Author Gilly Macmillan’s brilliant and unique murder/mystery novel, “The Burning Library,” takes us on a most unusual voyage, as first two, then three distinct forces search for an ancient manuscript titled “The Book of Wonder.” Whoever finds it first will have almost immediate access to millions of dollars because that manuscript offers the rare and potentially profitable opportunity to see how a few women centuries ago tried to overcome the alleged superiority of the male of the human species and prove that women were and are equal to or superior to men.

The plot of the novel involves the competing interests and methods of two groups of feminist organizations. One has called itself the Larks; that group works under the aegis of The Institute of Manuscript Studies, located in St. Andrew, Scotland. The Larks work tirelessly to break through the glass ceiling that blocks women from gaining the equal rights and opportunities that have always been available to men. The other group calls itself the Kats, and their very sly, very clever method of gaining equality is to have their members pretend to be traditional good old housewives and mothers, all the while guiding and inducing their male family members to give up the concept of male superiority and to work to support the advance of women — with all the support the men can muster, both financially and emotionally. But especially financially. So the Kats, with their wealthy families, are well-stocked with financial supplies as they pursue their goals.

The main problem is that the two groups hate each other and will use any means necessary to be the first to gain their ends. And those means include murder. Each of them has absolutely no qualms about murdering whoever stands in their way, including, of course, members of the opposing group or anyone else they perceive as their enemy. So unlike standard mysteries, there’s no usual whodunit search for the murderer until the climax — the discovery of who he or she is and the means of bringing the murderer to justice. We know long before the climax exactly who the murderers are. The climax is the discovery of the manuscript.

Here’s a summary of the unusual plot, with specific mentions of the most important characters: The murders start very early. As a matter of fact, the first murder occurs in the prologue, wherein we observe a character named Eleanor Bruton working on a file which we understand must remain a secret becase Eleanor burns all her work so that nobody else can view it. But she senses trouble coming, and sure enough, she’s murdered before the prologue is over. Then comes chapter one and the introduction of what will prove to be the narrative pattern of the entire novel — and a very effective pattern it is. The heading of that first chapter is labelled “Anya” in bold print. And there we meet our protagonist, paleographer Dr. Anya Brown, an ultra-brilliant young woman who has deciphered an ancient manuscript called simply Folio 9. Other experts in the field have found the manuscript undecipherable, while Anya, with her brilliance and eidetic (photographic) memory, has completed the task with absolutely no help. The whole global community of ancient manuscript study is astounded by her accomplishment, and therein lies the seed of Anya’s huge problems, problems which will haunt her existence for a very long time.

Anya is the only character whose experiences are related using the first person narrative technique. She tells her own story. All the experiences and even the thoughts of the other cast members are presented by an omniscient third person narrator. So we can tell that Anya is indeed the main character. But several others are almost equally important.

Here are other characters with “their own” headings and sections, passages focusing on their importance in the unfolding of the plot: (1) Sid, Anya’s lover. He goes to live with her at St. Andrews and is her ally in attempting to foil the evil intentions of the Larks and the Kats. (2) Clio, a policewoman/investigator who suspects that evil plays a part in the drama surrounding the Larks’ and Kats’ search for the antique manuscripts which will lead them to the Book of Wonder. (3) Diana, the recruiter for the Manuscript Institute, who seduces Anya into becoming an employee and researcher at the Institute and promises Anya the opportunity to gain exclusive access to the many antique and unexplored manuscripts therein. (4) Olivia, the wife of a prominent judge, both of whom work for and financially support the Kats. (5) Viv, the caretaker of Anya’s ‘Mum,” herself a brilliant researcher, who is very ill but has been and continues to be Anya’s guiding light. (6) Sarabeth, another worker at the Institute who seems to truly care about Anya more than other veterans there. And finally there is another important character whose name does not appear as a heading for any section but who plays a large part in Anya’s life and career. His name is Magnus Beaufort, and he is an extremely wealthy older man who is the primary financial contributor to the Institute. He is the owner of the mysterious Burning Library of the novel’s title. When Anya meets Magnus, sparks fly.

And the search goes on. The climax of the novel is, of course, the ultimate finding of the Book of Wonder, as well as the revelation of who has found it and what will happen to it — how it will be utilized by its finder.

In addition to those fascinating characters and a tightly knit plot, another remarkable Macmillan talent is a narrative technique that offers us a marvelous narrative and dialogue style. Every word, phrase, and paragraph is concise, precise, clear, and direct. If any element needs explanation to make its meaning perfectly clear, this fine author has one character explain it to another or the third person narrator explain it to us. And virtually every explanation and description functions as en element that advances the plot and the themes.

Finally, we should mention those emergent themes that the author and her characters convey. And those themes, two in particular, are perfectly aligned with the cast’s personalities and discoveries, and they are surely aligned with many readers’ opinions, too. One is, “Don’t trust anyone no matter how trustworthy that person appears to be.” And a second one, equally important, is, “People who are obsessed with gaining apparently beneficent ends are often perfectly content with using malignant means to achieve those ends.” And that’s all I will point out about the details of this most unusual murder mystery, lest I provide some spoilers that might interfere with the reader’s enjoyment of the “The Burning Library,” and I certainly don’t want to do that. That pleasure should be all yours. Just read this unique novel, and I’m sure that you’ll find the experience informative, thought-provoking, and entertaining — just as I did.

This review is based on the final, hardcover book provided by the publisher, William Morrow, for review purposes.

Review by Jack Kramer.