Two similar series of book thefts at the New York Public Library at the beginning and the end of the 20th century lay the mystery framework for this dual timeline historical fiction, but the heart of the novel is in the strained, broken, healed, and healing relationships at both ends of this tale.

It isn't a story that is completely satisfying, but that's a testament to Davis's ability to let messy human lives be messy, and to let her readers sit with that. She's an established and talented author who excels at realistic, complicated, historically grounded women as main characters in beautifully realized settings. One reviewer notes that the New York Public Library is "practically a third protagonist," and I agree. It was a distinct pleasure to read about the library, the apartment deep inside where the superintendent's family used to live, and the collections and procedures. If the tale is tinged with sadness, it's the sort that haunts every grand, enduring public building and felt particularly appropriate.

Content notes: limiting and dehumanizing gender roles, runaway and foster care system, off-screen suicide, death of a parent, child endangerment, off-screen London blitz/bombing