Go, Erika Swyler! I really liked this story, the characters, the whole package. You had me at Tarot. But, of course there were so many other draws here for me, too, a travelling circus, fortune tellers, genealogy, it doesn’t matter if it is mine or someone else’s I find it fascinating to learn of a family’s history. Not to mention the narrator of the story is a Librarian. Come on, how could anyone not like this book? Simon, the Librarian (almost rhymes) is such a great big brother and he has had to deal with the loss of his mother (some say suicide, some say a strange dark force at play) then the loss of his father emotionally. His Dad just sort of mentally checked out after the loss of his wife and Simon even though he was only 6 years old ends up basically raising his 2 year old sister, Enola. Odd coincidences come to light over the years and strange family ancestry and ties in peculiar directions are made known. A mysterious book of a travelling circus’ history along with hand drawings of the Tarot deck arrives in the mail addressed to Simon. This book holds an awesome power over Simon, his sister and an eccentric book purveyor. Simon’s next door neighbor, a parental figure for Simon and Enola, has hand drawn likenesses of dark haired women with piercing eyes out in his garage. He tells Simon he thinks they are ancestors of his but these people look surprisingly like Simon’s mother. Unique people abound with occult and aquatic skills throughout the story which ties present with past occurrences. Don’t want to give too much away but trust me there are more to mermaids and horseshoe crabs than you would first think. Kudos to Erika Swyler on her first novel. More! More!
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