Susan Sand Advance Reading Copy

My gorgeous rare Susan Sand book!

I recently obtained a rare version of the first Susan Sand book: an Advance Reading Copy of "The Mystery at Hollowhearth House". This book was produced just as the series began, to promote the series. The book format is similar to the later published version, except that there is an extra banner on front and the back has promotional text instead of the plot summary, which is instead located in the interior of the book. The book also does not have a price, ISBN number, or barcode.

All of the Susan Sand books are scarce, but this book is truly rare. I only know of one other series book collector who has a copy. Not many of the Advance Reading Copy books would have been published, and probably most of the ones that were published did not survive. I feel very fortunate to own one!

I found the book by accident. I ordered the book from Thriftbooks for $8 US, including shipping to Australia. There were no pictures of the book, but it was described as being in "very good condition", so I decided to take a chance and ordered it. I am working on collecting a set of the Susan Sand books that are in decent condition, and I want to upgrade my copy of the first book. Besides, the book was so inexpensive that it wasn't a big risk in terms of money.

The book took over a month to arrive from America, but when it did I was delighted to discover that not only is the book in excellent condition, it is also a rare Advance Reading Copy. What a lucky purchase!

Here are some more pictures of the book:

A closer view of the banner.

Promotional text on the back of the book.

The plot summary on the inside of the book.

And here are some pictures of the Advance Reading Copy compared with the later published version:

The fronts of the books.

The backs of the books.

Plot summaries.

The spines of the books..

This book is now one of the most prized in my mystery series book collection. What a gem!

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