I love books about libraries, and books about bookstores, and books about books… but I did not really love this book. The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is a mystery written by Eva Jurczyk, and the setting is a university library in Canada. Liesl Weiss has been given an unexpected promotion when her boss, Christopher, has a stroke. Christopher is the head of the rare books department at the university library, and Liesl feels under qualified to fill in for Christopher. Liesl’s colleagues agree that she is not the best person for the job, and Liesl spends a lot of time and mental anguish trying to earn their respect and acceptance.
On Liesl’s first day of filling in for Christopher, Liesl realizes that a manuscript that was recently won in an auction is missing. The timing is terrible, as this was also the day that the manuscript was going to be shown off to the donors who made the acquisition possible. Liesl begins to suspect that the rare manuscript was stolen, and she is frustrated when none of her colleagues support her desire to go to the police. Liesl battles self-doubt and lack of confidence in her decisions, and her near-constant wine hangover underlines her inability to be an effective leader. For me, this is the most frustrating part of the book. Liesl is not respected by her mostly-male employees, and this is a relatable battle that she is fighting. But she undermines her own authority and questions her judgment so willingly that it is hard to imagine anyone respecting her at work.
Liesl is working to understand what happened to the missing manuscript as the reader is trying to solve the same mystery. This puzzle is what kept me hooked on finishing the book; even though I thought I had figured it out, I wasn’t sure and I was invested enough in wanting some answers. The themes that I found most salient, like Liesl working to clear the name of a recently deceased colleague when the university president allows the theft to be blamed on her, are not developed as strongly as the descriptions of the ancient manuscripts. All in all, I think that this is a good book, which could have been a great book.
