294: The House of Two Sisters by Rachel Louise Driscoll – Summer Reading Spectacular

Continuing the 2025 Summer Reading Spectacular, Steve chats with Rachel Louise Driscoll, author of The House of Two Sisters, about her background as a librarian, the blending of Victorian Gothic and Egyptian mythology in her book, sisterhood (real and mythic!), and why Victorian England was primed for Egyptomania! Following the interview, in The Circ Desk segment, Rebecca from Library Reads and April from NoveList offer reading recommendations related to Rachel’s book!

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A young Victorian Egyptologist traverses the Nile River on a mission to undo a curse that may have befallen her family in this spellbinding novel.

Essex, 1887. Clementine’s ability to read hieroglyphs makes her invaluable at her father’s Egyptian relic parties, which have become the talk of the town. But at one such party, the words she interprets from an unusual amulet strike fear into her heart. As her childhood games about Isis and Nephthys—sister goddesses who protect the dead—take on a devastating resonance in her life, and tragedy slowly consumes her loved ones, she wonders what she and her father may have unleashed.

Five years later, Clemmie arrives in Cairo desperate to save what remains of her family back home. There, she meets a motley crew of unwitting English travelers about to set sail down the Nile—including an adventurer with secrets of his own—and joins them on a mission to reach Denderah, a revered religious site, where she hopes to return the amulet and atone for her sins.

With each passing day, she is further engulfed in a life she’s yearned for all along. But as long-buried secrets and betrayals rise to the surface, Clemmie must reconcile the impossibility of living in the light while her past keeps her anchored to the darkness.

SHOW NOTES:
The House of Two Sisters

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Library Reads

The Circ Desk recommends:
 London Seance Society by Sarah Penner
 Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourn
 A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
 Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller by Nadia Wassef

280: The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens

Steve chats with Allen Eskens, author of The Quiet Librarian, about Eskens’ personal experiences with libraries, his journey into becoming an author, a deep dive into the inspiration and research behind his new novel, the Bosnian War, and Eskens’ writing process. Plus, Rebecca Vnuk from Library Reads and Yaika Sabat from NoveList return to The Circ Desk to offer insightful read-alikes for The Quiet Librarian!

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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.

Allen Eskens is the USA Today bestselling author of The Life We Bury, which has been published in twenty-six languages, and eight other novels, most recently Saving EmmaForsaken Country,The Stolen HoursThe Shadows We Hide, and Nothing More Dangerous. His books have won the Barry Award, the Rosebud Award, the Silver Falchion Award, and the Minnesota Book Award. Eskens is a former criminal defense attorney and lives with his wife, Joely, in greater Minnesota.

SHOW NOTES:

The Quiet Librarian

THE CIRC DESK RECOMMENDS:

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
How Can I Help You? by Laura Sims
Long Black Veil by Jennifer Finney Boylan

272: The Booklover’s Library by Madeline Martin

Steve chats with Madeline Martin, author of The Booklover’s Library, about the inspiration and research behind her latest novel, set in a unique library during World War II, and the emotional ties between the characters and books. Later, Rebecca Vnuk from Library Reads and Yaika Sabat from Novelist return to the Circ Desk to recommend read-alikes for book-themed novels, highlighting the enduring appeal of stories about books and libraries.

Read the transcript!

Madeline Martin is a New York TimesUSA TODAY, and international bestselling author of historical fiction and historical romance with books that have been translated into over twenty different languages. 

SHOW NOTES:

The Booklover’s Library
Library Reads
Novelist
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249: All You Have to Do Is Call by Kerri Maher

Steve chats with Kerri Maher, author of All You Have to Do Is Call, about her personal experiences with libraries, how she researched the Jane Collective, why she decided to feature original characters rather than real, historical people, and how her stories reveal themselves in the writing.

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Kerri Maher is the USA Today bestselling author of The Paris BooksellerThe Girl in White GlovesThe Kennedy Debutante, and, under the name Kerri Majors, This Is Not a Writing Manual: Notes for the Young Writer in the Real World. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and lives with her daughter and dog in a leafy suburb west of Boston, Massachusetts.

SHOW NOTES:

All You Have To Do Is Call
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244: The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Steve chats with Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, authors of The First Ladies, about their thoughts on libraries as professional writers, why readers are fascinated by Marie’s and Victoria’s friendship and writing partnership, how the friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune developed, and what Marie and Victoria have learned from each other as friends and authors.

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photo credit: Phil Atkins

Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years’ experience as a litigator. A graduate of Boston College and the Boston University School of Law, she is the New York Times and USAToday bestselling author of The Only Woman in the RoomThe Mystery of Mrs. ChristieCarnegie’s MaidThe Other Einstein, and Lady Clementine. All have been translated into multiple languages. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family.

Victoria Christopher Murray is an acclaimed author with more than one million books in print. She has written more than twenty novels, including Stand Your Ground, a NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Fiction and a Library Journal Best Book of the Year. She holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.

SHOW NOTES:

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The First Ladies
Marie Benedict
Victoria Christopher Murray
CI204: The Personal Library by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

229: The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin

Steve chats with Madeline Martin, author of The Librarian Spy, about her childhood experiences with libraries, her love of history and historical fiction, how she does her research, and the wonder of visiting the Library of Congress!

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Madeline Martin is a New York Times and International Bestselling author of historical fiction and historical romance.

She lives in sunny Florida with her two daughters (known collectively as the minions), one incredibly spoiled cat and a man so wonderful he’s been dubbed Mr. Awesome. She is a die-hard history lover who will happily lose herself in research any day. When she’s not writing, researching or ‘moming’, you can find her spending time with her family at Disney or sneaking a couple spoonfuls of Nutella while laughing over cat videos. She also loves to travel, attributing her fascination with history to having spent most of her childhood as an Army brat in Germany.

SPONSOR:

Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing.
Today’s show is brought to you by Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing. Syndetics Unbound helps public and academic libraries enrich their catalogs and discovery systems with high-interest elements, including reader’s advisory, cover images, summaries, author profiles, similar books, reviews, and more. Syndetics Unbound encourages serendipitous discovery and higher collection usage, and was awarded Platinum distinction in the LibraryWorks 2021 Modern Library Awards

To learn more about Syndetics Unbound, visit Syndetics.com. While there, be sure to visit the Syndetics Unbound Blog for news and analysis, including a break-down of libraries’ top titles and other stories of interest to the library community. Again, that’s Syndetics.com, to learn more about today’s sponsor, Syndetics Unbound.

SHOW NOTES:

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The Librarian Spy

225: The War Librarian by Addison Armstrong

Steve chats with Addison Armstrong, author of The War Librarian and The Light of Luna Park, about her experiences with libraries, what she likes about writing historical fiction and dual timelines, finding story ideas in her historical research, and how her love of school supplies and ants fueled her writing life as a young girl!

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Addison Armstrong graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2020 with degrees in elementary education and language and literacy studies and received her master’s degree from Vanderbilt in Reading Education in 2021. The Light of Luna Park was her first novel. She lives with her husband in New York, New York, where she teaches elementary school.

SPONSOR:

Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing.
Today’s show is brought to you by Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing. Syndetics Unbound helps public and academic libraries enrich their catalogs and discovery systems with high-interest elements, including reader’s advisory, cover images, summaries, author profiles, similar books, reviews, and more. Syndetics Unbound encourages serendipitous discovery and higher collection usage, and was awarded Platinum distinction in the LibraryWorks 2021 Modern Library Awards. To learn more about Syndetics Unbound, visit Syndetics.com. While there, be sure to visit the Syndetics Unbound Blog for news and analysis, including a break-down of libraries’ top titles and other stories of interest to the library community.

SHOW NOTES:

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Addison Armstrong
The War Librarian

204: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Steve chats with Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, authors of The Personal Librarian, about their early childhood experiences in libraries, why they found Belle da Costa Greene’s story so compelling and relevant to our modern times, and why they’re writing soulmates.

Read the transcript!

Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years’ experience as a litigator. A graduate of Boston College and the Boston University School of Law, she is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Only Woman in the Room, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, Carnegie’s Maid, The Other Einstein, and Lady Clementine. All have been translated into multiple languages. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family.

Victoria Christopher Murray is an acclaimed author with more than one million books in print. She has written more than twenty novels, including Stand Your Ground, an NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Fiction and a Library Journal Best Book of the Year. She holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.

Subscribe (FREE!) to the Circulating Ideas newsletter!

Today’s show is brought to you by Syndetics Unbound, from ProQuest and LibraryThing. Syndetics Unbound helps public and academic libraries enrich their catalogs and discovery systems with high-interest elements, including cover images, summaries, author profiles, similar books, reviews, and more. Syndetics Unbound encourages serendipitous discovery and higher collection usage, and was recently awarded Platinum distinction in the LibraryWorks 2021 Modern Library Awards. To learn more about Syndetics Unbound, visit Syndetics.com. While there, be sure to visit their “News” tab to check out the Syndetics Unbound Blog for news and analysis, including a break-down of 2020’s most popular titles in public and academic libraries.

SHOW NOTES:

The Personal Librarian
Marie Benedict
Victoria Christopher Murray

181: Susan Elia MacNeal

Steve chats with Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope series; the newest book in the series The King’s Justice is out now. Susan discusses how libraries inspired her career, how the Maggie Hope series came to be, and why she writes historical fiction.

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Susan Elia MacNeal is the New York Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope mysteries. MacNeal won the Barry Award and has been nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, Agatha, Left Coast Crime, Dilys, and ITW Thriller awards. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and son.

SHOW NOTES:

Susan Elia MacNeal – Books