LibraryReads Selection Ideas

It is almost Thanksgiving and that long break from school and work may provide a nice window to sit down and relax with a longer read.  There is certainly plenty of choice – with recent National Book Awards announcement, The New York Times’ list of Notable Books being released this week, and voting ongoing for Goodreads Choice Awards.  Here, I am going to note several LibraryReads selections – some of the 10 books chosen each month by librarians to recommend to their patrons:

I look forward to and definitely recommend titles by Kate Morton, international bestselling author of The House at Riverton, since she offers a kind of Gothic mystery that both challenges and entertains. There’s suspense and a bit of romantic tension in each, including her latest, THE CLOCKMAKER'S DAUGHTER which was a LibraryReads selection in October. In this novel, which bridges 150 years, Morton introduces Edward Radcliffe and his artistic associates who are spending the summer of 1862 at Birchwood Manor on the upper Thames. Intending to escape and focus on creative endeavors, they instead experience a murder, a disappearance, and a jewelry theft. Once again, Morton features a house that bears witness through generations as a modern day archivist, Elodie Winslow, discovers a photo and drawing which prompts her hunt for family connections. Pick up this novel if you are looking for historical fiction dealing with art and secrets; THE CLOCKMAKER'S DAUGHTER received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.  

 

A LibraryReads selection in September, TRANSCRIPTION by Kate Atkinson is another suspenseful work of historical fiction set during the Second World War and 1950s London. The main character is Juliet who at 18 is first employed to rather naively transcribe wartime conversations for the British intelligence service, MI5, and who increasingly becomes involved in espionage activities, and later works as a BBC producer on children’s programming.  Once again, Atkinson describes how events and choices reverberate across time, causing the reader to reflect on the meaning of patriotism, on guilt, and on fate’s tragic repercussions.  TRANSCRIPTION received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and Library Journal.

VIRGIL WANDER by Leif Enger (Peace Like a River) was an October LibraryReads selection and could easily work as a Junior Theme choice given the publisher’s description as a “timeless all-American story that follows the inhabitants of a small Midwestern town in their quest to revive its flagging heart.” Virgil’s car runs off the road into Lake Superior near Greenstone, Minnesota and he suffers memory loss as a result.  Virgil’s subsequent and sometimes humorous interactions with residents (including a romantic interest, a best friend and newspaper editor, and a pet raccoon called Genghis) and also visitors (like Rune, a fan of kite flying who is looking for his long lost son) charmingly chronicles attempts at recovery for both Virgil and the town. VIRGIL WANDER received starred reviews from Library Journal (“surprises and delights throughout”) and Booklist (“Virgil's narration is a joy: he lost his adjectives in the crash, making for their gleeful insertion each time he remembers one.”).

 

THE LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean is actually a narrative non-fiction work that tells the story of the Los Angeles Public Library fire which occurred in 1986. This text, too, includes a bit of a mystery given that the cause of the fire was suspicious and Orlean deftly explores the story of suspect Harry Peak.  She also comments on her own relationship with books and reading, especially reflecting on childhood visits to the library with her mother. Overall, this is a fascinating look at library operations. Please see the video below for more visual detail from a PBS NewsHour interview with author Susan Orlean:

A LibraryReads selection in October and recipient of starred reviews from Booklist and Library Journal, THE LIBRARY BOOK will be appreciated by bibliophiles and fans of libraries everywhere.

New Mysteries from Susan Elia MacNeal and Rhys Bowen

THE PRISONER IN THE CASTLE by Susan Elia MacNeal is yet another well-written mystery in the Maggie Hope series (see also previously reviewed titles like The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent and The Paris Spy). Maggie performs clandestine work for the British government during WWII and in this novel, she is sent to the “cooler” on an isolated island in the north of Scotland. As a kind of “house party,” she and several other trained spies are detained together due to various reasons like emotional breakdowns, too much knowledge, violent tendencies and so forth. They are forced to stay at the decrepit Killoch Castle whose past owner was accused of murdering his guests and committing suicide. While spending their days fishing, hunting, eating and drinking, these professional soldiers are frustrated at being forced to sit out the war, but that quickly changes to fear and paranoia as more and more members of their group are murdered in a manner reminiscent of Christie’s And Then There Were None. THE PRISONER IN THE CASTLE is a bit more of a “cozy” mystery than earlier titles in the series, but Maggie still needs all of her training and some quick thinking to survive in this entertaining, well-researched historical mystery.

 

FOUR FUNERALS AND MAYBE A WEDDING by Rhys Bowen is set in England a couple of years earlier and is part of The Royal Spyness series. The main character is slightly flighty and ever impoverished Lady Georgiana Rannoch who is planning her July 1935 wedding to Darcy O’Mara. As part of the royal family, Lady Georgiana bows to the Queen’s suggestion that the princesses (Elizabeth and Margaret) be bridesmaids. She is also lucky enough to be offered Eynsleigh, an estate of one of her mother’s former husbands, as a place to live. Forewarned that “all might not be as it should be” at Eynsleigh, she arrives to find a completely new staff who appear incompetent and insolent. Channeling her great grandmother Queen Victoria, Lady Georgiana attempts to put things right and is reinforced by the arrival of her mother, grandfather, and former maid, Queenie. Despite several attempts on her life and other suspicious activities, this cozy mystery is very light and diverting. FOUR FUNERALS AND MAYBE A WEDDING is a LibraryReads selection for August and received a starred review from Library Journal.

Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht

WHO IS VERA KELLY? by Rosalie Knecht has been called a literary spy novel which is an apt description, In fact, Knecht’s intriguing exploration of identity and coming of age mixed with political tension applies to her earlier work, Relief Map, which I also recommend. The setting for WHO IS VERA KELLY? alternates between the late 1950s on the East Coast of the United States and mid-1960s Cold War era in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  As a troubled teen dealing with her father’s death and exploring her own sexual identity, Vera is sent to reform school; less than a decade later she has been recruited to work for the CIA in South America and faces a coup on the near horizon. Knecht’s writing always captures my attention and I am fascinated by the misunderstandings and quick, clever thinking her characters experience. There is a wonderful balance between internal dialogues and action-packed suspense. This cover is fabulous, too, and it’s helping to promote the book – the person in the queue in front of me at the public library was checking it out today. Our copy of WHO IS VERA KELLY? will be on the school library shelves soon.