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Book Groups at the Library

Virtual, International Murder Mystery—we have something for everyone. Interested in starting a new book group? Let us know!

Virtual Book Club

This online book club meets on the third Saturday of the month at 4:00 p.m.

August 16: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawson

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.

2025 Book Club Selections

August 16: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawson

September 20: The Peach Seed by Anita Gail Jones

October 18: Someone Else’s Bucket List by Amy T Matthews

November 15: Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

December 20: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

You can request a book, or ebook from the Mid-Hudson library system.  Please call the library with any questions: 845-657-2482


International Murder Mystery Book Club

This book club meets in person at the library on the 3rd Monday of each month at 2 p.m., led by Henrietta Shannon.

August 18:

Bryant and May: The Lonely Hour by Christopher Fowler - England

When a man is found hanging upside down inside a willow tree on Hampstead Heath, surrounded by a baffling assortment of occult objects, the Peculiar Crimes Unit is called in to investigate. Was this a botched satanic ritual pulled off by bored teenagers, a gang initiation, or the work of a mastermind with grander intentions? Bryant and May set off in search of answers and are soon reminded that London is a city steeped in blood and magic. 

2025 Book Club Selections

August 18: Bryant and May: The Lonely Hour by Christopher Fowler - England

September 15: The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vasquez - Brazil

October 20: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent - England

November 17: Thirty-Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill - Laos

December 15: Hold Your Breath China by Qiu Xialong - China


Defending Democracy Book Club

In-person book club meeting the first Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m., led by author David Corbett.

August 5:

The Undertow by Jeff Sharlet

An unmatched guide to the religious dimensions of American politics, Jeff Sharlet journeys into corners of our national psyche where others fear to tread. The Undertow is both inquiry and meditation, an attempt to understand how, over the last decade, reaction has morphed into delusion, social division into distrust, distrust into paranoia, and hatred into fantasies―sometimes realities―of violence.

August 5: The Undertow by Jeff Sharlet

September 8: Dark Money by Jane Mayer