Saving Emma

The Quiet Librarian

Coming February 18, 2025

After the murder of her best friend, a librarian’s search for answers leads back to her own dark secrets in this sweeping novel about a woman transformed by war, family, vengeance, and love, from award-winning writer Allen Eskens.

“This book is perfect for fans of intense, bleak mysteries and those who like fiction featuring real-life history.”
―Booklist (starred review)

About Allen

Allen Eskens is the bestselling author of The Life We Bury, The Guise of Another, The Heavens May Fall, The Deep Dark Descending, The Shadows We Hide, Nothing More Dangerous, The Stolen Hours, Forsaken Country, Saving Emma, and his latest novel, The Quiet Librarian.

He is the recipient of the Barry Award, Minnesota Book Award, Left Coast Crime Award, and Silver Falchion Award and has been a finalist for the Edgar® Award, Thriller Award, Anthony Award and Nero Award. His books have been translated into 23 languages.

Praise for Allen’s Books

This book is perfect for fans of intense, bleak mysteries and those who like fiction featuring real-life history.
―Booklist (starred review) on The Quiet Librarian

Eskens brilliantly combines legal and personal drama in this stellar standalone mystery… Scott Turow fans will be enthralled.
—Publishers Weekly on Saving Emma

“[As] good as it gets; a heart-pounding and utterly engaging thriller.”
—NYT bestselling author Karen Dionne on The Stolen Hours

This powerful, unforgettable crime novel is a coming-of-age book to rival some of the best…
—Library Journal starred review on Nothing More Dangerous

[A] brilliant sequel full of deeply developed characters…. darkly lyrical and brutally intimate…
—Publishers Weekly, starred review on The Shadows We Hide

Fine crime fiction that captures the chill of its setting as it explores issues of life and death.
—Booklist on The Deep Dark Descending

Gripping… the tale takes several unexpected twists before reaching the satisfying denouement.
—Publishers Weekly on The Heavens May Fall

Eskens’s elegant but chilly prose, like winter in the blood…
—The New York Times on The Guise of Another

Eskens’s first-person narration grabs the reader and never relinquishes its hold.
—Library Journal, Editor’s Fall Pick on The Life We Bury

Sign up for Allen's Newsletter: Subscribe

All Books

My books are not a series, but rather character arcs that revolve around a small community.
Click on the names below to see who appears in each novel.

All

Joe Talbert

Boady Sanden

Lila Nash

Max Rupert