The Bookbinder’s Secret
One of my favorite things about buying used books is finding the little things left behind, from inscriptions and annotations to bookmarks, receipts, and sticky notes, and I am ready for my own (less murder-y) adventure to start from a secret note beneath an endpaper.
The Bookbinder’s Secret by A. D. Bell is a thrilling feminist historical mystery novel full of intrigue, romance, and murder, an adventure initiated by the discovery of a letter found beneath the endpaper of a damaged book, and I was here for every bit of it.
In turn of the century (that’s the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, younglings) Oxford, Lilian Delaney grew up in her father’s bookshop and has become one of the few female bookbinders in England.
When Lily was asked to pick up a commission at a client’s home, she was excited to be able to go because it would mean she got to see his library. Anyone who loves books for their own sake is okay by me, and I was right with her when she found a slightly burned book and asked to keep it when she learned it was going to be discarded.
Under the curling endpaper of the damaged book, she finds a letter from an unnamed woman to her lover, an enigmatic message about a potential murder, and six small dots which lead her to deduce there are five other books with secret messages. This is enough to spark Lily’s curiosity and set her on the path which leads to a visit from a mysterious man in a bowler hat who attacks her father and threatens more if she does not find all the books for his employer. Thus the adventure begins.
The Bookbinder’s Secret is for any book lover, mystery lover, story lover who finds themselves going down a rabbit hole when curiosity strikes. Bell has built a world of and for book lover and dropped in a strong, funny heroine on a mysterious romantic quest along which she meets a host of quirky, interesting, and sometimes dangerous characters.
Random Thoughts:
“You look like you slept in a hedge.” 😂
I love how much the characters love books and how they talk about the myths and realities of famed personal libraries.
What if Abel Bell is A. D. Bell, and I am just another character reading The Bookbinder’s Secret, and my story is just one more layer added to the nesting doll of the story within the story (within the story)?
I read the ebook along with the audiobook, and Olivia Vinall was perfect for the first-person narration of Lily Delaney, really breathing life into her and her story.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advance copies for my unbiased review. Pub. date 1/13/26
Support your favorite indie bookstore (and me) by using my link to order the audiobook from https://libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm60355 OR if you prefer using your eyes to read, https://refer.bookshop.org/candidanorwood.
