Back in library school I was introduced to the book talk, the art of giving a brief presentation to potential readers that conveys the sense of a book with, perhaps, an especially compelling quote from the text. The idea is to tempt potential readers without giving away every twist and turn of the plot.

THEY DIED IN VAIN, edited by Jim Huang, is, essentially, a series of book talks -- 103 of them, to be exact. The trick is that all of them discuss mysteries that are, for one reason or another, obscure. The authors of these brief essays are booksellers, reviewers, librarians, and in all cases fans of the genre. Some of them write elegantly about their forgotten gems, while other essays are more workmanlike. Most discuss a single work, but a few actually talk up a whole series that seems unfairly overlooked. One thing all these essays have in common is a real enthusiasm for the title under discussion. They are also by and large blessedly free of inadvertent spoilers.

There are thrillers, cozies, PI novels, and police procedurals included here, with publications dates ranging from the last couple of years back to before the Golden Age. Most are British or American titles, but there is a smattering of titles from or about other locales. What they all have in common is the fact that, despite the fact that they failed to gain wide readership, something about each of them appealed very strongly to one of these essayists.

I read my copy with a pencil in one hand, marking titles I knew I'd want to look up later. That, I'd say, is the great value of this book: it's part handbook and part textbook. At the back is a handy listing of every book discussed, with information about its current publisher. Quite a few are, of course, out of print, which only adds to the thrill of the hunt. Some are fairly obscure titles by well-known authors. I've never read anything by Liza Cody, but I put a star next to BUCKET NUT, whose main character is a female wrestler ("the London Lassassin") who acts as bagman (bag woman?) for mobsters. In the essay she sounds like an older, tougher, female version of the protagonist of "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner."

There are books discussed here that appeal to me hugely, a few I might pick up if I ever fall over them, and a lot that sound like they aren't my cup of tea at all. Every reader can expect to have this same response, not necessarily to the same books I did. But, given how many mysteries have been published, and how many sort of faded from view before getting to the very people who might want to know about them, this book is a wonderful addition to the collection of every mystery lover who wants to answer the question, "What do I read next?" with something a little out of the way.

Oh, and if anyone cares, my personal addition to this listing would be THE WEIRD WORLD OF WES BEATTIE, by John Norman Harris. Funny, I hadn't thought about that book for years until I got this one.