Join us in-person or on Zoom for a lively book discussion. We will be reading The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis.

When she arrives at the famed Barbizon Hotel in 1952, secretarial school enrollment in hand, Darby McLaughlin is everything her modeling agency hall mates aren't: plain, self-conscious, homesick, and utterly convinced she doesn't belong—a notion the models do nothing to disabuse. Yet when Darby befriends Esme, a Barbizon maid, she's introduced to an entirely new side of New York City: seedy downtown jazz clubs where the music is as addictive as the heroin that's used there, the startling sounds of bebop, and even the possibility of romance.

Over half a century later, the Barbizon's gone condo and most of its long-ago guests are forgotten. But rumors of Darby's involvement in a deadly skirmish with a hotel maid back in 1952 haunt the halls of the building as surely as the melancholy music that floats from the elderly woman's rent-controlled apartment. It's a combination too intoxicating for journalist Rose Lewin, Darby's upstairs neighbor, to resist—not to mention the perfect distraction from her own imploding personal life. Yet as Rose's obsession deepens, the ethics of her investigation become increasingly murky, and neither woman will remain unchanged when the shocking truth is finally revealed.--Publisher

You can pick up a copy of the book at the Atlee Branch Library Circulation Desk while supplies last. Registration is only required when joining us through Zoom. This program is presented in-person AND hosted virtually through Zoom (so pick what suits you best!). The meeting link will be sent to the email registered 1 day before the event occurs. If you don't receive your reminder email, please contact the library.

For more information or if you have a special physical or communication need, please contact ask@pamunkeylibrary.org or call the Atlee Branch Library at 804-559-0654.