• The Booktaker

  • A Nameless Detective Mystery
  • By: Bill Pronzini
  • Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
  • Length: 1 hr and 27 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (1,093 ratings)

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The Booktaker  By  cover art

The Booktaker

By: Bill Pronzini
Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
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Publisher's summary

The Nameless Detective is called upon to find out how rare books and maps are being stolen from an antiquarian bookshop with a faultless alarm system. He goes undercover in the store, only to be foiled when a theft occurs right under his nose. Then, as he ponders the case (while on a date with the lovely Kerry), he’s violently struck from behind by a car that seems bent on driving him off the road. Will Nameless survive this attempt on his life and solve the case?

Murder anonymous: solve another case with the Nameless Detective.
©1982 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust. All rights reserved. (P)2011 BBC Audiobooks

What listeners say about The Booktaker

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    330
  • 4 Stars
    315
  • 3 Stars
    297
  • 2 Stars
    97
  • 1 Stars
    54
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    374
  • 4 Stars
    287
  • 3 Stars
    198
  • 2 Stars
    58
  • 1 Stars
    22
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    290
  • 4 Stars
    251
  • 3 Stars
    273
  • 2 Stars
    80
  • 1 Stars
    40

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good Story

Not one of my all-time favorites but enjoyed the story. Would download more from this author.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Booktaker

Good little mystery. Some imaginative twists and turns. Very well read. Just not my cup of tea.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Quick read

Fun mystery set in a book store, not too easy to solve, and it was a quick read. I didn't care for the narrators female voice portrayal though - it was pretty bad and some of the romantic lines were cheesy. But the mystery parts of the book were good.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Mentally engaging and emotionally benign

Has the appeal of Perry Mason or Sam Spade. Nice diversion when life seems to have plenty of emotional drama on its own.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

You get what you pay for.... "free" - so

What did you like best about The Booktaker? What did you like least?

After several attempts, I finally finished this. It was... "OK," hence the 3 stars. I didn't dislike it, but it wasn't particularly thrilling. There was one "thrill" scene, but it jumped in so abruptly that it was incongruent with the rest of the pace of the story.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Hmmmm... "OK, I finally checked this off my to-do list."

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Read with more passion. Now, how that would be possible in a detective story about a bookseller and a bookthief, I don't really know.

Do you think The Booktaker needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. (Read above to learn why.)

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fast and entertaining, quick adventure.

love the story, voice that keep my attention, cleaver ending. The cane, the jacuzzi... thank you.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Short and surprising.

Decent but not riviting. Nice diversion. surprising ending. Well read. No sex or major violence, just a short detective case that kept my attention, but didnt beg me to stay up all night to finish it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good Read

enjoy it. I was surprised that I didn't figure it out. However, I wish it could have been longer too.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • B
  • 10-13-11

an old-fashioned puzzle

I enjoyed The Booktaker. The writing and plot reminds me of the paperbacks (pulps) of the 50's and 60's. With a single focus plot puzzle and a very little bit of romance to mellow the nameless detective, it's a quick, fun story and very agreeably read by Nick Sullivan. It is like meeting Ellery Queen again.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Short Mystery

Narrator did OK. It was OK to listen to as I went on my morning walk. Not something I would pay for though.

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