The Library of Shadows - Mikkel Birkegaard
Published by Transworld Publishers: London, 2009. Translated by Tiina Nunnally, 2008. First published in Danish 2007. This occasionally dark novel is set in Denmark, where a lawyer named Jon Campelli is drawn into a secret society of 'Lectors', individuals who have the power to either influence the actions of those they read to (transmitters) or of those who are themselves reading (receivers). Jon's father Luca, himself a powerful Lector, has been found dead, and blame has fallen on the local receivers. Jon must use his relative outsider status to his advantage and investigate the death while protecting himself against the mysterious enemies out to get him. This novel took me a few chapters to get into, but by the end I was gripped. There are elements of the plot I found a little predictable, figuring out, for example, who the traitor was before they were revealed, but the plot did take a few unexpected turns and the idea of readers having that much power was a fun one. I...