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Minnesota author Allen Eskens, who was the Page Turners’ featured author in 2016, is making a return to Austin Wednesday evening to talk about his new book, “The Quiet Librarian.”

Hosted by Sweet Reads Books & Candy, the event will be held starting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night in the Austin Public Library, a change of venue from Sweet Reads’ prior author visits which are held at the store’s Main Street location.

“I’m too small and it fits with the librarian (theme),” said Sweet Reads owner Lisa Deyo of the expected crowd for the event. “It’s an appropriate place.”

His most recent book released in February of this year, Eskens’ 10th offering follows the story of Minnesota librarian Hana Babic with a past that includes time serving with a band of Bosnian militia fighters during the country’s conflict with Serbia.

When her friend in Minnesota is killed, Babic must return to her roots in the conflict to find the killer before the hunter comes for her and her friend’s eight-year-old grandson.

It’s a pair of plot lines that come together for a thrilling ending, Deyo said and it’s that kind of writing she said that makes Eskens so appealing to long-time and newer readers.

“He puts (in his books) a couple lines of plot and parallels them,” Deyo said. “I love when he does that.”

This dip into historical fiction is Eskens’ first entry into the genre of fiction and those coming to the visit Wednesday night will get a chance to ask him about that as well as other questions they might have, along with having their books signed by the author.

In some ways, it mirrors the Page Turners’ event held each April. When Eskens was featured in 2016 it was for his book “The Life We Bury.”

At the same time, being able to bring this many authors to Austin is a reflection of Austin itself.

“It says something about the community,” Deyo said. “We’re very literate and we appreciate good literature.”

She also said that it says a lot about the connection of readers in the community, which includes the increase of events like Wednesdays as well as the growth of book clubs in Austin.

“I think it’s a connection. There are so many readers in the community,” she said. “What does that say about our community? There’s a lot of respect for hearing other people’s impressions.”

For more information on Eskens and “The Quiet Librarian,” as well as his other books, visit: https://alleneskens.com/

For more on Sweet Reads, including upcoming authors and events, visit: https://sweetreadsbooks.com/. You can also learn more by visiting Sweet Reads on Facebook.