Witches of Dubious Origin by Jenn McKinlay

When a librarian discovers she’s descended from a long line of powerful witches, she’ll need all of her bookish knowledge to harness her family’s magic, in this enchanting cozy fantasy from Jenn McKinlay Zoe Ziakas enjoys a quiet life, working as a librarian in her cute, little New England town. When a mysterious black book with an unbreakable latch is delivered to the library, Zoe has a strange feeling the book is somehow calling to her. She decides to consult the Museum of Literature, home to volumes of indecipherable secrets, some possessing dark magic that must be guarded. Here, among their most dangerous collection, the Books of Dubious Origin, Zoe discovers that she is the last descendant of a family of witches and this little black book is their grimoire. Zoe knows she must decode the family’s spell book and solve the mystery of what happened to her mother and her grandmother. With assistance from the eccentric staff of the Books of Dubious Origin department–including their annoyingly smart and handsome containment specialist, Jasper–Zoe must confront her past and the legacy of her family.

The Tattered Cover by Ellery Adams

It was a dark, rainy night at Nora Pennington’s Miracle Books when a mysterious death brings the Secret, Book, and Scone Society on the trail of a murderer. Nora joins in on the Halloween festivities by hosting medium memoirist Lara Luz at the bookstore, Miracle Books. Lara mesmerizes the audience with her life story. Lara performs a reading for a select group of bookstore patrons when an encroaching storm knocks out the power. Lara clutches her heart, collapsing dead without warning, but Nora doesn’t believe she died of natural causes. Nora confirms that not one member of the psychic’s reading group–which includes the town’s widower pharmacist, an urgent care nurse, a mystery author, and even Deputy Hollowell–were admirers of Lara when she stumbles upon Lara’s journal in the aftermath of her death. For within its leathery bound pages are the medium and her clients’ deepest and darkest secrets, written in code. Now, Nora and the Secret, Book, and Scone Society must sift through the suspects and their motives to uncover which one of them is a killer before he or she is tempted to strike again.

The Bookshop Below by Georgia Summers

Below the streets of London, a secret network of magical bookshops has existed for millennia. But they’re slowly disappearing, and no one knows why. Only one dishonored bookseller can uncover the truth and rewrite her story–in this riveting standalone fantasy novel from the author of The City of Stardust. If you want a story that will change your life, Chiron’s bookshop is where you go. For Cassandra Fairfax, it’s a reminder of everything she lost, when Chiron kicked her out and all but shuttered the shop. Since then, she’s used her skills in less ethical ways, trading stolen books and magical readings to wealthy playboys and unscrupulous collectors.  Then Chiron dies under mysterious circumstances. And if Cassandra knows anything, it’s this: the bookshop must always have an owner. There’s Lowell Sharpe, a dark-eyed, regrettably handsome bookseller she can’t seem to stop bumping into; rival owners who threaten Cassandra from the shadows; and, of course, Chiron’s murderer, who is still on the loose.  As Cassandra tries to uncover the secrets her mentor left behind, a sinister force threatens to unravel the world of the magical bookshops entirely. 


By Amy M. Salminen

Adult Services Department Head