Mr. Berger has spent thirty-four years keeping his life as empty as possible. His job title as a 'Closed Accounts Registrar' doesn't spark much interest, and his cautious flirtation with a woman at his company was cut short upon her engagement to another man. This doesn't bother him, however, as he much prefers the company of books to that of people.

When a series of fortunate events leads to an early retirement in the English countryside, Mr. Berger is content to spend the remainder of his years nestled comfortably between the pages of a book. But fate has other plans.

His serene life is rendered strange when he witnesses a tragedy chillingly reminiscent of Anna Karenina as a woman flings herself before a train. When he rushes to the scene, she has vanished, leaving no body on the tracks. Berger's investigation into this event leads him to The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository, where the line between fiction and reality becomes blurred beyond comprehension.

The DEATH SENTENCE series includes:

1. THE BOOK OF VIRTUE — Ken Bruen.
2. THE BOOK OF GHOSTS — Reed Farrel Coleman.
3. THE SCROLL — Anne Perry.
4. PRONGHORNS OF THE THIRD REICH — C.J. Box.
5. DEATH LEAVES A BOOKMARK — William Link.
6. AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE — Jeffery Deaver.
7. BOOK CLUB — Loren D. Estleman.
8. THE BOOK THING — Laura Lippman.
9. THE LONG SONATA OF THE DEAD — Andrew Taylor.
10. THE FINAL TESTAMENT — Peter Blauner.
11. RIDES A STRANGER — David Bell.
12. WHAT'S IN A NAME — Thomas H. Cook.
13. IT'S IN THE BOOK — Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins.
14. REMAINDERED — Peter Lovesey.
15. MYSTERY, INC. — Joyce Carol Oates.
16. THE COMPENDIUM OF SREM — F. Paul Wilson.
17. THE GOSPEL OF SHEBA — Lyndsay Faye.
18. THE SEQUEL — R. L. Stine.
19. FROM THE QUEEN — Carolyn Hart.
20. THE BOOK OF THE LION — Thomas Perry.
21. THE LITTLE MEN — Megan Abbott.
22. THE NATURE OF MY INHERITANCE — Bradford Morrow.
23. CITADEL — Stephen Hunter.
24. EVERY SEVEN YEARS — Denise Mina.
26. THE TRAVELLING COMPANION — Ian Rankin.
27. CONDOR IN THE STACKS — James Grady.
28. THE HAZE — James W. Hall.
29. THE PRETTY LITTLE BOX — Charles Todd.
30. SEVEN YEARS — Peter Robinson.
31. RECONCILIATION DAY — Christopher Fowler.
32. DEAD DAMES DON'T SING — John Harvey.
33. HOODOO HARRY — Joe R. Lansdale.
34. THE LAST HONEST HORSE THIEF — Michael Koryta.
35. THE HEMINGWAY VALISE — Robert Olen Butler.
36. THE CAXTON PRIVATE LENDING LIBRARY & BOOK DEPOSITORY — John Connolly.