The Lions of Fifth Avenue

Fiona Davis uses the New York Public Library as a stage for two women a century apart, weaving feminist themes around books, ambition, and the secrets families keep — and the result is a NYT bestseller that earns its book-club popularity through a clever dual structure and a genuinely evocative setting. The pacing stumbles a little in the 1993 thread and the resolution comes quickly, but readers who love institutional history and women's stories of self-determination will find real satisfaction here. Mature themes — a suicide reference, child neglect, LGBTQ+ elements — make it adult reading, so conservative faith households should note those before picking it up.