diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
index 4d5c52a..9b70385 100644
--- a/main.py
+++ b/main.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import db
 import sftp as sftp_module
 import sync
 import uploader
-from uploader import delete_book, fetch_all_books, find_duplicate_groups
+from uploader import CalibreClient, delete_book, fetch_all_books, find_duplicate_groups
 
 logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format="%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(name)s — %(message)s")
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -222,13 +222,15 @@ def _run_dedup():
     try:
         cfg = config.load()
         log.info("Dedup: fetching all books ...")
+        client = CalibreClient(cfg.calibre)
+        client._ensure_auth()
         books = fetch_all_books(cfg.calibre)
         groups = find_duplicate_groups(books)
         to_delete = [b for group in groups for b in sorted(group, key=lambda x: x.get("id", 0))[1:]]
         _dedup_state.update({"total": len(to_delete), "deleted": 0, "failed": 0})
         log.info("Dedup: %d duplicate(s) to delete across %d group(s)", len(to_delete), len(groups))
         for book in to_delete:
-            ok, msg = delete_book(cfg.calibre, book["id"])
+            ok, msg = delete_book(cfg.calibre, book["id"], client)
             if ok:
                 _dedup_state["deleted"] += 1
             else:
diff --git a/uploader.py b/uploader.py
index fdf1463..ad6491d 100644
--- a/uploader.py
+++ b/uploader.py
@@ -174,7 +174,10 @@ def fetch_all_books(cfg: CalibreConfig) -> list[dict]:
         data = resp.json()
         # Calibre-Web uses DataTables format: "data"/"recordsTotal", older versions use "rows"/"total_count"
         rows = data.get("rows") or data.get("data") or []
-        total = data.get("total") or data.get("totalNotFiltered") or 0
+        total = (
+            data.get("recordsTotal") or data.get("total_count") or
+            data.get("total") or data.get("totalNotFiltered") or 0
+        )
         all_books.extend(rows)
         log.info("Books fetched: %d / %d", len(all_books), total)
         if not rows or len(all_books) >= total:
@@ -183,13 +186,23 @@ def fetch_all_books(cfg: CalibreConfig) -> list[dict]:
     return all_books
 
 
-def delete_book(cfg: CalibreConfig, book_id: int) -> tuple[bool, str]:
-    """Delete a book from Calibre-Web by ID."""
-    client = CalibreClient(cfg)
-    client._ensure_auth()
+def delete_book(cfg: CalibreConfig, book_id: int, client: "CalibreClient | None" = None) -> tuple[bool, str]:
+    """Delete a book from Calibre-Web by ID. Pass a pre-authenticated client to avoid re-auth overhead."""
+    if client is None:
+        client = CalibreClient(cfg)
+        client._ensure_auth()
+    csrf = client._upload_csrf
+    if not csrf:
+        # Try to fetch a CSRF token from the book detail page
+        try:
+            page = client._session.get(f"{cfg.url}/book/{book_id}", timeout=15)
+            csrf = _extract_csrf(page.text)
+            client._upload_csrf = csrf
+        except Exception:
+            pass
     resp = client._session.post(
         f"{cfg.url}/delete/{book_id}",
-        data={"csrf_token": client._upload_csrf} if client._upload_csrf else {},
+        data={"csrf_token": csrf} if csrf else {},
         timeout=30,
     )
     if resp.ok: