Mystery-solving criminal lawyer Crang returns to investigate the disappearance of two rare books.
Fletcher Marshall is a Toronto antiquarian book dealer, internationally
respected in the business. One night, someone blows the safe in his office
and makes off with the contents, which include an infamous forged first
edition of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese
that is in itself a collector's item. Fletcher, who was still in the process
of verifying the book, doesn't even know whether it was the real thing
or a clever forgery (of a forgery). But rather than summon the cops to
investigate the theft, he turns to his pal Crang, the nervy criminal lawyer,
hoping he can retrieve the books before their owner gets wind of the
crime. The owner happens to be the richest woman in Canada and a tough
cookie who could ruin Fletcher's career.
Crang gets on the hunt, learning much about the trade in musty
books and the lucrative business it makes for forgers. Just as he seems to
be getting close to answers, a shocking development makes things much
more complicated - and much more dangerous.
