The Personal Librarian

Written by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

A book for adult readers reviewed by Stefanie

    

In The Personal Librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, who was hired by J.P. Morgan to curate manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built library, has a secret. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, a civil rights activist who was Harvard University’s first black graduate. However, his wife claimed their family was white. This tore their family apart, so Richard eventually left his wife and children, who changed their surname to “Greene.” To pass as white, Belle, who added “da Costa” to her last name, claimed to have Portuguese ancestors as a way of explaining her complexion.

I picked this book because I wanted to read something different. It’s not usually the kind of book I read, but it was interesting. This story was really different and offered an interesting perspective.

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie

Written by Marie Benedict

A book for adult readers reviewed by Stefanie

    

The main character of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie is Agatha Christie, but she’s missing. No one knows where was she is. Investigators search through all of her belongings. They also check her car, which they find on an edge near a pond. The investigators start to form ideas, but the only clue they can find is a fur coat left in her car. Mrs. Christie’s husband and daughter don’t know what she does on a regular basis or her current whereabouts, which makes you curious about and suspicious of them. Eventually, Agatha reappears out of nowhere with amnesia, so she can’t explain how and why she disappeared.

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie caught my attention from the beginning. It makes you curious about what happened to Agatha Christie. I really recommend this book because it will make you want to continue reading to learn what happened to her.