That Sleep of Death ($1.33 Kindle), by Richard King, has too tempting a premise, so I grabbed it up after reading just a couple of pages of the sample.
Book Description
Sam Wiseman runs an independent bookstore near McGill University in the heart of Montreal. His existence is untroubled and his relationships are steady - until the day he stops a shoplifter. Out of this seemingly innocent incident, Sam becomes friends with Gaston Lemieux, a police detective with a great affection for nineteenth-century British novels.
The friendship comes into play when Sam discovers the body of professor Harold Hilliard - a long-time customer of the store - dead in his office at McGill. Sam is implicated in the murder when it is discovered that the victim is clutching a special order form from Sam's store in what clearly is an attempt to reveal the identity of his murderer.
Part police-procedural and part cozy mystery, That Sleep of Death introduces a new sleuth to the Canadian murder-mystery scene - one whose continuing presence will be anticipated and enjoyed for mysteries to come.