Swann Dives In by Charles Salzberg
Do you know what a tracer is? I didn't either until I read this book. It's a guy who is hired to track down missing, lost or "don't want to be found" people. The main character, Henry Swann, tries to go on the straight and narrow and get out of the game by becomming a cable guy. This job doesn't last long. As soon as a wealthy businessman in New York asks Swann to find his lost daughter, Swann is back in the game.
In trying to find the daughter, he meets a lot of strange people and follows their leads and ends up going all the way to London. He also ends up uncovering a mystery about a bookseller and a special rare book. The book mystery and the mystery of the daughter end up connecting and there is a twist in the end that I didn't see coming.
I am partial to detective novels, so this was right up my alley. I liked Swann and enjoyed the author's cast of characters. There is an English professor, a nutty Book seller, and a mysterious woman. I like that there is an element of danger just under the surface. I like that Swann is a little bit cocky, but not over the top. I love books, so I enjoyed the information and facts that the author threw in about old books. I also liked the bits of information he throws in about the cities that Swann travels to.
I would recommend this as a fun read to anyone who likes mystery or detective novels, or to anyone who hasn't tried one yet, but wants a fun first try!
I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.
Do you like Detective Novels? Do you have an interesting rare thing that you collect?
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