The Book of Speculation by Erica Swyler

by:  Erica Swyler
published by:  St. Martin's Press
publish date:  June 23, 2015

Simon Watson, a young librarian, lives alone on the Long Island Sound in his family home, a house perched on the edge of a cliff that is slowly crumbling into the sea. His parents are long dead, his mother having drowned in the water his house overlooks.One day, Simon receives a mysterious book from an antiquarian bookseller; it has been sent to him because it is inscribed with the name Verona Bonn, Simon's grandmother. Simon must unlock the mysteries of the book, and decode his family history, before fate deals its next deadly hand. 

The Book of Speculation was one of those book that I kept wanting to read, but I could never find the right time to get started.  Finally, I got a chance to read it and it was a lovely story.

Simon Watson lives in his family home.  It's falling down and in need of major repairs that he cannot afford on his librarian salary.  His sister is out somewhere in the world as a member of the circus.  One day he gets a mysterious book in the mail and he learns the secrets of the women in his life.  All the women in his family die on the same day of the year.  It's quickly approaching and he needs to warn his sister before she suffers the same fate.

Readers of Water for Elephants and The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane will enjoy this book.  All the books have the same mystical qualities.  The story is rooted in real life, but there are elements of magic sprinkled throughout.