A J Fikry, the title character, suffers tragic losses and, just when he is on the verge of packing it all in, a foundling changes his life and he, in turn, changes his community. AJ\'s bookstore is the catalyst. Gabriel Zevin opens each chapter with AJ\'s personal summary of a literary work showing how the lessons of literature are personal and poignant.

Donna Andrews has created some interesting characters and a good satire of exttravagant weddings and small town cultures. All this wrapped in a mystery story.

In true mystery-writer fashion, Dick Francis kept me guessing as to "who done it" until the very end. On a human level, it's a story of a man who takes a stand and changes his life and as a result discovers a gift and love. There is some moral ambiguity surrounding the main character, Philip Nore, that is intriguing. It's informative on steeplechase racing in England and photograpy (although the technology has change dramatically since the book was published.