Coffin and the Paper Man by Gwendoline Butler

I love used bookstores. I love they way they smell, I love their warren-like corridors, I love their dingy little storefronts and their old scruffy buildings, I love their bargain piles and their bundled bargains. I keep lists of authors I hope to winkle out in their stacks and I take chances on new authors. And have you ever noticed how well-read your average used bookstore employee is? I ask for their recommendations, I complain about the authors I can't find, I share new discoveries and these book people share, locate and enthuse right along with me. Love it.

Because of used bookstores (and ebay--a good source of titles once you've discovered who you like), I have developed a strong affection for all titles vintage. I love the mysteries, the noir, the Gothic horror, the suspense, the romance...all vintage. I have shelves of vintage romances (all published before 1980, cuz somehow they all get a little tawdry after that), piles of vintage mysteries, hoards of vintage Gothic horror and suspense...well, you get the idea, right? Some of them I value because of the quality of the writing, some because of the melodrama, some because they are little period jewels. I just love them.

Whoops! Having veered into my preoccupation with vintage titles, I'll bring myself back to the used bookstore theme I started with. Used bookstores are thin on the ground where in live in Northern California. Perhaps it's because rents are high here and people are extra busy working their 24/7 Silicon Valley jobs. Or maybe they just like all things new or even perhaps prefer e-readers...I don't know. But the only used bookstore within an hour of where I live is Half Price Books and while I do enjoy browsing those chain stores, there's nothing like a "real" used bookstore, owned by a sole proprietor who is in it for the love of books. So I'm in book heaven when I visit my folks in the Boise Idaho area because within an hour or less of their house are something like 5 or 6 used bookstores (that I know of so far). So when I visit them I make time (and budget space) for lots of used bookstore browsing. Blissful. (Happy sigh).

So on my latest trip there a few weeks ago, I found in the bundled bargain section a pile of these Gwendoline Butler mysteries. The oldest ones in my bundle were published in the 90s, the newest ones 10 or so years later, so they're not all that old (not "vintage" :D), but I'd never heard of them, so I was kind of excited to check them out. They're police procedurals, which are my favorite kind of mysteries, and they're set in London--two very good things.

This one, the first of my little pile, was my least favorite of the 4 I've read so far (I still have 3 or 4 more to go). It centers around the life and career of our main character, Chief Commander John Coffin of the Docklands district (the fictional "second London") of Britain's capital city. It was my least favorite, as I've said, but it was still interesting enough to easily hold my attention and invite me to read the rest. I felt the mystery in this one was a bit scattered, with the diverse parts of the story not quite tied up in a satisfying way. The story felt a bit "fuzzy" at times, if you know what I mean. Still, I like John Coffin. He reminds me a bit of J.J. Marric's Gideon (love that guy) in his leadership style, only I like the way J.J. Marric writes better--there are more details, less personal drama for our main character. Still, I'm liking this series. I'll let you know a little more about the others as I read them...

Bad language: very little, if any
Sex: nope, although there are references to it from time to time and our John Coffin seems to be in some sort of a relationship with the beautiful actress downstairs...but it's only vaguely implied, no details.