I am searching for a children’s book probably published in the late 30’s or early 40’s.
British psychological thriller, probably 2019. Small child disappears from yard while young mother carelessly supervises her playtime. Meanwhile, a married woman is in a relationship which begins to reveal itself as rather strange and secretive. Her evasive husband becomes a suspect when coworker points finger in his direction, but his alibi is that his delivery route is far from the kidnapping site. Clues and suspicions build until his wife can no longer avoid suspecting his cagey behavior and question his guilt.
Looking for a book. It's a fiction novel, set in Italy, about a priest, an old tree (olive tree, I think) and a couple.
Published in late 80’s or 90’s. I thought the author’s last name was Smith, but can’t find it. Book purchased at a small indie bookstore.
I had a book when I was a kid that I really liked a lot. I was born in 1976 so it would have been published before the mid-80s, probably. It was about an alchemist, possibly old and doddering, who was trying to turn lead into gold. If I remember correctly it had sort of sepia-toned line drawings, and there were quite detailed illustrations and instructions on how various alchemical apparatus worked. I remember illustrations of him working with tubes and liquids and flames and such. He also needed a unicorn horn so he had to get a young maiden to help him catch one. Can’t remember the title at all.
I’ve been trying to figure out the title and author of this childhood ‘book memory’ my brother has for the past 3 years. If you are able to solve the mystery, it would be a “Christmas Miracle”!! 🎄
Here is the memory:
“All the illustrations were in blues and greys. It was about a boy, I think with a number of brothers, and the brothers were possibly changed into animal shapes, or possibly it was princesses changed into animal shapes. I think there was a sorceress or magician. And there were pictures of horses? And maybe dogs?”
Main Character is a young woman hired to be a companion to a teen by the teen’s guardian. Takes place on an island that you have to take a ferry to the mainland. The teen goes missing and the guardian’s younger brother says she ran away and he cuts off his hand to cover up the murder scene. There is a scene where they make oatmeal by leaving it on the stove overnight. The companion starts to be attracted to the younger brother but discovers what he did.
Book was hard cover, dark blue, about the same size and length as Graeme Base’s “Animalia”.