The Mysterious Book Club Offers Literary Discovery

By TRILBY BERESFORD | Reporter

Hosted by librarian Mary Tyler, the Mysterious Book Club has been running in full force since 2008 and meets every third Tuesday of the month at Palisades Branch Library. All the members are women—not be design—but it makes for an intimate experience where everyone feels comfortable sharing.

While the focus is on mystery books, stories of magical realism also sneak in such as “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern. They also read many debut authors, like Abir Mukherjee’s “A Rising Man.” Book suggestions are picked by Tyler and then voted on by the group. The only caveat is, they can’t be all the rage. “We don’t really do popular books,” Tyler admitted to the Palisadian-Post.

The book they consumed on Tuesday, May 15, was “Lost Woman” by Danish author Sara Blaedel. It was appropriately packed with villainous drama. Currently, the group’s favorite author is Irish-American Tana French. She wrote a crime novel series set in Dublin. Tyler shared that the best thing about the book club is that people discover new authors and go on to read their other work outside of the formal meetings.

A longtime book enthusiast, Tyler enjoys giving an introduction about the author at the start of every book group, and learning how and why that person became a writer. She recalled that a particularly memorable book passed onto her as a teenager from her grandmother was an autobiographical love story by vaudeville entertainer George Burns. Tyler has an insatiable appetite for biographies of vaudeville stars. She also likes to listen to audiobooks while she walks through the local neighborhood, a relaxing pastime of many.

The Mysterious Book Club has read many wonderful books, but like anything else, there’s a disappointing title every once in a while. Tyler recalled that “Silent Scream” by Lynda La Plante was one she could have done without.

Good or not so good, there’s something so special about holding a physical book in one’s hands. Book clubs are alive and kicking in the Palisades (at one point there were 99 active groups!), so let’s keep up the momentum.