A sure way to beat the doldrums of winter is to read a book and talk about it among friends. Check out one or more of these three (3) titles being read and discussed by the WPL Book Clubs in March.

Tuesday Afternoon Book Club
Tuesday, March 3 at 1:30pm
John M. Harper Branch, Community Room
The Huntress by Kate Quinn

A fascinating historical novel about a battle-haunted English journalist and a Russian female bomber pilot who join forces to track The Huntress, a Nazi war criminal gone to ground in America. In the aftermath of war, the hunter becomes the hunted…

Bold and fearless, Nina Markova always dreamed of flying. When the Nazis attack the Soviet Union, she risks everything to join the legendary Night Witches, an all-female night bomber regiment wreaking havoc on the invading Germans. When Nina is stranded behind enemy lines, she becomes the prey of a lethal Nazi murderess known as The Huntress, and only Nina’s bravery and cunning will keep her alive.

Transformed by the horrors he witnessed from Omaha Beach to the Nuremberg Trials, British war correspondent Ian Graham has become a Nazi hunter. Yet one target eludes him: a vicious predator known as The Huntress. To find her, the fierce, disciplined investigator joins forces with the only witness to escape The Huntress alive: the brazen, cocksure Nina. But a shared secret could derail their mission unless Ian and Nina force themselves to confront it.

Growing up in post-war Boston, seventeen-year-old Jordan McBride is determined to become a photographer. When her long-widowed father unexpectedly comes homes with a new fiancée, Jordan is thrilled. But there is something disconcerting about the soft-spoken German widow. Certain that danger is lurking, Jordan begins to delve into her new stepmother’s past–only to discover that there are mysteries buried deep in her family . . . secrets that may threaten all Jordan holds dear.

Goodreads rating of 4.27; read the reviews
Ponder these discussion questions from Reading Group Guides
Place a hold on a WPL copy of the book; regular print or large print

Monday Evening Book Club
Monday, March 9 at 7:00pm
Main Library, Auditorium
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Without a shred of doubt, one of his fellow passengers is the murderer.

Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man’s enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again.

Goodreads rating of 4.17; read the reviews
Place a hold on a WPL copy of the book, the eBook, or the eAudiobook.

Thursday Afternoon Book Club
Thursday, March 19 at 1:30pm
Main Library, Boardroom
Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce

London, 1940. Emmeline Lake is “Doing Her Bit” for the war effort, volunteering as a telephone operator with the Auxiliary Fire Services. When Emmy sees an advertisement for a job at the London Evening Chronicle , her dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent suddenly seem achievable. But the job turns out to be working as a typist for the fierce and renowned advice columnist, Henrietta Bird.

Emmy is disappointed, but gamely bucks up and buckles down. Mrs. Bird is very clear: letters containing any “unpleasantness” must go straight in the bin. But when Emmy reads poignant notes from women who may have “Gone Too Far” with the wrong men, or who can’t bear to let their children be evacuated, she is unable to resist responding.

As the German planes make their nightly raids, and London picks up the smoldering pieces each morning, Emmy secretly begins to write back to the readers who have poured out their troubles.

Goodreads rating of 3.8; read the reviews
Ponder these discussion questions courtesy of LitLovers
Place a hold on a WPL copy of the book, the eBook or the eAudiobook.