Blog: Adult Program

Mystery Making with Sisters in Crime New England

Tuesday, Aug. 5th from 7-8pm, join us at the library for MYSTERY MAKING with Sisters in Crime New England! In this fun, fast-paced improv game, authors Susan Cory, Toni L.P. Kelner, and John Nardizzi will brainstorm on their feet to create a brand new mystery, using suggestions from the audience! WAS it the butler? It could be up to you!

With “Sisters in Crime New England“.

MEET YOUR AUTHORS:

SUSAN CORY was an award-winning residential architect in Cambridge, MA before she retired to write mysteries full time. She earned a brown belt in karate and visited 100 countries along the way. Her mystery series, beginning with Conundrum, features Iris Reid, also a Cambridge architect, as an amateur sleuth trying to uncover a murderer at her Harvard reunion. Susan found inspiration for starting this series at her own 20th architecture school reunion, not that anyone was killed then. That she knows of.

Her seven books in the series have won praise from Kirkus who calls her sleuth “an appealing and believable hero” with supporting characters who are “outstanding” and “hone this remarkable story.” “Cory gleefully breezes through subplots and twists with a resourceful protagonist at the helm.”

Her 8th book in the series, The Forger’s Daughter, is due out in August 2025.

TONI L.P. KELNER is two authors in one. As Leigh Perry, she writes the Family Skeleton series featuring a walking, talking skeleton named Sid. The series debuted with A Skeleton in the Family. As Toni L.P. Kelner, she’s the author of the eight Laura Fleming mysteries and the three books in the “Where are they now?” series. She also co-edited seven urban fantasy anthologies with NYT bestseller Charlaine Harris. In between novels and anthologies–and under both names–she writes short stories about pirates, PIs, serial killers, zombies, and demonic phone calls. A dozen of her stories were recently collected in her most recent book, The Skeleton Rides a Horse and Other Stories, from Crippen & Landru Publishers. Toni and/or Leigh have been nominated multiple times for the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Derringer, and she has won an Agatha Award for Best Short Story and an RT BOOKreview Career Achievement Award. Her short story “Baby Trap” was selected for the anthology Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024, edited by S.A. Cosby and Steph Cha.

JOHN NARDIZZI is an award-winning writer and investigator. His crime novels have won praise for crackling dialogue and pithy observations of detective work. THE BURDEN OF INNOCENCE earned a 2022 Shamus Award nomination for Best PI Paperback. He speaks and writes about investigations in numerous settings, including World Association of Detectives, Lawyers Weekly, Pursuit Magazine and PI Magazine. His work on innocence cases led to the exoneration Gary Cifizzari and James Watson (he was awarded the Arc of Justice for the Watson case in 2021), as well as million dollar settlements for clients Dennis Maher and the estate of Kenneth Waters, whose story was featured in the film Conviction. Prior to his PI career, he failed to hold any restaurant job for longer than a week. He lives near Boston, Massachusetts.

Happy Little Trees: A gently guided paint night 8.7.25

Join Cait in the program room on Thursday August 7th at 6pm for some light refreshments and a refreshing paint night. Paint along with everyone’s favorite PBS painter and make some happy little trees and maybe a big ol’ rock. Materials will be provided so space is limited. Registration is required. You can sign up at the link: https://bit.ly/Happy-little-trees-MPL or call the library to be added to the list.
Prior painting skills are not required. In fact, Cait can’t paint at all. So plan to laugh along and learn through the magic art of trial, error, and happy accidents.

Housing Assistance Drop-In Hours

Free legal assistance for those with housing concerns, no appointment necessary! Just come by the Malden Public Library between 10am-12pm to speak with an attorney about eviction, financial assistance, affordable housing, etc. Brought to you by the Malden Office of Housing Stability, and held on the 4th Wednesday of every month in Study Room 1. If you have questions, please reach out to (781) 322-9119 ext. 146, or email housingstability@cityofmalden.org.

Summer Movie Night: Wed., July 16th: 6:00-8:00pm

Please join us for Movie Night on Wednesday, July 16, 2025: 6:00-8:00pm at the Malden Public Library. We will be showing a recent comedy starring, Keke Palmer and Sza, who are having One Of Them Days.

“When best friends and roommates Dreux and Alyssa discover Alyssa’s boyfriend has blown their rent money, the duo finds themselves going to extremes in a race against the clock to avoid eviction and keep their friendship intact.” Rated R (97 min.) (2025) 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Free snacks will be provided. Movie times are approximate.

Ice Cream Social Thursday June 26th 1-2:30pm

It’s that time of year again. Summer reading is starting and to celebrate we are kicking off with Dairy Delight. Join the library on Thursday, June 26th from 1-2:30pm for ice cream on the front lawn (rain location to be announced day of). For the party we’ll have games, music, books, and of course ice cream. To get ready we ask that anyone who is able, please sign up on Beanstack for your summer reading challenges. And don’t worry, for less technology inclined folks we will have librarians available to help you sign up and get your summer started. To register please use our Beanstack link: bit.ly/BeanstackMPL

And if you can’t make it we still want to support your summer progress. Sign up via the Beanstack app, webpage, one of our library sign up stations, or in person at the info or children’s desks. We have a lot of tasty prizes for kids and teens this summer. And for adults who read their weekly goal we have a prize raffle for fun gift certificates to our favorite community partners. Don’t miss out this summer it is going to be tons of fun!

 

Summer Hours Start Saturday June 21st! Saturdays 9-1pm

Summer is back! And this year we are open on Saturday. Starting Saturday, June 21st the library will open from 9am-1pm. This will give you and your family time to stop by and pick up your beach reads, audio books for the long car ride, or movies for a rainy weekend. For the rest of the week our hours will be the same, and packed with lots of summer reading special events. Check out our calendar to see what is going on! And don’t forget to sign up on Beanstack to log your reading minutes!

Book Log Snakes!!!

To get Sssssstarted…what’sssss thisssss about?

There are snakes at the Malden Public Library! Book snakes! This year we wanted a way to log books and encourage reading that was fun and educational. And thanks to TikTok and the internet we have this cool and crafty project. For this project you will crochet or knit a log of all your reading by assigning colors to genres or themes and then adding them each time you finish a book that matches those categories. In the end you’ll have a cute, plush log of all you’ve accomplished.

Sssssupplies…

We have provided kits with a crochet hook, some eyes, stitch markers, a pattern, and a pre-crocheted head to get you started. We are also stocking the card catalog with loads of yarn for you to choose from and some back up supplies. Stop by the library and get your kit, pick up some yarn, or just get a pattern and start logging your books. You can view the crochet pattern here:

Don’t like to crochet?

No problem…we have a knitting pattern! And you can still use the yarn, the eyes, the stitch markers. You can also bring your knit snake to one of our knitting programs and ask questions or seek assistance.

Need ssssome more help?

The library is hosting our first Book Log Snake Class and Clinic on Thursday, March 13th at 6pm. Stop by to learn how to crochet your snake from scratch. You will need your own 4.5mm hook, but we will provide the rest. There will be other snake clinics as we go and you can email cquinn@maldenpubliclibrary for updates on classes or suggestions for snake resources. In the meantime, here are some free online tutorials the staff found helpful:

And for kids too little to crochet or knit…

We have a coloring sheet. You can ask for copies at the children’s desk or pick them up near the yarn station. You can also print this template at home!

World Movie Night: Wed, May 21st: 6:00-8:30pm

Please join us for World Movie Night on Wednesday, May 21, 2025: 6:00-8:30pm at the Malden Public Library. We will be showing a movie based on the bestselling Brazilian memoir, Ainda Estou Aqui, (I’m Still Here), about the life of Marcelo Rubens Paiva. The film stars Fernanada Torres, Selton Mello, and Fernanda Montenegro. The movie won an Oscar this year for Best International Feature Film and Fernanda Torres won a Golden Globe for Best Actress

“While Brazil faces the tightening grip of a military dictatorship, Eunice Paiva, a mother of five, is forced to reinvent herself and her family, resisting the oppression that hangs over the country. From the acclaimed director of Central Station and The Motorcycle Diaries, Walter Salles and based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s memoir, this story portrays an important part of Brazil’s hidden history.” Rated PG-13 (136 min.) (2024) 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

This film is one of the best of the year and not to be missed.

Free snacks will be provided. Movie times are approximate.

 

TONIGHT! 2nd Annual Haitian Culture Night: 6:00-8:00pm

Please join us on Wednesday, May 28, 2025: 6:00-8:00pm for our 2nd Annual Haitian Culture Night filled with Haitian art, poetry, music, books, language, and food.
Our featured guests include Haitian artists, Professor Joel Renfort and his wife, artist, Martine Renfort. The Renforts have their beautiful art featured in the Malden Public Library during the month of May. Mr. Renfort will talk about his art and poetry in his discussion, “When Painting Meets Poetry.”
Just added is our featured guest, musician, Kera Washington, Zili Misik Founder & Band Leader and the Director of Yanvalou Drumming and Dance Ensemble, Wellesley College. Ms. Washington has been performing and teaching music, using Boston as her base, for over twenty years. Her first love is percussion, which she found while studying ethnomusicology at Wellesley College, Wesleyan University, Brown University, and in Interdisciplinary Studies at Tufts. She studies with master musicians from Haiti, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Brazil, and the United States. She is on faculty in the Music Department of Wellesley College.
Erga Pierette, 1st Vice President NAACP Mystic Valley Area Branch and Dean of Community, Culture and Equity, Malden Catholic will be our emcee for the night and will read some Haitian poetry and will talk about Haiti.
Please join us for some samples of popular Haitian foods from Grêp Kafé. Start learning Haitian Creole with one of our language apps, check out some books in Haitian Creole for kids and adults, and learn a little bit about Haiti and the country’s interesting historical connection to Malden, Massachusetts.
This event is generously co-sponsored by the Friends Of The Malden Public Library and co-sponsored by the NAACP Mystic Valley Area Branch.
Everyone is welcome to join us at this all-ages event. We look forward to seeing you there!