The Paperback Sleuth--Death in Fine Condition by Andrew Cartmel

Author:Andrew Cartmel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags:  
Publisher: Titan

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Once securely locked in her room—she was never going to make that mistake again—Cordelia fired up her laptop and began to feverishly check if the Mole had totally lost it or even, absurd thought, had got the better of her.

Looking on, in a manner of speaking, as she did this were the tall looming stacks of Cold Angel, Dead Angel which she had unpacked and placed on her table. Cordelia had a terrible feeling these tall stacks would soon be looking on mockingly when she’d confirmed that she had been, after all, well and truly skanked.

And by the Mole of all people.

But Cordelia hadn’t been skanked.

Even a hasty and superficial survey of the lively digital hinterland revealed copies of this book selling for outrageous sums. Everywhere she went…

Except for one book remainder warehouse in the wilds of Cornwall where they still had copies at a rock bottom price. Cordelia immediately ordered every single one they had, paid for them (she’d qualified for free delivery!) and closed her laptop again with a great sense of satisfaction at having fleeced the carrot-crunching clowns of Cornwall.

Then she thoughtfully studied the stacks of the book in question and selected a copy for closer examination.

What was it the Mole had said? “The author was murdered in exactly the way that someone is murdered in his novel. It’s supposed to be very gory and very weird and very elaborate.”

Supposed to be… The Mole was flying blind because he hadn’t read the book. But in this instance, Cordelia couldn’t blame him. She couldn’t imagine being able to bring herself to read this thing. It looked like such a piece of junk…

Then she discovered that she didn’t need to read it.

She turned the book over and, for the first time, gave the text on the back cover some close scrutiny. Only to discover that it featured a virtual excerpt of the murder scene. Basically it was a wintery evisceration of some token victim—female and good looking, of course—with the disembowelment designed to evoke the angel-shapes kids made in the snow. Not a bad idea.

But talk about spoilers…

Cordelia turned the book over again, to look at the front cover, the abjectly lousy front cover, and found herself thinking, rather uncharitably, that the person responsible for this abomination deserved to be murdered in a horrible fashion. She set the book aside, her mood having been decisively lowered; she felt faintly soiled to even have these things on her table…

But she didn’t feel soiled by the prices they commanded when she began selling them.

Which is what she began to do now.

Cordelia fired up her MacBook Air and went back on eBay again. If anything, the prices were higher than when she’d looked before. Was that possible? Yes, decided Cordelia, it was. Because dozens of paperback dealers and collectors would, like her, be returning from the book fair about now and switching their computers on. And many if not most of them would be checking on Cold Angel, Dead Angel

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