The Rare Books Detective
Would you kill for a book? It's possible that a rare book is at the center of one of New York's most publicized and mysterious deaths. The rarefied world of antiquarian book dealers is fighting off 21st-century scam artists from all over the world. This article looks at Ken Sanders, a self-appointed investigator for the trade (based mostly in New York) who has helped identify scams and scam artists as far away as Nigeria. Still at large is a mysterious Russian (who may be mob-connected) whom he suspects was involved in the death of Svetlana Aronov, a fellow dealer in New York who disappeared one night when she went out to walk her dog. Aronov's disappearance made headlines, and she was found a few weeks later floating in the East River. Although the death was ruled accidental, Sanders has other ideas.