I almost didn't like this, as it veered into unbearably twee/Ready Reader One territory, with its quaint old bookshop, loveable old owner, odd customers taking odd books, suggestions of a secret society chasing down a hidden message for centuries, then getting gazumped by Google, a nerdy protagonist with unbearably cool and useful friends and flatmates and even a pixie dream girl girlfriend (non-manic or that would have been the final straw,) but somehow it teetered back from the brink and managed to cram in a clever heist and a neat treasure hunt before a surprisingly lovely climax filled with friendship and optimism.