Sam Wiseman runs a used bookshop in Montreal and reads far too many detective novels for his own good. When real murders start happening around him, he cannot help but try to piece things together the way the fictional detectives in his favorite books would. The results are mixed, but he gets there eventually.
Sam is not a trained investigator. He is a bookseller with strong opinions about crime fiction and a stubborn streak. His relationship with Detective Gaston Lemieux of the Montreal police is the backbone of the series. Lemieux does not exactly welcome Sam’s involvement, but Sam has a way of noticing things and making connections that prove useful.
Richard King set the series in Montreal’s literary world, and the city itself is a strong presence in the books. Sam’s shop and his reading habits play into the stories as much as the crimes do. The mysteries are compact and character-driven, built around Sam’s bookish instincts and his refusal to leave well enough alone.
Reading Order
See the complete The Book Shop Mysteries reading order for all books in the series.