"A deftly plotted mystery ... a delightful book." - San Antonio Express News"A literary romp ... a bright, light, cleverly written tale." - Cincinnati PostA RISIBLE TREAT FOR THE RIGOROUS BIBLIOPHILE (AND ANYONE ELSE WHO LOVES A GOOD PUZZLE) ... AMERICA'S MOST PRICELESS LITERARY TREASUREJUST DROPPED INTO HIS HANDS--NOW WHAT?In between much-needed therapy sessions, Paul Mcdonald's neurotic friend Booker the burglar stole it from his dad's girl friend's roommate, and now wants sometime-sleuth Paul to find its rightful owner.Because he's pretty sure the roommate's not it. Paul is so awed he can hardly bring himself to touch it. It's none other than the missing holograph of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. And Beverly the roommate's no librarian, she's a flight attendant. Booker suspects chicaneryHe's only too right: Beverly, it turns out, is dead.Murdered for the manuscript, if Paul's guess is right. He finds out it's in high demand by a zany collection of collectors, Huckleberry Fiends of all stripes of crazy, every single one of them capable of murder. Suddenly he's the protagonist of A Literary Nightmare, surrounded by Mysterious Strangers, playing out A Double-Barrelled Detective Story involving A Stolen White Elephant, and pretty much Roughing It with the bullying homicide Inspector Howard Blick.It's truly, A Murder, a Mystery, and a Marriage ... .no, not a marriage, a manuscript! But Paul does have his eye on tough and savvy Sardis Kincannon ... The liberally-sprinkled Mark Twain quotes and references make this witty yarn a treat for the literary-minded, and better yet, the twisty plot will satisfy the pickiest mystery fiend. Fans of mysteries about books will especially like it--Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr series, John Dunning's Cliff Janeway books, the Death on Demand books by Carolyn Hart, and Joan Hess's Claire Malloy series.
