As a librarian, I loved The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk! I thought the writing was smart and as a female academic librarian, I completely connected with Liesl on many things related to librarianship, university politics, and books. I loved the sub-theme of women in academics (that could be applied to any career, really). I did think that the mystery aspect was bit overblown since there was so much more to this book than the mystery of what happened to those missing books... but I really enjoyed this book so I can overlook that. Additionally, the book was set in Toronto which was fun - but it really felt like it could have happened at any western university so I could really picture this book happening at Indiana University (my grad school alma mater)! Fun book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced ebook copy. All opinions are my own.

When her boss suffers a stroke, Liesl Weiss must return from sabbatical to take charge of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. Liesl discovers one of the library’s manuscripts is missing, and the search for the manuscript begins, uncovering many secrets that have been buried around campus.

While I found this novel slow paced, I loved the setting of the story, the politics of working in a university, and the mysteries involved. I found it very plot-centric which didn’t leave enough room for exploring the emotions of characters, and even when characters were emotional, they weren’t really all that emotional? That being said, it was an enjoyable read.

I never warmed up to the main character. It wasn’t the most mysterious of mysteries, but overall it was enjoyable.

I loved reading this book! I found the writing to be very insightful and interesting. I was intrigued by the premise and I enjoyed reading it from start to finish.

I'm not really sure where to begin with this book. I really did enjoy it, but it was not entirely what I anticipated. It seems like this book was marketed as a mystery involving rare books and librarians - this is all in the book, but I think where the marketing felt a little misleading is that mystery typically has a little more action than this book had. It is mysterious, but there's much more focus on the characters, especially the main character, Leisl I think some people will struggle with the pacing as well as the time jumps from chapter to chapter. I certainly found myself a little confused about where I was in the timeline chapter to chapter. All that being said though, I did enjoy the characters and found the story compelling enough to keep reading to the end to see what happened.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Liesl Weiss is a behind the scenes kind of librarian archivist. She does all of the background work to make sure things operate smoothly and her boss looks good. Her boss just had a stroke. A colleague that thinks he should be step into those shoes resents her, oh, and a priceless manuscript has gone missing. Liesl must keep the department running and get to the bottom of the missing manuscript all while navigating library politics and ruling out her colleagues of the theft.

I’m not big on mysteries. Their intentionally convuluted nature annoys and bores me; however, add some books to them or set them in a library, and that’s how you get me. I’m a sucker for books about books and/or books about libraries. So, I gave this one a chance. I can’t say I loved the whole mystery part, but I did enjoy the characters, the daily operations of the special collections’ department, and how dynamics change with the sudden encapatation of their leader.

I was rooting for Liesl and sympathized with her when some of her male colleagues continuously discounted her, all while she was really keeping this running. Been there. Done that. It’s worth a read if you’re a mystery fan or just a book lover. It’s been out for a minute (I’m a bit behind on my backlist), so you can pick up the print or audio whever you get your books.

If you like books about libraries and books then this title is for you. Mystery and disappearances will keep you turning the page. It's been awhile since I read this but I do remember reading late into the night and that it was very detailed.

As a librarian, I was very excited about this book. It didn’t quite live up to expectations though. I felt that Liesl was a bit of a doormat for most of the book. She is called back from sabbatical to take over as interim director of the library after the director has a stroke. She soon finds out that a half a million dollar acquisition has gone missing. She want to go to the police but the president says “no”. Another librarian goes missing and is assumed the thief. She is later found dead of a suicide. There are several different themes including mental health, homophobia, ageism, and infidelity. I felt that Liesl never stood up for herself but had potential to be a great character. It was very anticlimactic.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

There are several keys to a good mystery. It includes an enticing problem to solve, suspects, clues scattered for the detective - and reader - to solve, and a satisfying conclusion. The problem is solved, the clues used to figure out what happened are revealed, and the solution is satisfying.

The Department Of Rare Books and Special Collections is a good mystery.

Liesl Weiss is called back from sabbatical after her boss suffers a stroke, and she temporarily takes over supervising the rare books department at a large university library. She quickly discovers that the library’s most recent acquisition is missing, The university president doesn’t want donors upset by the disappearance of the Plantin and does not allow Liesl to bring in the police. It’s up to Liesl to find the book and keep the donors from finding out about the missing book and library scandals that are uncovered in her investigation. The staff, including Liesl, are hiding big secrets, but do any of their secrets connect to the mysterious disappearance?

The mystery makes sense. The characters’ actions and motivations make sense and are consistent. The plot unfolds well and leads to a solid tying up of loose ends. It succeeds as a good basic mystery.

What keeps the book from being a great story is the amount of exposition. I’ll read a paragraph of lovely exposition…but there’s another one. Then another one. I ended up skimming some of those passages because I was tired of saying “we get it” during a lengthy exposition. The author has a nice writing style that I easily connected with, but I think it would have been more effective in smaller doses. Too much exposition draws attention away from the plot.

Overall, I liked The Department Of Rare Books and Special Collections, and I look forward to reading more of Eva Jurczyk’s books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a copy of the book.

I'm not sure how I felt about this novel. It's billed as a mystery set in a Rare Books Library (I'm pretty sure from the description that it's the Thomas Fisher, but that's never stated), but it's really more of a character study about a group of deeply flawed humans who happen to be dealing with a mystery. Either of these premises are fine, but the execution wasn't really there for me in ways I'm having difficulty putting into words. It's almost like the book wants to be a a cozy mystery, but a Serious Literary Fiction version of a cozy mystery.

Liesl, our main character, is near retirement (yay for an older female MC), and has been called back from her sabbatical to take over when her boss has a stroke. The big buzz in the library is that there's a new acquisition, but when Liesl tries to get it out of the safe, it's gone. Shortly after, an employee goes missing. Now Liesl is left trying to handle her boss' job and two mysteries, and everyone has an opinion on how it should be handled. I found the flashbacks slightly odd, like the author took "show don't tell" a bit too far. I understand that these people have decades of experience with each other, but there must be other ways to share the information.

In the end, the book explores themes of infidelity, homophobia, ageism, sexism, racism, mental health, depression, and suicide. The themes are handled honestly, although not always sensitively. I also found there was very little uplifting in the end of the novel - spoilers in the goodreads review - so it's not a good book if you're looking for a happy ending.

I thank Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC I received.

A must read for librarians and book loves this debut novel by Eva Jurczyk, takes place in an unnamed Toronto university library. Who would have ever thought there was a dark side to librarians in their quest for books, but interim director, Liesl Weiss, feels way over her head in responsibilities when a recently purchased Bible is discovered missing from the safe. The donors want answers, but the President refuses to call the police. When a staff librarian is discovered missing and more books are discovered missing the staff member is considered the thief and police become involved, but it’s the detective work of Liesl that discovers who the thief is. This is a clever, original whodunit.

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections follows Liesl as she finds herself the interim director of a university library. This book cover and title captured my attention, and I love books with the backdrop of a library and book-lovers. I loved how this novel started because it built up so much tension around the safe. It was exciting, and I was invested in the story.

Once the story started to explore Liesl a bit more, I fell out of love with the book. I wanted more character development from Liesl. I felt like she was always on the precipice of a significant breakthrough, but then it did not have the follow-through. I love watching someone struggle with their identity and self-discovery, but it is only worth it if we see her transformation.

Finally, this story was a very mild mystery. It only glazed the surface to be a good mystery because the elements were there. Like Liesl's character development, the mystery was intriguing. Still, the reader trudged through the plot points so slowly that I didn't particularly care about the ending by the end of the novel.

The title intrigued me. Unfortunately, I did not like any of the characters or the way they were presented.

I requested The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections for a couple of reasons:
1. I’m a librarian and love visiting special collections.
2. The description mentioned a mystery of a missing book and person.
With this in mind, I began reading the book with the expectation that I’d love it. Instead, I had to convince myself to keep reading. Nothing pulled me in.

The writing gave me the feeling of walking into someone else’s seemingly boring life and I kept expecting something to change. I decided to stop reading the book because the Liesl’s fellow librarians were annoying me and I couldn’t see the author’s writing getting any more intriguing. I was bored.

Liesl works in the University's Rare Books Library and is happy being behind the scenes and assisting the Director. When her boss suffers a stroke she is asked to run the collection till arrangements are made. She discovers some missing books and can't believe that Christopher could have stolen them. She tries to begin and investigation but University politics make it difficult and it would effect donations. When a librarian in the department goes missing it can't be covered up and more and they discover that there was indeed some thefts. A good story, not quite what I thought it would be. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Liesl Weiss has been (mostly) happy working in the 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.
The synopsis sounded very promising but unfortunately this book wasn't for me.

Those who have worked in a university library will appreciate a novel about the ins and outs of rare books when mixed with questionable academic directives. The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections (fiction) by Eva Jurczyk delivers that well enough, though sometimes feels exaggerated. Of course, readers will root for Liesl Weiss, the middle-aged librarian who must battle a series of male bosses and colleagues (and her own demons) when a priceless manuscript goes missing.

Was happy to include this book in my latest “Thrills and Chills” round-up for Zoomer magazine, highlighting winter’s best suspense and mystery reads. (see mini-review at link)

The pace of this story was very, very slow. The one thing that kept me reading was the setting, the faculty politics, and the mystery of where the rare book was and who took it. A good resolution to the mystery is provided if you invest in reading to the end. I’m grateful that I never worked in a library with this awful staff. 3.5 stars.

An unusual crime story, but one that I found very engaging, centred around rare books and those with power and/or money.
I liked the way the female roles were shaped