The Bookbinder's Secret: A Novel
Jan 2026 · Sold by St. Martin's Press
4.1star
7 reviews
Ebook
400
Pages
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About this ebook
Every book tells a story. This one tells a secret.
A young bookbinder begins a hunt for the truth when a confession hidden beneath the binding of a burned book reveals a story of forbidden love, lost fortune, and murder. Now a USA Today bestseller!
Lilian ("Lily") Delaney, apprentice to a master bookbinder in Oxford in 1901, chafes at the confines of her life. She is trapped between the oppressiveness of her father’s failing bookshop and still being an apprentice in a man’s profession. But when she’s given a burned book during a visit to a collector, she finds, hidden beneath the binding, a fifty-year-old letter speaking of love, fortune, and murder.
Lily is pulled into the mystery of the young lovers, a story of forbidden love, and discovers there are more books and more hidden pages telling their story. Lilian becomes obsessed with the story but she is not the only one looking for the remaining books and what began as a diverting intrigue quickly becomes a very dangerous pursuit.
Lily's search leads her from the eccentric booksellers of London to the private libraries of unscrupulous collectors and the dusty archives of society papers, deep into the heart of the mystery. But with sinister forces closing in, willing to do anything for the books, Lilian’s world begins to fall apart and she must decide if uncovering the truth is worth the risk to her own life.
* This stunning edition includes full-color designed endpapers, unique foiled front and back case stamps, and special interior design elements. While supplies last! *
A young bookbinder begins a hunt for the truth when a confession hidden beneath the binding of a burned book reveals a story of forbidden love, lost fortune, and murder. Now a USA Today bestseller!
Lilian ("Lily") Delaney, apprentice to a master bookbinder in Oxford in 1901, chafes at the confines of her life. She is trapped between the oppressiveness of her father’s failing bookshop and still being an apprentice in a man’s profession. But when she’s given a burned book during a visit to a collector, she finds, hidden beneath the binding, a fifty-year-old letter speaking of love, fortune, and murder.
Lily is pulled into the mystery of the young lovers, a story of forbidden love, and discovers there are more books and more hidden pages telling their story. Lilian becomes obsessed with the story but she is not the only one looking for the remaining books and what began as a diverting intrigue quickly becomes a very dangerous pursuit.
Lily's search leads her from the eccentric booksellers of London to the private libraries of unscrupulous collectors and the dusty archives of society papers, deep into the heart of the mystery. But with sinister forces closing in, willing to do anything for the books, Lilian’s world begins to fall apart and she must decide if uncovering the truth is worth the risk to her own life.
* This stunning edition includes full-color designed endpapers, unique foiled front and back case stamps, and special interior design elements. While supplies last! *
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Ratings and reviews
4.1
7 reviews
Texas Texan
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January 14, 2026
THE BOOKBINDER'S SECRET, Audiobook - I enjoyed this mysterious adventure set in England, during the early 1900s. I like the writing style of the author, her characters, the descriptions, the bookbinding history, and the dialogues. I like that the characters are not stupid, but determined while acknowledging the danger. Narrated by Olivia Vinall, an excellent job done with her characters and emotions. Source: Netgalley and Macmillan Audio. 5*
Boost 2822
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June 11, 2026
starting to tell the life of Bartholomew's journey in modern times
FourBlix Test
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June 19, 2026
good
About the author
A.D. BELL lives in Oxford, haunting the city’s bookshops on the weekend, writing in its cafés, and walking the winding paths of her characters.
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