The Bad Book Affair

Description

The Bad Book Affair features the magnificently hapless Israel Armstrong - the duffle-coat wearing, navel-gazing Jewish librarian who solves crimes, mysteries, and domestic problems whilst driving a mobile library around the north coast of Ireland. In The Bad Book Affair Israel finds himself on the verge of his thirtieth birthday and on the trail of a troubled missing teenager, the daughter of a local politician. Why has the young woman disappeared? Does it have something to do with Israel's lending her A Clockwork Orange and Lady Chatterly's Lover from the library's special 'Unshelved' category? Will the young woman's father run Israel out of town? How will Israel recover from his own break-up with his girlfriend, Gloria? And how exactly does a Jewish vegetarian celebrate his thirtieth birthday in Tumdrum? With a bacon scone? And will Israel and his irascible companion Ted ever agree about anything?

Ian Sansom reviews regularly for the Guardian and the London Review of Books. His first book, The Truth About Babies, was published by Granta in 2002.

Praise for 'The Delegate's Choice': 'This is Israel's third outing and it is a pleasure to welcome him back - these are blissful British comedies for the thinking escapist.' Kate Saunders, The Times Praise for the 'Case of the Missing Books': 'A mystery, a sustained piece of slapstick, a meditation and a yarn. And it is cripplingly funny.' Independent 'Sansom has struck a rich comic seam ... it promises to be a very enjoyable series.' Observer 'A perfect antidote for melancholy.' Guardian Praise for 'Mr Dixon Disappears': 'Israel is one of the most original and amusing amateur sleuths around...' The Times 'Bibliophiles will instinctively warm to Israel Armstrong, Jewish librarian, duffel-coat wearer and part-time detective. The fact that he drives his mobile library around the coast of Northern Ireland, moaning non-stop about people who do not return books on time, only makes the character more deliciously esoteric. This yarn about an ageing magician who has gone missing with GBP100,000 is the second in what promises to be a must-read series.' Sunday Telegraph