Message from the Director: May 2025

Colonel Mustard in the study with a candlestick. 

These classic elements – who committed the murder, where the crime took place, and which weapon was used – make up the game Clue, first played in England in 1943.

Not much has changed.  They still are the foundation for a good mystery.

May is National Mystery Month, a good time to indulge in an historical, cozy or futuristic tale.

Of course, we’ve got you’ve covered.

Check out these TV mystery series that range across several countries and involve murder, betrayal, office politics, temptation.  My favorite is Inspector Salvo Montalbano, the brilliant detective who solves crimes in Vigata, a fictional town in Sicily.  Based on the award-winning books by Andrea Camilleri, the series offers stunning views of the countryside as well as very talented character actors drawn from the ranks of local Sicilian theater.

For a good read, a good discussion, and a good time join the library’s Mystery Book Club.  The group meets once a month in Warrenton.  Here’s a list of upcoming books to be discussed.

And, if you’re interested in the experience of writing a dark diabolical thriller, tune in on May 14 to hear Liann Zhang chat about her debut thriller Julie Chan is Dead. It’s presented through the library’s Meet the Author series made possible by the Friends of the Fauquier Library.

Now, it’s got nothing to do with who dunit but everything to do with how it was done when Sunny Reynolds, world traveler and professional photographer, is the library’s guest on May 4 for Sundays @ 2, a series that brings together writers, artists and scholars for conversations about their life and work.   Sunny will share photos from her journeys and explain how she managed to get the stunning shot.

So, here we are.  You in the library with card in hand.  Perhaps not the elements of a mystery but the solution to uncovering great things.

Maria Del Rosso

Director, Fauquier Public Library