‘Art is despair with dignity’

The Bad Book Affair

The Bad Book Affair

Ian Sansom

The Bad Book Affair features the magnificently hapless Israel Armstrong – the duffle-coat wearing, navel-gazing Jewish librarian who solves crimes, mysteries, and domestic problems whilst driving a mobile library around the north coast of Ireland.

In The Bad Book Affair Israel finds himself on the verge of his thirtieth birthday and on the trail of a troubled missing teenager, the daughter of a local politician.

Why has the young woman disappeared? Does it have something to do with Israel’s lending her A Clockwork Orange and Lady Chatterly’s Lover from the library’s special ‘Unshelved’ category? Will the young woman’s father run Israel out of town? How will Israel recover from his own break-up with his girlfriend, Gloria? And how exactly does a Jewish vegetarian celebrate his thirtieth birthday in Tumdrum? With a bacon scone?

And will Israel and his irascible companion Ted ever agree about anything?

Reviews of The Bad Book Affair

    • Praise for ‘The Delegate’s Choice’:
    • ‘This is Israel’s third outing and it is a pleasure to welcome him back – these are blissful British comedies for the thinking escapist.’ Kate Saunders, The Times
    • Praise for the ‘Case of the Missing Books’:
    • ‘A mystery, a sustained piece of slapstick, a meditation and a yarn. And it is cripplingly funny.’ Independent
    • ‘Sansom has struck a rich comic seam … it promises to be a very enjoyable series.’ Observer
    • ‘A perfect antidote for melancholy.’ Guardian
    • Praise for ‘Mr Dixon Disappears’:
    • ‘Israel is one of the most original and amusing amateur sleuths around…’ The Times
    • ‘Bibliophiles will instinctively warm to Israel Armstrong, Jewish librarian, duffel-coat wearer and part-time detective. The fact that he drives his mobile library around the coast of Northern Ireland, moaning non-stop about people who do not return books on time, only makes the character more deliciously esoteric. This yarn about an ageing magician who has gone missing with £100,000 is the second in what promises to be a must-read series.’ Sunday Telegraph

More from Ian Sansom