Liesl Weiss is called back to work from sabbatical when the library department director, her boss Christopher Wolfe, has a stroke that has left him in a coma. She's been his right-hand for literally decades, and the university president, Lawrence Garber, knows she can temporarily cover for Christopher until he recovers.
The first item of business, though, is to open Christopher's office safe, where a newly-arrived rare Bible is awaiting insurance appraisal as per long-standing library policy. President Garber wants to arrange for the near-priceless artifact to be displayed at an exclusive reception for the donors that made its acquisition possible. Unfortunately, the last update to the safe's combination was made while Liesl was on leave, and Christopher, never one for details, had never given his second-in-command the new numbers.
Garber is furious and blames Liesl for this oversight, demanding she “do something!” Secretly, Liesl suspects that Christopher, against security policies, might have shared the information with his wife, Marie. Days later, she quietly comes to the office with the correct combination, but when the two women open the safe, it is empty. On questioning the staff, it becomes apparent no one knows where the bible is.
Garber is adamant the police not get involved; revealing theft would undermine university donors' confidence in the library and how their contributions are spent. Once again, he demands Liesl “do something” since the theft was on "her watch" and will be "her legacy" after over 40 years of dedicated service to the library. So Liesl and the small library staff begin a quiet, systematic search of all the library’s holdings, each eyeing the others with a growing suspicion that one of them is a thief.
When another missing rare book is suspected of being stolen, and Miriam, a troubled yet dependable coworker goes missing, Liesl, fearing the worst, files a missing person's report. Garber and the police feel this proves that Miriam is the thief but Liesl knows Miriam as well as anyone and doesn't believe it at all. She is certain someone else is behind the thefts, and Miriam has actually succumbed to the pressure of the events at work and things going on in her personal life.
But, as Garber schemes to secretly replace the missing books using a secret slush fund, Liesl continues to ask questions to clear Miriam's name and, hopefully, recover the rare books.
THE DEPARTMENT OF RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS by Eva Jurczyk was a slow-building tale of secrets kept, secrets revealed, and suspense that kept me turning pages with the need to know what was going to happen next! I loved how the story was told from Liesl's point of view in the current time but would jump to the past for short vignettes that would provide insight into current events.
From the start, it's a somewhat tragic story with the beloved department head in what everyone feels is a hopeless medical condition. However, the unfolding nature of the relationships among the long-tenured staff makes this a complex and darker tale. What is really going on behind the hallowed walls of this renowned institution? Who can be trusted?
I could relate to Liesl's work predicaments and her past as a woman in a man's world and academia. I felt for her as she struggled with a precarious home life, tense workplace, and a drinking problem as well. I also really liked Professor Rhonda Washington, several years younger than Liesl, who was successfully navigating her own path at the university. And I could feel myself wanting to growl every time President Garber opened his mouth, the little weasel.
The book is full of characters with "pasts." Just like in life, you never really know what burdens (or secrets) another person is carrying, especially if they're not on Facebook. The plot is a mystery that slowly unfolds as Liesl tries to do the right things and keep the library functioning as expected. Little details clue the reader in on many secrets that drive the current action of the story, though, so pay attention. I recommend THE DEPARTMENT OF RARE BOOKS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS to general fiction, mystery, and suspense readers.
Midnight at the Bright Idea Bookstore meets The Bookshop of Yesterdays in a stunning debut following a librarian whose quiet life is turned upside down when a priceless manuscript goes missing. Soon she has to ask: what holds more secrets in the library—the ancient books shelved in the stacks, or the people who preserve them?
Liesl Weiss long ago learned to be content working behind the scenes in the distinguished rare books department of a large university, managing details and working behind the scenes to make the head of the department look good. But when her boss has a stroke and she's left to run things, she discovers that the library's most prized manuscript is missing.
Liesl tries to sound the alarm and inform the police about the missing priceless book, but is told repeatedly to keep quiet, to keep the doors open and the donors happy. But then a librarian unexpectedly stops showing up to work. Liesl must investigate both disappearances, unspooling her colleagues' pasts like the threads of a rare book binding as it becomes clear that someone in the department must be responsible for the theft. What Liesl discovers about the dusty manuscripts she has worked among for so long—and about the people who care for and revere them—shakes the very foundation on which she has built her life.
The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is a sparkling book-club read about a woman struggling to step out from behind the shadows of powerful and unreliable men, and reveals the dark edge of obsession running through the most devoted bookworms.
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