Book Review: Ex-Libris

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Ex-Libris     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Ross King
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Historical   Thriller
Walker, Feb 2001, $24.95, 400 pp.

In 1660, Lady Marchamont petitions London bookseller Isaac Inchbold proprietor of Nonsuch Books to visit her in Dorsetshire. Since Isaac never leaves London and is such a creature of habit, anyone who knows him is stunned when he decides to travel to the countryside. Yet the strange note sends an intrigued Isaac journeying to Pontifex Hall.

Lady Marchamont hires Isaac to restore her library to its former glory before looters ransacked it during the civil war. In particular, she wants the bookworm to locate an antiquated heretical tome, "The Labyrinth of the World" identified by her murdered father in his EX-LIBRIS. Intrigued not only by the immense fee, Isaac begins a quest that places his life in danger.

EX-LIBRIS is a superb historical thriller that grips the readers with its in depth look at seventeenth century Europe. Even more interesting is the clever historiographical look by the 1660 Isaac back to the Civil War. The story line is fast-paced as Isaac tells his tale in the first person so that the audience completely understands him as a likable chap whose simple existence turns frustrating with troubles. More novels like this one will lead to Ross King ruling the genre.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner