Often the most enjoyable books cross our paths through recommendations from readers who have similar tastes and interests, and such was the case for me with A.D. Bell’s first novel, The Bookbinder’s Secret.

My local bookshop here in Bend, Roundabout Books, regularly invites its staff to share their book picks, and one of the booksellers, Sarah, recommended this Oxford-set mystery. I immediately took note. Picking up the book this past February, in a matter of days, I had whizzed through it, eager to figure out the answers to the many questions that the protagonist Lily Delaney has as she tries to solve a mystery found between the layers of a book cover given to her from a client, hidden by a fellow bookbinder years ago.

But first, let me rewind.

Set in 1901, Liliane Delaney is a bibliophile, but not just any bibliophile; she is a skilled, up-and-coming bookbinder, learning the trade as an apprentice under Mr. Craxton in Oxford, England. Having grown up in the household of a father who owns an antiquarian bookshop, she has been surrounded by books from an early age. And while the relationship between her and her father is far from loving, as she wants to carve her own way in the world and not be tethered by the limited paths permitted to women, she does look out for him as he struggles with the weight of grief after his wife, her mother, died.

The primary plot, however, centers around something far removed from her family, but directly tied to her bookbinding trade. She has been given a book, a book that contains encrypted clues, all crafted to protect lives and preserve love. With the tenacity that she cannot ignore, Lily sets out to make sure those who have caused pain are thwarted, and those who loved are reunited, if still possible. Along the way, she navigates her own love life and life passion, of which she has become quite skilled – bookbinding. And we, the reader, learn quite a lot about this artisanal trade we hear very little about today, but oh, what an art it is.

Nearing 400 pages in length, the short chapters keep you intrigued and wanting to continue as Lily hops around England. First from Oxford to London, and then to many other counties around the country as she tries to deduce what the clues are trying to tell her, all the while trying to keep herself and her loved ones out of harm’s way.

This novel kept me up into the early hours of the morning until I finished it. It was quite an easy decision to choose this debut novel as the Petit Plaisir for epsiode #421, and if you love a strong female protagonist, a historical British setting and a mystery to solve, along with being centered around the world of books, then this is a book I am quite confident you will enjoy.

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~Explore all of TSLL’s British-inspired Petits Plaisirs here.

PETITS PLAISIRS FROM THE ARCHIVES