The Bookseller

The First Hugo Marston Novel

By: Mark Pryor

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Max - an elderly Paris bookstall owner - is abducted at gunpoint. His friend Hugo Marston, head of security at the U.S. embassy, looks on helplessly, powerless to do anything to stop the kidnapper. Marston launches a search, enlisting the help of semiretired CIA agent Tom Green. Their investigation reveals that Max was a Holocaust survivor and later became a Nazi hunter. Is his disappearance somehow tied to his grim history, or even to the mysterious old books he sold?

On the streets of Paris, tensions are rising as rival drug gangs engage in violent turf wars. Before long, other booksellers start to disappear, their bodies found floating in the Seine. Though the police are not interested in his opinion, Marston is convinced the hostilities have something to do with the murders of these bouquinistes.Then he himself becomes a target of the unknown assassins.

With Tom by his side, Marston finally puts the pieces of the puzzle together, connecting the past with the present and leading the two men, quite literally, to the enemy's lair. Just as the killer intended.

©2012 Mark Pryor (P)2013 Tantor

Waiting For Books 2 & 3

This is a compelling story set in Paris. Just wish the whole series was on Audible, and that the narrator was more like David Collaci, a personal favorite.

Enjoyable, but slow

I enjoyed the Bookseller. My first time reading this author.
Hugo and his counterparts made for a good team and
story. It just moved a little slow.

If you enjoy a book that takes its time getting there,
then this will be a nice leisure, read. Nice and tidy
wrap up at the end. With just some minor twists.

Yes, I will read the next, when\if available. [Smile]

Good story

Would you listen to The Bookseller again? Why?

No, I would not listen to this again - too many books and too little time!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Bookseller?

The Nazi - Jewish background and its part in the story line

What does Michael Prichard bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Listening always adds to the dramatic effect of a story.

Set in Paris

What didn’t you like about Michael Prichard’s performance?

The narrator's voice was grating and abrupt--like an old man calling a baseball game . . . It took me a while to get past that and appreciate that he did know how to pronounce French words.

Kept me thinking!

And engaged, couldn’t put it down! Look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Good story in a lovely setting

I enjoyed the author's portrayal of Paris, and especially the background of the booksellers. Who knew that the folks selling used books along the Seine were part of a long, long tradition, and the spots were so difficult to come by. The story was good, too, and overall I liked that as well. What interfered in the full enjoyment was the reader., Michael Prichard has a great voice and there was nothing inherently wrong with his delivery. The problem is that his voice sounded considerably old relative to the age of the book's narrator and this made the listening somewhat jarring.

Good, solid beginning for a series.

Mark Pryor crafts a mystery from seemingly unrelated murders, rare book intrigue, corrupt police, and drug trade in Paris. Hugo Marston, who works for the US Embassy, gets pulled in when a friend disappears and the police abruptly close the file. The twisted trail through the disparate clues and, initially, the lack of belief/cooperation from the police make for several mysteries that eventually are sorted out and wrapped up.

This is a good beginning installment for a series; I hope the next two books are on Audible soon.

I was not familiar with this narrator, but his performance is more than adequate.

Nice story

First Pryor novel I have listened to . Surprisingly very good . Will check out his other books

Nice. Slow. Nothing special.

At some point I just waited for it to finish.
The plot was going on really slow and the narrator was even slower than that.
Overall the story is interesting in this way or another and I got to know Paris and some of the famous sites.

Excellent Mystery with a Retro Feel

If you like mysteries and/or historical fiction, you will love this one. I like that the writer has given the characters such distinctive personalities. At first I was put off by Hugo's friend Tom, whose language is about as profane as it gets . . . but as I listened, I realized that we all have those kinds of friends, that have no filter and who cuss like a sailor. As the story progressed, Tom even began to grow on me. Hugo, still stinging from a divorce that he never wanted, teams up with Tom to try to discover who has murdered Max, a bookseller in Paris, who Hugo had become friends with. The story is rich with atmospheric descriptions and the history of the booksellers and rare books. If you aren't into that, you might feel like the story is slow in the beginning. I didn't. I enjoyed all the details. Excellent mystery and a conclusion well worth the wait.