WEBVTT

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Hey, everyone. Welcome to the show. Great to

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be here. You know, have you ever felt like the

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most placid surfaces, the really calm ones, they

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often hide the most turbulent depths underneath?

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Oh, absolutely. Makes you wonder what's really

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going on. Exactly. And that's precisely the unsettling

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feeling you get reading Tim Sullivan's The Bookseller.

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It starts off seeming like this, well, quiet

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tale, but it pulls you pretty quickly into a

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world full of hidden agendas and, frankly, deadly

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secrets. It really does it begins, you know Simply

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enough, the motor of a bookseller in Bristol.

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But then it just unfurls, doesn't it, into this

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really fascinating detective story. It does.

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And it makes you second guess everything, like

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every innocent chap, every old book. So, yeah,

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the bookseller is crime fiction, a detective

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story, really. And the core of it is this investigation

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into the death of Edward Squire. He's a man deep

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in the rare book trade. And leading the charge,

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so to speak, is to take a Sergeant George Cross.

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Ah, D .S. Cross. Definitely a character you won't

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forget easily. He's one of the best parts, I

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think. The character Sullivan created are just

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so engaging. Cross, especially. Yeah. What about

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him? Well, his whole way of navigating the world

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is quite unique. You mentioned those escape routes

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he plans in meetings. Uh -huh. Yeah. That was

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something else. Right. And his relationship,

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his dynamic with Audie, his partner, it just

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makes the whole investigation feel, I don't know,

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fresh. Unpredictable, maybe. I totally agree.

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And it's not just Cross, is it? The whole subculture

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around rare book collecting is drawn so vividly.

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Oh, definitely. You get this culpable sense of

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the rivalries bubbling away. And the financial

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pressures, too. It's not all dusty books and

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quiet corners. Not at all. And the pull of these

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valuable artifacts, these pieces of history.

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Sullivan really captures that. Think about the

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descriptions of Sotheby's or Squire's Own Shop.

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Yeah, it really brings that world to life. It

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feels almost like another character in the book.

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That's a great way to put it. And it's interesting

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how Sullivan uses that specific setting. You

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know, this world built on value, authenticity,

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hidden histories. It mirrors the investigation

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itself, right? Exactly. The layers of deception,

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the secrets Cross is trying to dig up. It all

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fits perfectly. Now we should talk about the

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plot. We were pretty gripped by the twists and

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turns, and there are quite a few. Oh, yeah. Keeps

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you guessing. Yeah. About the killer, the motive,

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all of it. Definitely. But we also felt maybe

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the start of the book, it takes its time. That's

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fair. It's a bit of a slow burn initially, wouldn't

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you say? Yeah, a slow burn. It needs a bit of

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patience while it sets the scene, introduces

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all the players. There are quite a few characters

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to keep track of. True. But I think that deliberate

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pacing pays off later. It lets Sullivan build

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this really rich atmosphere, this detailed world.

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OK, yeah, I can see that. It makes the later

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reveals hit harder. But if you're someone who

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wants action right away. I need to settle in

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for a bit. Yeah. Another thing we noticed, or

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at least I felt this way sometimes, some of the

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characters motivations, they weren't always crystal

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clear right off the bat. Hmm. Interesting point.

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Like you're piecing them together as you go.

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Exactly. Which, you know, can be part of the

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fun of a mystery, figuring people out. But early

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on, it maybe leaves you with a few questions.

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I think that's maybe intentional, how Sullivan

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chooses to reveal character. He sort of peels

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back the layers slowly. Adds to the mystery,

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you mean. Yeah. It means your understanding of

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who these people are, it kind of evolves as you

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read. It's not all laid out for you up front.

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Okay, that makes sense. So thinking about it

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overall, the bookseller is... Well, it's clever.

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It's atmospheric. It really pulled us into its

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world. Kept us guessing, too. Right to the end.

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Yeah, absolutely. So for the intriguing characters,

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especially DS Cross, and that fascinating look

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into the rare book trade, I think we'd give the

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bookseller a solid four out of five stars. What

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do you think? I'd agree with that. Four stars

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sounds right. It's definitely a book that sticks

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with you after you finish it. Yeah. It makes

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you think about the stories behind objects, the

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secrets hidden under maybe quite refined surfaces.

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That's a really good point. So if this deep dive

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has piqued your interest in the bookseller, we

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definitely recommend checking it out. Absolutely.

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It's a worthwhile read. And to make it easy,

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we've put an Amazon link right there in the description

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below. Convenient. And hey, if you enjoyed this

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discussion, maybe take a second to like this

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and subscribe to the show. That way you won't

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miss our future deep dives. Yeah, your support

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really helps us keep doing these explorations,

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finding more fascinating stories and worlds to

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talk about. We'd also love to hear from you.

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What stood out most from our chat about the bookseller?

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Was there a favorite moment or maybe something

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that surprised you? Drop your thoughts in the

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comments below. Let's get the conversation going.

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Yeah, please do. And feel free to share this

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with anyone else you think might enjoy digging

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into this kind of intriguing book with us. Thanks

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so much for joining us today. Yes, thank you.

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Until our next deep dive, happy reading.