The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens #HistoricalFiction @aeskens #AudiobookReview #BookX #TuesdayBookBlog

Author: Allen Eskens

Published: February 2025 by Little, Brown & Company

Category: Historical, Fiction

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The Quiet Librarian is a story of two halves told in alternating and chapters that capture the imagination, the first introducing middle aged Hana Babic who is living a quiet life in Minnesota as a librarian. She wants nothing more than to be left to live her life as it is, but when David Claypool, a detective, tracks her down to deliver the devastating news that her best friend, Amina has been murdered, Hana realises her past must have somehow caught up with her. So she must do all she can to protect Dylan, Amina’s eight year old grandson, who Amina has entrusted to her. Although Hana is grieving for her friend she needs to find whoever has tracked them down before they can harm anyone else.

Thirty years ago Nura Divjak was a teenager growing up during the war between Bosnia and Serbia. The day the soldiers arrived and slaughtered her family, Nura swore she would avenge them. She joined a band of militia fighters where she became a force to be reckoned with, earning the title of the Night Mora and a reputation based on the legend of the female demon who visited people as they slept.

Although The Quiet Librarian is basically fiction, the fact that it’s based on actual horrific events that happened not that long ago makes it a very powerful and moving read/listen. I didn’t know the details about the atrocities of the Bosnian War of Independence and this story gives a graphic insight. Both narratives are compelling. Hana is a fascinating character, an ordinary young girl living on the family farm when unprecedented events thrust her into a role she could never have envisaged.

I’ve enjoyed several books by this author and this is one that will definitely be on my favourite books list for this year. I can’t believe it was published over a year ago and I’ve only just found it. A tale of war, revenge and an unbroken spirit despite everything.

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.