
The Dark Library
A Novel
Mary Anna Evans(Author)
Poisoned Pen Press
Published on 24. July 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-1-7282-9367-7 (ISBN)
Description
"Evans delivers an elaborate historical mystery...fans of gothic suspense will be delighted."-Publishers Weekly
"A fascinating and intelligent WWII home front story." -Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author for The Physicists' Daughter
Can a family's dark history repeat itself?
Estella Ecker has returned to Rockfall House, the last place on earth she wants to be. Years after she ran away from her overbearing father, she has been forced back home to walk in his footsteps, teaching at the college he dominated and living in the fabulous home where he entertained artists and scholars for decades-and perhaps she owns it now, because her mercurial mother has disappeared. At the center of everything-the whispers, the rumors, the secrets-is her father's library of rare books, which she had been forbidden to touch while he was alive to stop her.
Everyone in town is watching Estella, with her dead father's name on their lips, and no one seems to care about her missing mother. Who were her parents, really, and is the answer hidden somewhere in the depths of Rockfall House? And who will Estella be, if she gathers enough courage to find that answer? What she will discover is that no one can escape the secrets hidden in this dark library.
Suspenseful and unsettling but ultimately triumphant, The Dark Library by acclaimed author Mary Anna Evans is a compelling tale of mystery, family secrets, and the quest for truth.
"A fascinating and intelligent WWII home front story." -Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author for The Physicists' Daughter
Can a family's dark history repeat itself?
Estella Ecker has returned to Rockfall House, the last place on earth she wants to be. Years after she ran away from her overbearing father, she has been forced back home to walk in his footsteps, teaching at the college he dominated and living in the fabulous home where he entertained artists and scholars for decades-and perhaps she owns it now, because her mercurial mother has disappeared. At the center of everything-the whispers, the rumors, the secrets-is her father's library of rare books, which she had been forbidden to touch while he was alive to stop her.
Everyone in town is watching Estella, with her dead father's name on their lips, and no one seems to care about her missing mother. Who were her parents, really, and is the answer hidden somewhere in the depths of Rockfall House? And who will Estella be, if she gathers enough courage to find that answer? What she will discover is that no one can escape the secrets hidden in this dark library.
Suspenseful and unsettling but ultimately triumphant, The Dark Library by acclaimed author Mary Anna Evans is a compelling tale of mystery, family secrets, and the quest for truth.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Sourcebooks, Inc
Dimensions
Height: 207 mm
Width: 139 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
384 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-7282-9367-7 (9781728293677)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2025
Poisoned Pen Press
€17.99
Available for download
Person
Mary Anna Evans is the author of the Faye Longchamp archaeological mysteries, which have received recognition including the Benjamin Franklin Award, the Mississippi Author Award, and three Florida Book Awards bronze medals. She is an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma, where she teaches fiction and nonfiction writing. Winner of the 2018 Sisters in Crime (SinC) Academic Research Grant