Et cetera : What We're Reading: The Burning Library

I chose my latest novel based upon its book cover and title. The cover states “A deadly rivalry. A chilling secret. One woman who can decipher the truth.” 'The Burning Library' by Gilly Macmillan does just that and a bit more.

We begin in Scotland with the murder of Eleanor Bruton, who is the latest owner of a piece of frayed embroidery that may hold the secret to finding the lost “Book of Wonders,” which is worth millions.

There are two strong groups of women -The women in the Order of St. Katherine believe in the traditional ways of women and gain their power and control in the shadows while members of The Fellowship of the Larks prefer to gain their power without using men to do so. Both are very powerful groups and just how far will they go to be the owners of this valuable manuscript.

Young graduate Dr. Anya Brown and Detective Clio Spicer are sought out to blindly assist in the discovery of The Book of Wonders, and the novel takes on a fast pace of finding the rare manuscript. This is a true mystery, and it's unclear how many more must die before the truth about The Book of Wonders comes out.

Greed, power, and murder, what more do I need in a novel?! Stage it with strong leading women and we have a dark novel that will keep you guessing as you turn the pages. I give it 4 out of 5 stars simply because of all the characters I had to keep track of in this fast-paced novel. I hope you check it out and enjoy reading it as much as I did.

~ Lisa