The Lions of Fifth Avenue Audiobook Review: A Mystery in a Library Setting Book Lovers Will Adore
A light, dual-timeline mystery with a satisfying puzzle and a setting book lovers will want to live in.
My Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5 stars: Good)
- Author: Fiona Davis
- Category: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Women’s Fiction
- Published: 2020
- Runtime: 11 hours
Doesn’t living inside a caretaker’s apartment hidden in the New York Public Library sound like a dream? That setting alone had me sold before I even pressed play.
In 1913, Laura Lyons lives that dream with her husband and kids, until a chance encounter pulls her into early feminist thinking right as a string of valuable book thefts upends her family’s life. Eighty years later, her granddaughter Sadie is a middle-aged library curator who’s good at her job but a little less sure of her personal life. Sadie watches the same kind of horrible theft happen again, with her own family history making her an uncomfortable suspect.
The author constructs this story so that early details are hints to the plot, and the reader gradually pieces together what happened and why right alongside the characters. It builds to a page-turning climax with an outcome I didn’t see coming. There’s also personality that makes the characters relatable, especially Sadie’s anxious closeness with her brother’s family, and the sweet, fumbling start of a relationship with a detective.
If I’m being greedy, I would have loved even more of the library’s actual texture and atmosphere, especially what it was like to live in the caretaker’s apartment. But that’s a bonus, not a real complaint. This is a fun, light mystery with a wonderful historical backdrop: ideal for a beach bag, a long flight, or anyone who wants a vacation read with a little more history and bookishness than the average thriller.
The Audiobook Experience
★★★★☆
Erin Bennett and Lisa Flanagan split the two timelines, and the narration is enjoyable but not exceptional.
High multitasking potential, easy to follow while cooking, walking, or doing chores.
Audio or print? Either works well here. The dual narrators are a nice touch for keeping timelines straight, but the book doesn’t lean on audio-specific magic to land.
Read It or Skip It?
Read it if: you want a fun, light mystery with a unique, bookish setting and a satisfying puzzle, especially if you’re looking for a vacation read or something to get you through a long flight.
Skip it if: you’re hoping for a immersive atmosphere or deep, character-driven literary fiction; this is plot-forward.
Related: The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson for historical fiction with the same amount of charm but more depth. The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis for another dual-timeline mystery built around a real New York City landmark, with the same light, puzzle-driven charm.
Book Club Guide
The Lions of Fifth Avenue is a great low-stakes book club pick, quick to read and easy to discuss.
Discussion Questions:
- Laura and Sadie are separated by 80 years but connected by the same building and a similar moment of reckoning. How would you compare them?
- Laura’s awakening to feminist ideas creates real tension with the people around her. How did that tension feel reading it today?
- Davis plants small details early that later turn out to matter to the mystery. Did you catch any of them on a first listen, or did they only click in hindsight?
- Sadie’s romance with the detective develops with real awkwardness and fumbling rather than a clean meet-cute. Did that feel true to life for you?
- If you’ve read other Fiona Davis novels, which is your favorite, and why?
Listen Now
I only recommend audiobooks and resources I’ve personally experienced. This post contains affiliate links — if you purchase through them, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
