The Lions of Fifth Avenue
This dual-time period novel begins in 1913 New York, where the Lyons family—Laura, Jack, and their two children—have just moved into a hidden apartment in the New York Public Library. While Jack tends the library by day and writes novels at night, Laura is given the opportunity to attend Columbia Journalism School, which exposes her to issues and lifestyles far beyond her own coddled world as a homemaker and mother. Over time, as her husband searches for a lost Edgar Allan Poe manuscript in his charge, she begins to become involved in the world of women’s suffrage and doubt the limited role of womanhood with which she was raised. This change in viewpoint, coupled with the increasing pressure Jack feels as suspicion about the theft turns to him, leads them to an explosive showdown.
Eighty years later, history seems to be repeating itself as Laura’s granddaughter, Sadie Donovan, now head of a special collection at the same library, faces her own lost manuscript mystery. Perplexed, she teams up with a private-eye to try to uncover who is stealing these valuable materials, but in the process uncovers long-buried secrets about her own family’s history that could change not only her life, but the history of the library.
This novel is a book-lover’s dream. Between the setting of the New York Public Library and a mystery involving several lost pieces of literature, as a reader, I couldn’t speed through the pages fast enough. Although I have read several of Fiona Davis’s books in the past, this is by far my favorite. Her characters and plot are all top-notch, while the mysteries lend this book an air of excitement and urgency not always felt in historical stories. I particularly loved learning about the history of the venerable institution and the world in which it was founded. Highly recommended.
