Just finished reading....

The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom.

This is the first in a series about one Israel Armstrong (Jewish mother, Scottish father), a librarian, whose first professional job is in a tiny, isolated community in Northern Ireland.

Israel arrives in Tumdrum to discover that the library has been closed for some time. He makes his way to the Council offices to discover that he will be expected to drive the mobile library (bookmobile to us North Americans). Despite the fact that he is virtually penniless and homeless, he tries to resign the position, but is coerced into staying on "for a while".

What follows is an odd, but engaging combination of James Herriott's exploits in Yorkshire, and a Monty Python skit.

Israel is not the most fortunate person in the world, nor is he terribly resourceful. Sometimes, I just wanted to give him a whack upside the head. But there is something appealing about him nonetheless.

The second book in the series, Mr. Dixon Disappears, is due to be released July 1st. I'll give it a try, just to see if I still like Israel.