Previous club selections.
The island of missing trees
Elif Shafak
2021
ISBN: 9781635578591
"Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he's searching for lost love. Years later a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has never visited -- her only connection to her family's troubled history and her complex identity as she seeks to untangle years of secrets to find her place in the world. A moving, beautifully written, and delicately constructed story of love, division, transcendence, history, and eco-consciousness, The Island of Missing Trees is Elif Shafak's best work yet." -- Jacket flap.
A storm of infinite beauty : a novel
Julianne MacLean
2023
ISBN: 9781542036726
Gwen Hollingsworth is the curator at a museum in Nova Scotia dedicated to the Hollywood legend Scarlett Fontaine's life. Gwen is also sole descendant and heir to Scarlett's fortune. Gwen is dealing with a messy marital separation and is struggling to move forward. So when Peter Miller, a biographer and photojournalist, come to the museum with shocking claims about Scarlett, which include a life of exile in Alaska and a baby born in secret, Gwen's whole world is turned upside down. Gwen and Peter set out for Alaska together to uncover the truth, but they soon find themselves on a path toward something far deeper and meaningful than either of them ever expected.
The personal librarian
Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
2021
ISBN: 9780593101537
"The remarkable, little-known story of Belle da Costa Greene, J. P. Morgan's personal librarian-who became one of the most powerful women in New York despite the dangerous secret she kept in order to make her dreams come true, from New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict and acclaimed author Victoria Christopher Murray. In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. Pierpont Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture on the New York society scene and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps build a world-class collection. But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and well-known advocate for equality. Belle's complexion isn't dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white-her complexion is dark because she is African American. The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths she must go-for the protection of her family and her legacy-to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives"-- Provided by publisher.
The maid : a novel
Nita Prose
2022
ISBN: 9780593356159
"A charmingly eccentric hotel maid discovers a guest murdered in his bed, turning her once orderly world upside down--and inspiring a motley crew of unexpected allies to band together to solve the mystery--in this utterly original debut. Molly Dunn is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and interprets people literally. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has had to navigate life's complexities all by herself. No matter--she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection. But Molly's orderly life is turned on its head the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself very dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's odd demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect and she finds herself in a web of subtext and nuance she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, a medley of friends she didn't realize she had refuses to let her be charged with murder--but will they be able to discover the real killer before it's too late? A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different--and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart"-- Provided by publisher.
The raven's gift
Don Rearden
2013
ISBN: 9780143187493
After a deadly epidemic strikes a Yup'ik village, newly widowed teacher John Morgan must make the thousand-mile trek across the Alaskan wilderness for help and encounters a blind Yup'ik girl and an elderly woman who need his protection.
The lace reader : a novel
Brunonia Barry
2008
ISBN: 9780061624766
A young woman descended from a long line of mind readers and fortune tellers has returned to her hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, for rest and relaxation. Any tranquility in her life is short-lived, however, when her aunt drowns under mysterious circumstances.
The lost apothecary
Sarah Penner
2021
ISBN: 9780778311010
A forgotten history. A secret network of women. A legacy of poison and revenge. Welcome to the lost apothecary. Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientèle. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. Nella's dark world is no place for her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old girl named Eliza Fanning, but their unexpected bond sparks a string of consequences that echoes through the centuries. Two hundred years later, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell discovers an aged apothecary vial in the River Thames. As she is newly grappling with the searing betrayal of her husband's infidelity, a curious research project is exactly the distraction Caroline needs. But when she discovers a link between the vial and London's long-unsolved "apothecary murders," Caroline's upended present soon collides with an explosive history, binding her fate to Nella's and Eliza's in a stunning twist that transcends the barrier of time. -- From dust jacket.
The invisible life of Addie LaRue
V.E. Schwab
2020
ISBN: 9780765387561
France, 1714. In a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever-- and cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Addie LaRue's life will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art. After nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore. He remembers her name-- and everything changes. How far will she go to leave her mark on the world?