By: Allen Eskens
Narrator: Ilvana Muratovic
ISBN:9780316566315
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Publication Date: 02/18/2025
Format: Hardcover
My Rating: 5 Stars + (ARC)
After the murder of her best friend, a librarian’s search for answers leads back to her own dark secrets in this sweeping novel about a woman transformed by war, family, vengeance, and love, from award-winning writer Allen Eskens.
Hana Babic is a quiet, middle-aged librarian in Minnesota who wants nothing more than to be left alone. But when a detective arrives with the news that her best friend has been murdered, Hana knows that something evil has come for her, a dark remnant of the past she and her friend had shared.
Thirty years before, Hana was someone else: Nura Divjak, a teenager growing up in the mountains of war-torn Bosnia—until Serbian soldiers arrived to slaughter her entire family before her eyes. The events of that day thrust Nura into the war, leading her to join a band of militia fighters, where she became not only a fierce warrior but a legend—the deadly Night Mora. But a shattering final act forced Nura to flee to the United States with a bounty on her head.
Now, someone is hunting Hana, and her friend has paid the price, leaving her eight-year-old grandson in Hana’s care. To protect the child without revealing her secret, Hana must again become the Night Mora—and hope she can find the killer before the past comes for them, too.
My Review
Allen Eskens (a favorite author), award-winning master storyteller, once again wows fans with his expert ability to brilliantly cross genres with his latest historical fiction/literary masterpiece, THE QUIET LIBRARIAN.
"Inspired by actual events, THE QUIET LIBRARIAN is hauntingly rich—a powerful, unforgettable novel of courage, brutality, love, & survival.”
About...
Hana Babic is a quiet, middle-aged librarian known as the sweater lady in Minnesota who wants to remain under the radar.
However, a detective comes calling with bad news. Her best friend has been murdered, and she is left with the care of her best friend's eight-year-old grandson.
In addition, this means the past and evil have come calling for her. A past she hoped to leave behind.
Thirty years earlier, Hana was Nura Divjak, a teenager growing up in the mountains of war-torn Bosnia—until Serbian soldiers arrived to slaughter her entire family before her eyes. This traumatic event shaped her into a fierce warrior and a legend- the deadly Night Mora. She fled to the US, but the past and evil have come calling for her.
My thoughts...
THE QUIET LIBRARIAN is an enthralling, character-driven story of two female friends caught up by war, family, vengeance, love, and survival in this haunting, action-packed, compelling tale inspired by actual events.
Hana is a memorable character; I hope to see more of her. Eskens has delivered an unforgettable portrait of love, war, and survival. What a heroine!
Told from two timelines: Minnesota after everything and the Bosnia War 1992/1995.
It becomes clear that Hana's secret traumatic past, which she has tried to bury for the past 30 years, threatens to unravel her quiet life in Minnesota. The past and present converge for a powerful and emotional story of family, war, revenge, and redemption.
I highly recommend THE QUIET LIBRARIAN. Please read the extensive author's note to learn more about this horrific historical time and its devastation. Meticulously researched, the story is captivating, absorbing, and heartbreaking. It's an emotional story of grief, loss, and the horrors of war. Thank you, Allen, for bringing this story to life.
I am a huge fan of Allen Eskens and have read every book he has written. Each one is a treasure. He is one of today's best writers, from legal, crime, historical, thriller, mystery, and cop procedurals to literary fiction.
Recs...
For fans of the author and those who enjoy works of courageous women and works by Kristin Hannah, Kelly Rimmer, and Kristin Harmel.
Thank you to Mulholland Books and NetGalley for an advanced review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Feb 18, 2025
A sweeping novel about a woman transformed by war, family,
vengeance, and love.
Praise
"A searing and timely story of regret, retribution, and reinvention, set against a powerfully drawn backdrop of war and suffused with the reminder that we always have within us the power to light the way to a better tomorrow."
―Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Daughter
“This book will stay with me for a long, long time. From the very first lines, I knew I was in the hands of a master storyteller. Eskens effortlessly interweaves a compelling mystery in modern day Minnesota with a devastating account of one young girl’s experience of war thirty years prior. The novel unflinchingly urges its readers to consider the morally grey concept of retribution in light of the most terrible crimes. In stunning prose, it shows all too clearly the way war has the ability to make monsters of ordinary people and how neither side, victor or not, will be free of its poison for decades to come. Lamentably, this is all too relevant in today’s world. The Quiet Librarian is exquisitely written, profoundly affecting, and is undoubtedly one of the best books I will read this year.”
―Louise Fein, author of The London Bookshop Affair
“No typical whodunit, this is an intense and emotional story about grief, loss, and the horrors of war. . . . Hana is a compelling character readers can’t help but root for, even if they disagree with her actions. This book is perfect for fans of intense mysteries and those who like fiction featuring real-life history.” ―Booklist (starred)
"In The Quiet Librarian, Allen Eskens brings readers a suspenseful, heartrending story of friendship, strength and endurance, set against a history too rarely explored in fiction. This is a truly breathtaking read from a masterful storyteller and one I cannot recommend highly enough."
―Kelly Rimmer, New York Times bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say
"The Quiet Librarian is a devastating and engrossing novel, a breathtaking thriller that gets to the complex heart of grief, regret, and re-invention. Hana Babic is an absolutely unforgettable main character."
―Lou Berney, USA Today bestselling author of Dark Ride
“Rich in detail and perfectly paced, Allen Esken’s The Quiet Librarian immerses readers in an often forgotten war, but also takes us on an emotional journey with a gutsy protagonist who is suddenly forced to step out of the shadows to settle an old score when her past unexpectedly comes calling. Mystery, history, and a kick-ass female lead—what’s not to love!?”
―Barbara Davis, bestselling author of The Echo of Old Books
“This book has it all—a fast-paced, spellbinding mystery, a terrifying war tale, a truly fascinating, heroic protagonist that confronts her past trauma and sets it right. Just terrific.”
―Christina Kovac, Author of The Cutaway
"A searing novel of one woman's ferocious courage during a bloody conflict the world has tried to forget; a story of enduring friendship between two women, sacrifice and secrets held for decades, and one final, desperate act to save an innocent child."
―Kathleen Kent, author of Black Wolf
About the Author
Allen Eskens is the bestselling author of The Life We Bury, The Guise of Another, The Heavens May Fall, The Deep Dark Descending, The Shadows We Hide, Nothing More Dangerous, The Stolen Hours, Forsaken Country, and Saving Emma. He is the recipient of the Barry Award, Minnesota Book Award, Rosebud Award (Left Coast Crime), and Silver Falchion Award and has been a finalist for the Edgar® Award, Thriller Award, and Anthony Award. His books have been translated into 26 languages.
Allen has a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota and a law degree from Hamline University. After law school, he studied creative writing in the M.F.A. program at Minnesota State University-Mankato, as well as the Loft Literary Center and the Iowa Summer Writer’s Festival. Allen grew up in the hills of central Missouri. He now lives with his wife, Joely, in greater Minnesota where he recently retired after practicing criminal law for 25 years.
Allen is represented by Amy Cloughley of Kimberley Cameron and Associates Literary Agency. WEBSITE
