This book is very descriptive and well written. The author’s writing puts you right in the UK, in a mansion, in the middle of a street in Verona. The main character, Anya, has been tasked with reviewing ancient text, to decipher it. Little does she know that two, deep-rooted factions are at war over the information she may find. The Burning Library was good, but wasn’t quite my jam. This would be better suited for someone who loves history more than I do.

3.5 stars. This book had the same vibes as The DaVinci Code. It was attention-grabbing and interesting the whole way through. There were a few things that felt like they weren't maybe explained as well as they could have been, and a few murders that felt superfluous, but I really enjoyed the story.

Gilly Macmillan has written a clever murder mystery based in academia, in St. Andrews, Scotland. It begins with the discovery of a woman’s body on the shores of the Western Hebrides. She was hiding a scrap of embroidery, a valuable artifact, that two secret and rival women’s groups have coveted for a century. The Order of St. Katherine (The Kats) and the Fellowship of the Larks (The Larks) also have opposing beliefs in the way women should behave and exert power in the world. They both search for the ancient Book of Wonder, and will stop at nothing, including murder. Young Dr. Anya Brown accepts an incredible job opportunity as a translator for ancient manuscripts and becomes unexpectedly engaged in this dangerous conspiracy. Detective Clio Spicer enters into the investigation of the first murder. This intelligent thriller includes beautiful descriptions of Scotland and Verona, Italy. With thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

On paper this is exactly the kind of book I should be into. We have a strong main character and historical mysteries but unfortunately for me it fell a little flat.

The good: I loved the two main character Clio and Anya. They were relatable. The relationship between Anya and her mom was also I enjoyed. The setting and the description of the settings. I loved how I felt like I was really seeing places in Europe. I loved the plot- two groups of important women looking for a hidden manuscript. It gave trad wife vs. feminist vibes which is totally relevant today.

The bad: The minor character-at the beginning Anya’s boyfriend seemed to be not trustworthy based on some things but he ended up being fine. Anya and her dad’s relationship was brutal. I didn’t get it. There were also too many players and they were hard to keep track off. I didn’t feel connected to the book at all. I almost thought about not finishing it but I did. It was good but it didn’t stand out.

Overall- if you like history and mystery it’s an okay read, you will like it. I just thought it was okay.

A dark academia murder mystery following two rival secret societies run by women in the art world. Anya must uncover the secret trail left in manuscripts written centuries ago in order to stop the societies from destroying each other—or Anya and her loved ones. Macmillan’s research shines in this novel with erudite language, highly academic references, and a well-placed mystery that keeps readers engaged and on the edge of their seat.

This book had such a great premise. I love mysteries that are folded into ancient texts, Latin, Italian heritage. About halfway through the book, I was bogged down by a lot of the language and information being thrown at me, but once the main character started piecing things together, it made sense. A normal person, like me, may have trouble with all of the clues and riddles and Messages hidden in inside, I know I did. But again, they start to make sense once the main character started explaining what the little clues meant and where it led them.

I liked the characters and the two factions of women that are fighting for two very different things. While fighting for the same book. It was very interesting although part of me lost in the amount of information in history and facts that were given to the reader.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I am giving my rating based on my own personal opinion and not that of any other party.

A missing manuscript, a bit of embroidery that might hold the secret and a puzzle waiting to be solved whose solution has two groups of secret powerful organizations of women ready to kill for. Dr. Anya Brown is willing to do whatever her wealthy absentee father and the institute who hired her wants her to do to insure her mother gets the medical treatment she needs. She has no idea of the danger she has placed herself in. Meanwhile a Scotland Yard detective is working a murder and her search leads her to Anya's door. This is a Dan Brown style treasure thriller where all the principle players are women. It starts off slow and quickly ramps up to a blazing finish. Readers of Dan Brown, Daniel De Silva and historical treasure mysteries will find much to love here. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

I want to thank Netgalley and William Farrow for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was looking forward to reading this book as I love Gilly MacMillan and her books. This one however was not for me. The book had a flavor of The DaVinci Code which I personally didn't like and found myself not enjoying this book either.
I didn't feel pulled in at any point in the book or excited about what was next. It wasn't a page turner for me.

Others may like this as I've seen good reviews so consider that when you read my review please.

I really enjoyed this historical fiction mystery. Great characters and plot. The chapters were long but the story kept my attention.

From the very first page, The Burning Library had me shivering with intrigue. Gilly Macmillan blends gothic atmosphere, academic mystery, and the pulse of a modern thriller into something wholly intoxicating. The remote Hebrides, the whisper of medieval manuscripts, the quiet life of a woman who was anything but ordinary, it all feels like stepping into a fog where every shadow could conceal a secret.

What gripped me most was the interplay between the past and the present, and between two rival factions of women whose visions of power are as compelling as they are dangerous. The Order of St Katherine and the Fellowship of the Larks aren’t just organizations, they’re living, breathing legacies of ambition, secrecy, and ruthless determination. Watching Dr. Anya Brown step into their world, unaware of the peril stitched into every page she translates, was equal parts exhilarating and chilling.

Macmillan builds suspense like a master conductor, weaving in Detective Clio Spicer’s investigation with the academic allure of lost manuscripts. The dual threads snap tighter and tighter until you can almost feel the noose of history drawing closed. Every revelation felt like it was lit by candlelight, just enough to see what’s in front of you, but always leaving more in the dark.

This novel is a heady mix of intellectual thriller and psychological suspense, a story that asks: how far would you go, and what would you sacrifice, for knowledge and for power? By the end, I wasn’t just reading about Anya and Clio’s discoveries, I felt like I was complicit, caught in the same centuries old web.

Atmospheric, erudite, and utterly gripping, The Burning Library is a mystery that lingers long after the final page. Fans of dark academia, historical secrets, and slow-burning suspense will devour this.

I could not get through this one. It gave me dark acadamia vibes, which is definitely not my cup of tea so it could be a me problem. But I was also lost with the plot and all of the characters and couldn’t keep up.

I started reading this book and needed to stop. I was just not interested. However I refused to be a book quitter so I pushed on. It actually got better! It started to tied together better and became more suspenseful. I blame my new found interest on Sid. His “sleuthing” and interest in what was going on between the two groups and all the deaths, gave the book an interesting twist. While not my Dave read I ended up enjoying it!

Loved this one--as well as all of hers--as it's suspenseful and deals with so many relevant issues! It begins in Scotland with a castle, a red kayak with two women who've disappeared on the beach, and a note reading, "You shouldn't take what isn't yours." Enter Anya, an introvert with an eidetic memory and two "rival" groups: the Larks and the Kats, and a mysterious embroidered piece of fabric that's appears to be the key to everything! It's a wonderfully-convoluted novel spanning centuries and history. This is one of those books that kept me glued to my seat as I couldn't get through it fast enough!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this advanced reader copy. This book gave me DaVinci Code vibes. The author is known for her psychological thrillers, but this novel was more of an academia inspired mystery. We are on the Scottish highlands, and a body of a woman is found. We soon learn about two rival organizations of women who study ancient artifacts in order to hopefully find a long lost text that will change women’s lives forever. These two groups of women are not above murder if it furthers their quest. We meet Anya, a new researcher at St. Andrew’s and we meet Clio, a detective at Scotland Yard. They try to unravel the many twists and turns that this book takes us on. I raced through this novel, wanting to uncover the mystery. The Scottish setting was terrific! Thumbs up! Publication in November 2025. #books #reading #whatiread #bookstagram #netgalley #bookgram #bookworm #gillymacmillan #goodreads #theburninglibrary #scotland

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this free copy of "The Burning Library."

So here's why I couldn't wait to read this one:
- (anything with "library" in the title)
- Anya Brown, with an eidetic memory, completed her dissertation by decoding an ancient cryptic folio
- Anya was then offered a position to study ancient manuscripts in Scotland
- two centuries-old rival societies looking for a medieval manuscript and they're ruthless in their efforts to find it

And SO many surprises and discoveries and dangers await Anya on her thrilling quest. Also, her mother Rose and partner Sid were fantastic characters. Their relationship with Anya was one of my favorite parts of the book.

So I'm still debating with myself if a little more detail about the clue-solving and code-breaking would have made the story more compelling for me or if it would have bogged down the non-stop action.

But the ending was SO memorable (for several reasons) and I won't spoil any of it for you!

The Burning Library offered an intriguing premise, but it was weighed down by slow pacing and predictable twists. While I’ve loved Macmillan’s earlier novels (What She Knew, The Manor House, and To Tell You the Truth), this one didn’t capture me in the same way. Still, her trademark atmosphere and layered themes reminded me why I continue to pick up her work, even if this latest fell short of my expectations.

In The Burning Library, the body of Eleanor Bruton washed up on a remote Hebrides shore, sparking questions about the quiet woman’s hidden life. A torn piece of embroidery led to a powerful medieval manuscript, coveted by two rival secret societies of women. Dr. Anya Brown, a scholar whose translation attracted dangerous attention, and Detective Clio Spicer, who investigated Eleanor’s death, found their paths collided in a dark world of manuscripts, power, and secrecy where the past threatened to consume them all.

While I found the concept fascinating, parts of The Burning Library felt a little uneven. The story moved slowly in places, weighed down by dense historical detail and academic passages that sometimes pulled me out of the suspense. With so many threads—secret societies, manuscripts, Eleanor’s death, and the dual investigations—it occasionally felt overstuffed, and I wished for tighter pacing and clearer focus on the main mystery. Some of the side characters blurred together, and a few of the twists were more predictable than I hoped for in a dark academia thriller.

Despite some flaws, The Burning Library showed Macmillan’s gift for atmosphere and ambition, and I’m still eager to see what she writes next.

Thank you Net Galley and William Morrow for an advance copy in return for my feedback.

Solid 4 star book. interesting premise, interesting characters. Felt a bit like I was in a slow horses episode and national treasure movie. the only thing is that it could have been a bit shorter with a few less POV.
thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC.

The Burning Library follows a sought-after academic as she finds herself unknowingly enmeshed in intrigue between two rival academic societies of powerful women both looking for clues to a valuable text, and both will stop at nothing to find it. While I found this an enjoyable read, I also thought it was kind of hard to follow, and also I found that the two opposing secret societies were stretching my suspension of disbelief. I felt some of the plot points were not wholly necessary? Also, I hate it when you can't follow the clues yourself - that you need the character's background knowledge and experience to make sense of things. That just doesn't seem fair. Still, I found myself compelled to finish it, which i can't say about every book. If you love books about books, this is a great title.

I found it extremely difficult to follow the plot of THE BURNING LIBRARY and for this reason, it was extremely troublesome for me to push through the book. It may have been because there were too many characters and varying point of views. While I enjoy thrillers and dark academia, this felt like it was just going around in circles and did not hold my interest.