Israel Armstrong--the young librarian who solves crimes, mysteries, and domestic problems while driving a mobile library--returns for more crime so...
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reviews
Jul 06, 2011
Judy
rated it: 
This is the second in the Mobile Library Series and I'm official in love. Israel Armstrong is a 29 year old, bumbling, overweight, vegetarian, Jewish librarian who moved from London to a small town in Northern Ireland only to find out that the library has been closed and his job is to drive the bookmobile. While setting up a five panel exhibit in the Dixon and Pickering department store on the history of the store, the security guard comes to tell Israel that the store has been robbed and Mr.
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Feb 18, 2010
BJ Rose
rated it: 
I wasn't all that crazy about the first book in this series, The Case of the Missing Books, but I liked the idea of the Mobile Library in a small village in Northern Ireland, so I gave the series a second chance and am glad I did.
Israel Armstrong is the librarian - a young, Jewish vegetarian "stuck in the middle of nowhere in the north of the north of Northern Ireland" and driving a beat-up and much-repaired mobile library. Other than living in a chicken coop, his biggest More...
Israel Armstrong is the librarian - a young, Jewish vegetarian "stuck in the middle of nowhere in the north of the north of Northern Ireland" and driving a beat-up and much-repaired mobile library. Other than living in a chicken coop, his biggest More...
Jan 30, 2011
Nilo
rated it:
Inizia in sordina , poi si scatena
Secondo atto del Bibliobus di Tundrum. Devo dire la verità , all'inizio sono rimasto interdetto perchè le prime venti pagine mi avevano dato la sensazione che l'autore avesse scritto il libro per forza e non perchè ne avesse una reale volontà. Poi è esploso il pandemonio. Come spesso accade con Samson la trama è tutta da scoprire via via che la storia scorre inesorabile fra le pagine del libro. La struttura è la stessa del primo volume e quindi c'è poco da More...
Secondo atto del Bibliobus di Tundrum. Devo dire la verità , all'inizio sono rimasto interdetto perchè le prime venti pagine mi avevano dato la sensazione che l'autore avesse scritto il libro per forza e non perchè ne avesse una reale volontà. Poi è esploso il pandemonio. Come spesso accade con Samson la trama è tutta da scoprire via via che la storia scorre inesorabile fra le pagine del libro. La struttura è la stessa del primo volume e quindi c'è poco da More...
Feb 10, 2009
Lsexton
rated it: 
I was hoping for more from book 2 of the Mobile Library Mystery series.
Israel is back, as incompetent as ever, and still living in a chicken coop on George's farm. This time he is being framed in the disappearance of local mogul, Mr. Dixon.
I think this book relied too heavily on the funky characters and Irish setting. There's not much interesting about the mystery. Is Israel being set up by the cops? Why? The evidence is so shaky, it's unbelievable, even for a spoof. The More...
Israel is back, as incompetent as ever, and still living in a chicken coop on George's farm. This time he is being framed in the disappearance of local mogul, Mr. Dixon.
I think this book relied too heavily on the funky characters and Irish setting. There's not much interesting about the mystery. Is Israel being set up by the cops? Why? The evidence is so shaky, it's unbelievable, even for a spoof. The More...
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Sep 25, 2007
Jen
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I love love love this series, and I'm not even a mystery fan. The Mobile Library Mystery series is a spoof on sort of Agatha Christie novels. The narrator does little more than bumble around and fall in and out of trouble. Great, fun reads -- can't wait for the next one!
I reviewed this book for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
I reviewed this book for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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May 11, 2011
esterb
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 09, 2010
Kerry
rated it:
Odd, odd, odd. I thought this series sounded nice. A librarian who finds himself in precarious situations in Northern Ireland. However, the narrator is such an odd duck. Maybe I needed to start with the initial book to get the lay of the land and I may give it a shot because the plot is still appealing. I do really like the voices of the supporting characters and their tales which provide a juxtaposition to the main characters dullness. I just think the main character's voice is rather annoying.
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Oct 19, 2010
Sheila
rated it:
The continued adventures of mobile librarian Israel Armstrong, pretentious intellectual and all-around wet rag. Armstrong has managed to develop a bit of spunk since his first adventure (The Case of the Missing Books), but he still finds himself the hapless victim of circumstances beyond his control. Once again, this is a book that will probably appeal to those who love a good cozy, but - again - don't expect a bunch of dead bodies. The ending was a little ho-hum, but like the first one, most of
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Aug 09, 2011
Jane
rated it:
A librarian as sleuth! I've been waiting for this. Add to this that it's set in Ireland and it was a sure hit for me.
Israel Armstrong lives in a chicken coop and operates a run down mobile library in Northern Ireland. Generally his biggest problem is getting people to return their library books. But then while setting up a five panel display on the history of the Dixon and Pickering Department Store it is discovered that the store has been robbed and Mr. Dixon is missing. Of cou More...
Israel Armstrong lives in a chicken coop and operates a run down mobile library in Northern Ireland. Generally his biggest problem is getting people to return their library books. But then while setting up a five panel display on the history of the Dixon and Pickering Department Store it is discovered that the store has been robbed and Mr. Dixon is missing. Of cou More...
Jul 04, 2010
Rachel
rated it:
Well, it's really more of the same from Ian Sansom with this second book in the Mobile Library series. And for that, I love him! This book goes a bit deeper than the last, brings a few more of Israel's (and the rest of Tumdrum's) complications, flaws, and redeeming qualities to light. And despite the fact that Israel is still decidedly not Irish yet, you see the flavor of Tumdrum seeping into him a bit more each day, as though by osmosis. But Samson holds true to what worked so well in the f
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Jul 31, 2011
I think this is a cozy mystery, but I'm a little fuzzy on the definition. Small town, low stakes (a kidnapping rather than the murder I usually read mysteries about) and a librarian as the sleuth. However, if this is an example of cozies, I think I'll stick with my murder mysteries from now on. There was nothing wrong with the book, I just didn't find it exciting. The reviews all say it's humorous, but I didn't find it to be that, either. I'm chalking that up to conflicting senses of humour. Oh
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Sep 01, 2009
Bibliophile
rated it:
The second of Ian Sansom's "Mobile Library" mysteries about the half-Jewish, half-Irish Israel Armstrong, the mobile librarian and fish completely out of water in the small Northern Irish town of Tumdrum. Like The Case of the Missing Books, this was a quick entertaining read, and I particularly enjoyed both Sansom's horrifying description of a bibliophile who feels that he may have erred in his lifelong devotion to books as quoted below.
"He had always believed that re More...
"He had always believed that re More...
Nov 12, 2009
Bernadette
rated it:
Israel Armstrong is the librarian for the Tumdrum and District Mobile Library, Northern Ireland. One Saturday morning he arrives at Dixon and Pickering's Department Store to set up his acclaimed five-panel touring exhibition of the store's history to find the store’s proprietor, Mr Dixon, has disappeared and someone’s stolen all the cash from the safe. The Police arrest Israel for the crimes and when he's released on bail he has to try to solve the case using techniques gleaned from a random sel
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Aug 01, 2011
As a librarian, I was attracted to this series because it's about a librarian. Israel has characteristics I see in myself and in my collegues, but not all: people mistaken as know-it-alls, by the public and themselves. As much I love the character Israel Armstrong, I love the townspeople in this series more. I think of the series as a more erudite Hamish McBeth (M. C. Beaton). Both series are quite like the television series Northern Exposure: quirky characters in usual settings.
Aug 03, 2008
Ann
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Well, this was silly, silly, silly, but just the sort of escapist fiction I needed this weekend. Israel Armstrong is a chubby, male, Jewish, vegetarian librarian from London, who drives the mobile library in a small town in the north of the north of Northern Ireland. His simple life takes a turn for the worse when Mr. Dixon, the owner of the local department store disappears and Israel is accused of kidnapping, or worse. Israel and local cab driver Ted (the Bear) Carson set out to prove Israel's
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Mar 22, 2010
Heathergrady
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This series, about a British librarian in rural Ireland, are quirky and pretty hysterical (in that British way). This installment is about the disappearance of department store owner Mr. Dixon. Israel (the librarian) is the number one suspect. He can't have done it...after all--he's the librarian! Laugh out loud scenes including the strip search! before his booking. Ends with a texting phrase I don't know--"SPK". I assume this means speak, but this doesn't make sense in this context.
Jul 30, 2011
Sophiene
rated it:
I like this mobile library mysteries series, but when I am reading them they tire me out. These people just can't communicate, they don't listen to one another, understand everything wrong and just plain talk to each other without listening. We have a saying in dutch for this sort of talk, but I wouldn't know how to translate it into english. There are some wonderful characters in these books and I love them all, except maybe for Linda..?!
Jan 25, 2011
Angela
rated it:
Israel continues his bumbling sleuthing and socially awkward library service in this second book in the series. As before the supporting characters provide most of the color and humor. This is neither your idyllic pastoral Ireland or your violent protest-ridden Ireland---just a damp, muddy tiny town with no decent coffee or bagels! Love the way the author weaves in book digs on genres/titles that he finds annoying!
Dec 26, 2009
Connie
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Israel Armstrong, a Jewish, vegetarian, librarian is the main character in this series by Ian Sansom. Since I am a Jewish, vegetarian, librarian, I have really enjoyed the books in this short series. The books take place in Northern Ireland. I live in Texas, but I often find myself laughing out loud as I read about Israel's humorous and eccentric escapades.
Aug 04, 2009
Carmen
rated it:
I really enjoyed this second book in the series. It is supposed to be a mystery, but I find myself continously laughing as I read it. He is so absurdly funny. All's I can think about when I read his books is this could so happen to me! In this one, the owner of a lucrative department store vanishes and the safe is empty. Guess who is accused of the crime?
Sep 07, 2011
Phil
rated it:
Entertaining, in spite of a thin mystery plot. What I found good in this was that several characters who appeared in the premier are fleshed out and more interesting than foils or stock characters. I am in the midst of reading the third volume in this series and am finding the fleshed out characters more interesting and contributing to the plot.
Jun 17, 2010
There was so much tortured self-reflection, daydreaming, and random contemplations that I couldn't find the plot. In the seventy-one pages I managed to read before losing interest, I probably skimmed about fifty of them trying to get back to the action. All the things that charmed me in the first novel annoyed me in this one. Goodbye, Sansom. It's been a trip.
Mar 17, 2010
Lauren
rated it:
I'm enjoying this series very much, but the plot line in this title was a little hard to swallow. Maybe I'm just not familiar with police procedures in Ireland, but what Israel had to go through just struck me as a little much...
Still, I love the characters and the dialog is top-notch. I've started the third title in the series already!
Still, I love the characters and the dialog is top-notch. I've started the third title in the series already!
Oct 26, 2011
Donna
rated it:
Ha Ha! That is all I can say! This was a delightful second novel about Israel Armstrong out in Ireland running the mobil library van. This man gets into more trouble than any one can imagine. I found myself laughing and smiling all the while I read the book. The first one was good, but I had to get use to the Irish/English humor. I get it! Funny!
Jun 11, 2009
M and G
rated it:
I really wanted three and a half stars for this one. It didn't grab me as much as the Disappearing books that came before, but was good light, easy reading with some humourous touches and a good pace. It does leave me feeling I'd like to know what happens next, so a rewarding book to read all in all. Also got mooched within minutes of relisting it!
Dec 27, 2008
Pipgargery
rated it:
My least favorite of the series, but still a good read. It was somewhere in the middle of this book that I really began to like and pull for the main character, Israel. He has a disturbing kind of pathetic likability that makes the series so much fun to read.
Sep 10, 2011
If you liked the first installment of this series, you will like Mr. Dixon Disappears. Israel is just as funny and frustrating, and he does some deep thinking in this one, although I suspect very little will of it help him in the details of his life as he lives it. This series reminds me a little of the Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries by Alexander McCall Smith - they are more about personalities, location, and the meandering thoughts of the main character than they are about the mystery.
Mar 21, 2010
Susannah
rated it:
This was the first Ian Sansom I read -- great fun as a Jewish former London resident myself. Can't say he paints that compelling a picture of Northern Ireland, but it's good for armchair travel at any rate.
Sep 21, 2011
Ms_prue
rated it:
I laughed out loud repeatedly. If you're after a mystery, this may not be your book, but if you're in the market for some lovely characters and scenery from The Regions, why, this is just delightful.
Apr 05, 2011
Rob
rated it: 
Not fair to judge a book by its cover but that's about all that held my interest. Please do not take this review as an anything more than a guy who could not get pass the first page.
