mystery was rather compelling but lacked suspense and was too dragged out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I’m a sucker for books about books, bookstores, or libraries so I had to request this ARC from Net Galley…

I didn’t have many expectations going in and was just here for to see where it took me. It was a bit slow at the beginning and took me a couple of chapters to get into. This book follows Liesel who is a librarian and has to take over for her boss when he has a stroke. Though we see she’s pretty uncertain and doesn’t have a lot of confidence in herself starting out, especially when we find out some very important and VERY expensive books have been stolen…

This book deals with serious topics such as depression, suicide, death so be sure the check the trigger warnings before going in. Nevertheless, if you love a female MC finding her self-confidence along with a solid mystery that keeps you guessing until the end, this book may just be for you! Keep an eye out for this release on January 25th, 2022!

Liesl is a librarian in the rare books and special collections library at a university. Her boss has taken ill and she is now the interim librarian. Jurczyk gives us a story of libraries, academic politics, and the mysteries held within rare books. . .of course, something nefarious must occur to make it interesting. This is story of Liesl finding her voice, trusting her insight into other people, and empowering other women all while solving the mysteries that are happening in the special collections. This is a fun read for those who enjoy a bookish reads or commentary on academic life. Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC.

When I was in college and grad school, I worked part-time in different university libraries, including a fascinating stint in rare books and special collections. My career went in a different direction, but I have always been a lover of libraries, especially academic libraries. I couldn’t wait to read a mystery set in one, all the more so one set in a Rare Books and Special Collections library.

Liesl Weiss has had a 40-year career in the rare books and special collections library at an unnamed university in Toronto. Her position is assistant to the head, Christopher Wolfe. Christopher is beloved by the staff, and is treasured by the university for his skill at developing relationships with wealthy patrons and wringing large donations from them. As the story opens, though, Liesl is sitting in Christopher’s office because he has a had a stroke, is in a coma, and she is interim head. When she opens Christopher’s safe to take out the newly-acquired Plantin bible, bought for half a million dollars of donor money, she finds it empty.

Liesl is pressured by Lawrence Garber, the university president, not to report the apparent theft, for fear of spooking donors. Liesl is supposed to somehow figure out on her own where the book has gone, while soothing the egos of donors who want to see it as soon as possible. Meanwhile, some of her staff chafe at her elevation, however temporary, resent her questions, and suspect each other of stealing the bible. As if that’s not bad enough, Miriam, a staffer whom Liesl has worked with for over a decade and had a friendly relationship with, disappears.

The author does a good job describing the sometime conflict between scholarship and fundraising in academia. President Garber is all about donors and cares only about bad publicity, not even moved in the direction of humanity by the disappearance of Miriam.

Liesl is a frustrating character. For far too much of the book, she allows herself to be bullied by President Garber and regularly insulted by Max Hubbard, a librarian and former priest gunning to replace Christopher. She’s slow to realize some things that happen right in front of her. I suppose this is to set things up for her to get some gumption once the investigative plot gets in gear, but it’s still frustrating.

There is a good deal of content about Liesl’s marriage and family. I can’t say it added much to the story.

The book got a lot better in its final third, as the pieces begin to slot into place for Liesl, and we find out not only what happened to the bible and Miriam, but what Liesl decides to do with her discoveries. I wish it had moved along better before that point, and I wish Liesl hadn’t allowed herself to be treated badly for so much of the book. I’d say this is worth reading, but with some significant flaws.

Was I reading a different book from everyone else? I didn’t like this book. The dialogue was stormed and weird the mystery wasn’t compelling and the mental health issues handling made me cringe. I was so excited for this one but I really didn’t enjoy.

Special thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my own opinion.

Oh boy! Another book about libraries, seemed to be the topic of the year. I have read what seems like a ton of books about libraries. This one was not a favorite. I hate to be a Debbie Downer lately, but if I'm going to pick books that are similar, I want to be tickled pink because I loved it, or up all night reading because I can't get enough. I was neither.

Main character Liesl, after a sabbatical, is thrust into a managerial position (after her boss has a stroke) and is now working with the rare and valuable book section. Horrors! One of the books are missing. And then one of the librarians go missing. So Liesl, becomes an unofficial library detective. When she runs this by the higher ups in the library, they try to quiet her because they don't want to alarm the donations and powers that be. This book I kept putting down and not really wanting to come back to, but, nevertheless I did. The timelines were all over the place, but the one thing I did enjoy were the inner workings of a library and also I found the rare books in the story were real and not made up, giving it a nice touch.

Not my favorite "library book" by a long shot. 3 stars.

When the mystery of lost manuscript intercepted with disappearance of a librarian, as a mystery lover who likes to follow clues, I just jumped into this delicious fiction.
Let’s take a quick look at the plot;

Liesl who is dedicated, hard worker, secret treasure of a large university, handling things behind the closed doors,fixing each problems without people noticing to give people good impression about the department of rare books.

But when her boss has stroke and she discovers a very rare manuscript is stolen, she wants to warn the authorities but her superiors stops her before going further taking action, forcing her keep quiet, acting like everything is going great not to frustrate the donators.

In the meantime Liesl realizes one of the librarians stop showing up at work. She starts her own investigation to solve both of the mysteries. It seems like someone in the department might be responsible of the stealing.

There are too many culprit candidates. After several guesses later I found the right one eventually but the author literally put my grey cells on fire.

Overall: it was interesting mystery! I always keen on reading books about books. At somehow the pacing was slow down at the middle parts but conclusion was well wrapped up.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Disclaimer: This work was an ARC via NetGalley. No compensation was received other than the chance to read this work.

Brief summary: A rare book, recently purchased, goes missing on interim director Liesel's watch. Who took it? And why are other works, along with one librarian, missing?

Overall, the book was an engaging read. The characters were fairly well-developed, and the overall pace of the book was consistent throughout (no drags in the plot). It was nice to see a book focused more on the more seasoned staff and faculty of the library and university professions.

This book will appeal to anyone with library or archive experience, or anyone who enjoys library-themed mysteries.

2 stars
Some may enjoy this, I did not. It just tries to hard to be good. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
Thanks for the ARC.

The setting:

"Liesl Weiss long ago learned to be content working behind the scenes in the distinguished rare books department of a large university, managing details and working behind the scenes to make the head of the department look good. But when her boss has a stroke and she's left to run things, she discovers that the library's most prized manuscript is missing.

Liesl tries to sound the alarm and inform the police about the missing priceless book, but is told repeatedly to keep quiet, to keep the doors open and the donors happy. But then a librarian unexpectedly stops showing up to work. Liesl must investigate both disappearances, unspooling her colleagues' pasts like the threads of a rare book binding as it becomes clear that someone in the department must be responsible for the theft."

Yadda yadda.

The storylines revolve around 3 rare books: the Plantin Polygot Bible [first and foremost], the Peshawar manuscript, and the Vesalius--all real [I googled].

But where I should have been enthralled [I love libraries and worked at one for 35 years--which had a preeminent rare book collection], I was bored. I found this tedious and none of the characters likeable--there are a number of people with supporting roles, but the book primarily revolves around Liesl.

Secrets, relationships, choices, an old-boy network [and male chauvinism], politics of donors and libraries [and surely more similarities with other institutions and donors]. There's even homosexuality thrown in.

There were a few occasions where I chuckled:

"Percy might have been handsome if his square jaw wasnt obsured by layers of chins."
"whiskey-aided gait"
"vibratory yawn"
"...copulatory behavior of the educated upper classes vis-a-vis compliments on eath other's wristwatches and marathon times."

A hint about a somewhat insignificant subplot was dropped early on and picked up later, but--I didn't care! And what bothered me was the sudden drop/shifting of time frames--present to past--[not a dual timeline which I quite like], but jumping around--14 years earlier, 10 years earlier, 19 years earlier, 40 years earlier, 9 years earlier and 21 years earlier!

2.5, but rounding up because the writing was ok.

In a word, I found this book flat.

But, if you enjoy reading about libraries, perhaps this book is for you. Other readers enjoyed far more than I did.

If you like books about books, this gem will be for you. Liesl had been working for years in the rare book department of a large university. But when her boss has a stroke, she is pulled in to fill his shoes and keep the department running. I enjoyed this mystery that combined a behind-the-scenes look at rare book collections and procurement, as well as, the political aspects of University fundraising and hierarchy. The story starts with Liesl unsuccessfully trying to access the Libraries newest acquisition from a locked safe in time for a donor gathering. It quickly becomes apparent that while Liesl is technically in charge, she does not have the support or respect of others in the department.

I enjoyed the pacing of the story and the author did an outstanding job bringing us into the library, the world of rare books, and the university. The story is told in technically two times lines. Primarily we are engaged in the present-day mystery, however, the author takes us back in time several times to flush out the story and the interpersonal relationships between all the characters. Missing books and a missing library worker kept the story moving. My one complaint is that almost all conversations between the characters were evasive and combative. The author did give us lots of suspects to choose from as well as unconnected trails to follow as we try to solve the mystery of the missing books.

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Penn Press for the arc and the opportunity to reivew.

Liesl works in the rare books department of an unnamed university library. She is made acting director after her boss, Christopher has had a stroke. In the course of dealing with donors and acquisitions, Liesl realizes that some the library's prized manuscripts are missing.
Liesl wants to inform the police but she is stymied by the president of the university who doesn't want the bad publicity. When one of her colleagues goes missing, Liesl has to figure out if the colleague was the one stealing the manuscripts and if not, what has happened to her.
I enjoyed that Liesl is an older woman trying to make her place in a world that likes to act like woman of a certain age are invisible. I also loved the relationships and conflicts among the people at the university and the look into what a rare books department does. It's clear that the author is familiar with that world.

I enjoyed this book. And this is despite the fact that I think it is being falsely marketed as a whodunnit mystery. While there is a strong mystery component that does really drive the story, it is not really the focus of the book. The focus is Liesl, a librarian on the cusp of retirement who is called back in from her sabbatical to fill in when the director of her library suffers a debilitating stroke. Leisl finds that she does not enjoy the mantle of leadership, full of appeasing donors, following the wishes of out-of-touch administrators, and mediating between feuding co-workers. Matters are made worse when it is discovered that a priceless new acquisition has disappeared into thin air, at almost the same time a quiet employee of the library goes missing. Why is the book gone? Why is the employee gone? Why is her boss and so many of her friends and colleagues telling her to NOT contact the police? Liesl has to decide how to proceed and how to figure out the right course of action--right for her library, the missing book, her missing employee, and her own peace of mind. What ensues is not a twisty mystery full of false leads, red herrings, and crafty deductive reasoning. Instead, the story more closely follows Liesl's journey as she attempts to come to terms where her choices in life have led her and then how to proceed in the future.
I would definitely classify this book more as literary fiction than mystery. That did not take away from my enjoyment of the book, however. Liesl is a well-drawn character and it is compelling to watch her develop over the course of the book. The secondary characters are very interesting as well. I also enjoyed the details about the library and the rare book collection.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves books and libraries and enjoys a VERY slow-burn mystery mixed in with a great fiction book.

I liked the book "The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections." It took me a minute to like the characters, but once I got into the book, I couldn't put it down. Of course, I like pretty much any book that takes place in a library. And this is a library I would love to spend time in!

This is a wonderful debut novel.

A couldn't get enough of this book.
It is filled with bookish people and reliable characters.
Liesl, I really enjoyed her character. She lobes books and sets out to solve this mystery.
Its sorta a mystery about missing books.... What's not to love here right?
The writing was very well done. And honestly I couldn't put my Kindle away. As I was completely captivated by this storyline.
This is more of a slow burn story. Its not very fast paced.
The story was well thought of and the author did a great job creating the plot.
Truly a wonderful, delightful and fun read that any reader is sure to enjoy.

Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley,
Thank You for this fun eARC!
I will post and tag to my platforms closer to pub date!

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is about a librarian named Leisl. Leisl is called in from her sabbatical after her boss suffers a stroke. While acting as the head of the department, Leisl discovers that a valuable acquisition is missing. Cue Leisl trying to uncover the mystery of the missing book while fighting the patriarchy within the university library and donation system.

I found Leisl to be a good, strong character. But the story was very slow at times. I found I liked some of wittiness within the book but it is a slow read.
The library and the books were interesting though.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk is in itself a rare literary work. One you have to pay attention to and savor like a fine dessert with numerous layers. It is Literary Fiction with a mystery twist. What appears to be a sturdy University Rare Books and Special Collections Library becomes fractured when the emminent Director is hospitalized from a stroke. His efficient assistant has to take his place as interim Director as a valuable recent addition goes missing. This is a character driven work with the library and the collection plays an integral part. As other selections turn up missing the real question is are they stolen or misplaced. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a mix of strong atmospher filled with the secretive world of rare books and special collections and the people that seek to protect both the materials and the institution that holds them.

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is about a librarian named Leisl. Leisl is called in from her sabbatical after her boss suffers a stroke. While acting as the head of the department, Leisl discovers that a valuable acquisition is missing. Cue Leisl trying to uncover the mystery of the missing book while fighting the patriarchy within the university library and donation system.

In all honesty the plot of this book felt extremely weak. The mystery leads exactly where I expected it to and was not at all very suspenseful. The book is extremely dialogue heavy but at the same time the characters seems to lack strong communication. Their dialogue tends to dance around a lot of heavier issues. I found this to be more a character study of Leisl as she navigates this interim role and tries to discover if her life decisions have truly made her happy.

The writing was at times witty and also at times a bit confusing. The story overall was a bit bland.

I received an electronic ARC from Poisoned Pen Press through NetGalley.
Readers meet Liesl as she is called back from her sabbatical to become the acting Library Director as her boss had a stroke. It's refreshing to see a retirement age female protagonist though Liesl is not completely fleshed out as a character. Jurczyk captures the environment within the college research library setting. I appreciate her attention to the details of the rare books and the actual rooms within this building. However, the book begins rather slowly and does not move the story forward in a timely manner. This reads as a tribute to libraries and valuing books more than a mystery. Liesl and her team are not strong enough characters to create much suspense around the possible theft of valuable books. It's rather obvious from early on who the thief is so the "twists" do not always work. The author does capture the way a library functions and offers readers a front row seat to the relationships involved.