ON-YOUR-OWN BOOK CLUB

Monthly

No meetings, no pressure, just good reading! Author information, questions to ponder, and read-a-likes are included. This month's title is "The Magnolia Palace" by Fiona Davis.

Enjoy fiction and nonfiction, large print, and audiobooks. This month's title is "The Magnolia Palace" by Fiona Davis. Author information, questions to ponder, and read-a-likes are included with each book. Pick up a copy of the book and information sheet at the CAV desk.

Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of "The Lions of Fifth Avenue," returns with a tantalizing novel about the secrets, betrayal, and murder within one of New York City's most impressive Gilded Age mansions. Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, twenty-one-year-old Lillian Carter's life has completely fallen apart. When she stumbles upon an employment opportunity at the Frick mansion--a building that, ironically, bears her own visage--Lillian jumps at the chance. But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family--pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama. Nearly fifty years later, English model Veronica Weber has her own chance to make her career within the walls of the former Frick residence, now converted into one of New York City's most impressive museums. But when she and intern art curator Joshua find a series of hidden messages in the museum: they lead her and Joshua on a hunt that could not only solve Veronica's financial woes but could finally reveal the truth behind a decades-old murder in the infamous Frick family.

"Combining a mansion turned museum, a missing diamond, a mystery, and the lives of two young women separated by half a century, Fiona Davis stirs up a beguiling story that unfolds like a clever game of Clue. Suspicions abound, and an iconic New York City landmark stands poised to reveal a page-turning tale of wealth, family dynamics, and long-held secrets."
--Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of "Before We Were Yours."

"Fiona Davis is at the top of her game in this intriguing, high-stakes novel about an iconic New York City landmark, the Frick mansion, and two women, fifty years apart, whose stories intersect within it. A family saga and historical thriller in one, The Magnolia Palace is a fast-paced, immersive delight."
--Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of "Orphan Train" and "The Exiles."

"Rich with family drama, tangled romance, cryptic clues, and long-buried secrets, The Magnolia Palace is sure to be loved by Fiona Davis's devoted and new readers alike. A can't-miss for anyone who has sauntered through an art museum and found themselves tempted to peek behind a painting or two."
--Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of "The Lost Apothecary."

Contact the Culture & AV division at 330.643.9015 or cadiv@akronlibrary.org for more information.

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