Book description
Israel Armstrong, one of literature's most unlikely detectives, returns
for more crime solving adventure in this hilarious third novel from the
Mobile Library series.
Israel has been invited to attend the Mobile Meet in London, the annual
mobile library convention, with his irascible companion Ted Carson. Back
in the UK, Israel is reunited with his family, and there is much eating
of paprika chicken, baklava and the drinking of good coffee. But within
only twenty-four hours of their arrival, the mobile library has been nicked.
Who on earth would want to steal a thirty-year old rust-bucket of a
van, and who can the two men turn to for assistance? Can Mr and Mrs
Krimholz, the parents of Israel's childhood rival Adam Krimholz, help
them out? Amidst all this mayhem, will Israel and Ted, one of
literature's oddest oddball couples, ever make it to the Mobile Meet? In
this, his most puzzling, personal and problematic case yet, Israel has
never had it so bad… neither has his library. 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 £100,000 is the second in what promises to be
a must-read series.' Sunday Telegraph Ian Sansom writes for the
Guardian and the London Review of Books. His first book, 'The Truth
About Babies', was published by Granta in 2002, and his second, 'Ring
Road', by Fourth Estate in 2004. 'The Case of the Missing Books' and 'Mr
Dixon Disappears', the first two instalments of The Mobile Library
series, were published in 2006. He lives in Northern Ireland.
