Book Summary and Reviews of The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens

The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens

The Quiet Librarian

A Novel

by Allen Eskens

  • Readers' Rating (4):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2025, 320 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

After the murder of her best friend, a librarian's search for answers leads back to her own dark secrets in this "searing and timely" novel about a woman transformed by war, family, vengeance, and love, from the author of the beloved bestseller The Life We Bury (Kristin Harmel, author of The Paris Daughter).

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.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"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 review)

"Fans of Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale or Kate Quinn's books will be caught up in this violent story of a courageous woman." ―Library Journal (starred review)

"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 information about The Quiet Librarian was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Janine_S

Simply excellent
This book deserves more hype than it’s gotten. It’s a great thriller and poses questions such as what is justice and why do we hate people who are different from us (a burning question for today’s times). Hana Babi? is a quiet, middle-aged librarian who leads a quiet unassuming and solitary life. This, however, is shattered when her close friend, Amina, is killed, and Hana’s dark past is coming back at her. Alternating between her early life in Bosnia in the 1990s and her current life in Minnesota, the book builds an intriguing and dark story of genocide. As she searches for answers to her friend’s death, she meet Detective David Claypool, someone who might be able help her, but can she trust him? The ending is unexpected and tender. I enjoyed this book immensely. Highly recommend.

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Author Information

Allen Eskens

Allen Eskens is the USA Today bestselling author of The Life We Bury, which has been published in twenty-six languages, and eight other novels, most recently Saving Emma, Forsaken Country, The Stolen Hours, The Shadows We Hide, and Nothing More Dangerous. His books have won the Barry Award, the Rosebud Award, the Silver Falchion Award, and the Minnesota Book Award. Eskens is a former criminal defense attorney and lives with his wife, Joely, in greater Minnesota.

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