The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan

Hello everyone. I hope you are having a great day.

Do you get books from your local library?  I usually buy mine.  We have a new library with a beautiful open second floor.  I don't like it.  I'm scared.  Despite being a new building with steel floor joists, etc., the second floor feels.... bouncy.  Anybody out there have an old house?  Sometimes you will encounter a bit of a bouncy floor in an old house, not usually dangerous, usually due to settling and wood shrinking and expanding.  It can be easily braced to make it feel sturdier.  But our library isn't an old house, it is brand new commercial construction.  I'm scared to be on the second floor and terrified to be under it, on the first.  I know, it is inspected and surely safe.  All I can think of is my parents watching all the disaster movies when I was little.  Poseidon Adventure is one of the most frightening movies ever, you can "the call is coming from inside the house" all you want but stuck in an overturned ship.... nope...not me.  Then there was Earthquake and Towering Inferno (which made my dad always request a low floor at every hotel).  Then there were the Airport movies.  Don't get me wrong, you should see all these movies, they have great casts with people like Steve McQueen, Charlton Heston, Helen Hayes and even Gloria Swanson...even Linda Blair without the head spinning. The music is great too, perfect for trying to avoid a plane crash.  Terrifying, all of these.  So, the new movie "Book Apocalypse" is something I don't want to be part of, and I'll continue to be freaked out by the bouncy floor.

I recently read The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan. This is the story of a young woman, Anya. She is in love with her boyfriend, Sid, and academically is at the top of her game. Dr. Anya Brown is an expert in ancient texts. In fact, she recently was able to translate the baffling Folio 9. Now she is in high demand, being offered positions at various Universities. Sadly, Anya's mom is ill, and she hates to leave her, but fortunately she has a trusted caregiver. After much deliberation Anya accepts a role at the Institute of Manuscript Studies at St. Andrew in picturesque Scotland. The offer is just too good to turn down. They are offering her renovated cottage housing, lots of time for research, even a job for Sid. Soon, things start to unravel. The manuscripts involve an ancient feud by controlling women's groups. The women's reach is wide, silent, and deadly. You never know who is a member of one of these groups or which side they are on. Anya, now put in the middle, must discover the truth about these secrets and ancient rivalry before it destroys everything she holds dear.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the fabulous, William Morrow publishing, for the advanced copy.