The Librarian of Crooked Lane: A Fantasy Mystery Novel

C.J. Archer

Sep 2022 · The Glass Library Book 1 · C.J. Archer

About this ebook

A librarian with a mysterious past, a war hero with a secret, and the heist of a magic painting. THE LIBRARIAN OF CROOKED LANE is an intriguing new historical fantasy from C.J. Archer, the USA Today bestselling author of the Glass and Steele series.

Librarian Sylvia Ashe knows nothing about her past, having grown up without a father and a mother who refused to discuss him. When she stumbles upon a diary that suggests she’s descended from magicians, she’s skeptical. After all, magicians are special, and she’s just an ordinary girl who loves books. She seeks the truth from a member of the most prominent family of magicians, but she quickly learns that finding the truth won’t be easy, especially when he turns out to be as artless as her, and more compelling and dangerous than books.

War hero Gabe is gifted with wealth, a loving family, and an incredible amount of luck that saw him survive four harrowing years of a brutal war without injury. But not all injuries are visible. Burying himself in his work as a consultant for Scotland Yard, Gabe is going through the motions as he investigates the theft of a magician-made painting. But his life changes when he unwittingly gets Sylvia dismissed from her job and places her in danger.

After securing her new employment in a library housing the world’s greatest collection of books about magic, Gabe and Sylvia’s lives become intwined as they work together to find both the painting and the truth about Sylvia’s past before powerful people can stop them. 

But sometimes the past is better left buried…

Ratings and reviews

This is a cute and light reading perfect as a break in between heavier reads. It has a few interesting twists and a mystery plot happening in London during the 1920s. The goods: Sylvia 's "magical or not" mystery, many of the characters and some thrilling moments that keep you hooked thru several pages. What I missed is a bit more depth overall and more details on the magic system/story line. Definitely, the detective story takes more weight and presence in this book.There will be a second book coming out. I have not read other books from this author, but it seems there is a prior series that relates to this book. Overall, for this title, I would give 3 to 3,5 stars.

Decent tale; perhaps too much the romance novel. interesting mistakes in the histoical scene setting but not overly distracting.

I truly enjoyed reading this Authors books. They have mystery as well as a touch of romance, plus the characters are mysterious and interesting at the same time.

About the author

Over 2 MILLION books sold!

 

C.J. Archer is the USA Today bestselling author of over 50 historical fantasy and historical mystery novels as well as a few historical romances.

 

She has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two. She has at various times worked as a librarian, IT support person and technical writer but in her heart has always been a fiction writer. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, 2 children and Coco the black and white cat.

 

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