Title: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Author: Robin Sloan

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2012

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 305

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: I Love Libraries; Popsugar -- Set in Home State (bit of a cheat, but I'm claiming California as my home state now)

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone—and serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead "checking out" impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he's embarked on a complex analysis of the customers' behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what's going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore.

One of my book club selections for March. It was recommended by a friends, and I'm so glad we choose it. By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked. A mysterious bookstore in San Francisco? Sounds like the perfect place! As the story progressed, the plot went someone I did not anticipate, but was definitely entertaining. I loved following the twists and turns and attempting to solve the mystery before Clay. While some of the characters were not my favorite (hello Kat), I enjoyed most of them and realize their place in the story. Definitely recommend to all the bibliophiles in my acquaintance.