The Jenny: A New York Library Detective Novel - Softcover

Beasley, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0915317036 ISBN 13: 9780915317035

Publisher: Davus Pub, 1994

About this title

From the Back Cover

FOR STAMP COLLECTORS, LIBRARIANS, MYSTERY FANS and lovers of intrigue.

Billing it as "the largest recovery of rare postage stamps in U.S. history," the FBI has finally announced the results of its extensive search for the 153 U.S. stamps stolen from the New York Public Library.... All of the recovered stamps could be traced back to an old-time Pennsylvania stamp dealer who died.... No arrests were made in connection with the theft, and the statute of limitations has now expired. The dealer's records and bank statements were subpoenaed by a grand jury investigating the theft, but the FBI was unsuccessful in its attempts to puzzle out, from these records, just how the dealer came to possess the stolen stamps.... (Linn's Stamp News)

This is the published version. There is another version set forth here. Library detective Rudyard Mack with the help of an outspoken library union leader named Arbuthnott Vine leads us through the corridors of power in one of the country's showplaces. We see its "upstairs/ downstairs" reflecting the life of New York City surrounding it like a rough sea about a lighthouse. Mack's tenacious pursuit of the "Inverted Jenny," the 24-cent 1918 airmail stamp in which the mail plane was printed upside down, combines with his subconscious pursuit of love to lead him to the mastermind behind the theft. This is the story that the grand jury did not know.

Review

I have two terminal illnesses. One, I am an incurable philatelist: second, I am addicted to murder mysteries. And when the two afflict me at the same time I become a totally incapacitated recluse. Such was the case when I was invited to read this delightful little book by David Beasley. Based on the true case of a theft of a collection of rare stamps several years ago, the well written story is set in New York City (which, by coincidence, is where I was born), specifically within the New York Public Library. The intricuate plot involves the search by library detective Rudyard Mack for a mysteriously missing stamp display including the prized "Inverted Jenny," at least two murders, the intrigue of an international stamp cartel, and the nearly insoluble twists and turns of changing suspects that held me riveted until the case was finally resolved. Easily read in either a couple of relaxed evenings or one long "wee-small-hours" session, the only thing that might have made me enjoy it more would have been if the theft had also included a set of rare Rotary International commemoratives--say a set of the 1948 Brazilian unissued proofs (of which only 50 were produced unlike the 100 Jennies)--but that is my personal weakness and then the story might not have as wide a readership or general appeal. Beasley, having been a librarian at the NYPL, obviously has detailed knowledge of the inner workings of the great library in New York which, together with his apparent excellent philatelic knowledge, make the story come to life with a believable realism. -- Richard J. Dickson, Rotary on Stamps Bulletin, 02.95

About this edition

• Publisher: Davus Pub
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0915317036
• ISBN 13: 9780915317035
• Binding: Paperback