CLICK HERE FOR AN AUDIOBOOK COPY 

Join us for an in-person Book Club Discussion & Themed Tasting Experience on Saturday, May 9th from 4-6 pm at Hackney's Pub in Glenview!

This adventure is inspired by Layered Drinks (Reveal flavor as you sip each layer!) & features The Bookbinder's Secret by A.D. Bell & PRE-READING IS RECOMMENDED FOR THIS EVENT…

Local Book Lovers will gather to discuss the featured book at Hackney's Pub in Glenview (1514 E Lake Ave), where they can also get a taste of some delicious themed bevys + bites inspired by the characters, plots and settings of the story while we mingle! A *MINI BOOK FAIR POP-UP* with curated books and reading pairings will be set up for shopping after the event, so guests can stock up on their favorite bookish goodies to take home with them. All attendees will get a TAKE-AWAY GIFT + EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS FROM OUR BOOKTIQUE too...

NOTE: EACH $15 TICKET PURCHASED ABOVE INCLUDES THE BOOK DISCUSSION, SPECIAL THEMED TREAT FROM OUR BOOKTIQUE & VIRTUAL COUPON FOR SHOPPING. BOOK CLUB ATTENDEES CAN OPT TO PAY FOR THE *OPTIONAL* ADDITIONAL DRINK/FOOD TASTING THE NIGHT OF THE EVENT!

With each Book Club sign up, you can choose to purchase a physical copy of the featured book(s) to read before we meet in-person (CLICK THE CHECKBOX(ES) TO ADD A COPY OF THE BOOK(S) TO YOUR ORDER), decide to download an audiobook from the link below before the event, OR opt to grab your book(s) from the library / share your book(s) with a friend.

BOOK SYNOPSIS

*DELUXE LIMITED EDITION features full-color designed endpapers, unique foiled front and back case stamps, and special interior design elements. While supplies last!*

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...

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.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Grown-Ups

OUR BOOKS ARE LISTED BY AGE GROUP to indicate that the content is engaging and appropriate for those selected ages. PLEASE NOTE: They may not be the appropriate reading level for every individual at those ages or may extend beyond the brackets.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publish Date: January 13, 2026

Pages: 400

Dimensions: 9.6 X 6.4 X 1.2 inches | 1.3 pounds

Language: English

Type: Hardcover

Condition: NEW

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TASTINGS CALENDAR

MAY 9 (4-6 PM) THE BOOKBINDER'S SECRET @ HACKNEY'S PUB IN GLENVIEW

MAY 17 (11-1 PM) THE CORRESPONDENT @ PATINA WINE BAR IN PARK RIDGE

MAY 31 (4-6 PM) IT'S NOT HER @ THE FOXTAIL ON THE LAKE IN DES PLAINES

(CLICK THE LINKS ABOVE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EACH EVENT)