“You cover your eyes with your hands and think that the problem will go away. To say that you do not care about politics is to be a man adrift on the ocean who says that he does not care about water.”
― Allen Eskens, The Quiet Librarian

A librarian in Minnesota is holding onto dark secrets in Allen Esken’s The Quiet Librarian. Hana Babic hides behind her cardigans as a librarian in Minnesota. No one suspects that this quiet, reclusive librarian is holding a hidden past. Hana is really Nura Divjak, a teenager who grew up in war-torn Bosnia. Serbian soldiers slaughtered her family in front of her, leading Nura into the war. She joined a band of militia fighters, where she hunted down the men who murdered her family. Nura became a legend that haunted the Serbian soldiers’ dreams – the deadly Night Mora. With a bounty on her head, Nura is forced to flee to the United States.

Flash forward thirty years and Nura is now Hana, working as a librarian in Minnesota. When her best friend is murdered under suspicious circumstances, Hana is determined to find out the truth. Her search leads her back to the dangers of her past. She knows that something evil from her past has come back to collect her debts. Hana refuses to bow down to the evil that is hunting her. She must protect her secret, while also shielding her best friend’s grandson from the killer out to destroy their lives.

The Quiet Librarian had me hooked from the very start. With chapters that alternate between the past and the present, readers learn about Nura’s past as Hana’s present unfolds in real time. The characters’ backstories kept me engaged as the author described the atrocious crimes that these men committed on women and children during the war in Bosnia. Historical fiction is based on true events is one of my favorite stories to read, even though the subject matter in this book was disturbing. If you’re a fan of dual timelines with alternating chapters, I highly recommend this book.

“Men have the capacity for good as much as they have the capacity for cruelty. What is right and what is wrong is written on our hearts. But when there is war, men follow what they choose to follow and rationalize the evil they do. The Serbs see this as their country. They see us as a blight. They are told that the only way to have peace is to expel us or kill us. When such are the words they hear every minute of every day, it becomes too loud for them to listen to their hearts. They will do terrible things and believe they are doing what is right.”
― Allen Eskens, The Quiet Librarian

This title is also available in large print.

Join us for a discussion of “The Quiet Librarian” by Allen Eskens, the 2026 Adult All Iowa Reads title on Tuesday, June 16th, 2026 at 5:30pm at our Eastern Avenue location. After said book discussion, we will join readers from around Iowa in a live Zoom session with the author, Allen Eskens, as they chat about their book.

Copies of the book are available for checkout on a first-come, first serve basis at the Eastern Avenue library. Registration is appreciated, but not required. This program is recommended for adults.

We strive to make our programs inclusive to all. For accommodation requests, please reach out to reference@davenportlibrary.com