The Bookbinder's Secret: A Novel

“I thought in my naivety, what danger could lie within a book?” Lily's tantalizing discovery of a mystery hidden inside a book binding quickly transforms into something far more urgent, a race against time to solve pieces of an intricate puzzle while fighting not just for the truth, but for her very survival.
A story within a story, Bell adds depth that keeps you engaged on multiple levels and propels this tale with twists, genuine heartache and the fight for Lily’s very existence. I was captivated early on and Bell held my attention through to the end with this excellent historical mystery.
*I received an arc from the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review

Real Rating: 3.75* of five

The Publisher Says: 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 show more 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.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: I was suckered in by "forbidden love" in the description. It does not mean queer love. It means a girl of "gentle birth" (SOMEone's never been in a delivery room, there is not one single thing gentle about birth) falling for a lower-class boy, being thwarted in her desire for him, and the very tedious and predictable consequences thereof.

All of this features in the mystery the young bookbinder's apprentice is required to solve by her...compulsion, I guess...to have some control over something in her life. Her status as a 1901, so transition between Victorian and Edwardian, woman means she's hemmed in on all sides in spite of being her antiquarian-bookseller father's heir and an apprentice bookbinder of significant skill.

She is, in other words, that most dangerous of people: One who knows just enough to know she is second-class by other people's designs. Those are the people who foment revolution, who commit violent crimes, who rise up for their own benefit. Lily's many steps above her peers because she's got a (failing?) business coming to her, she's learning a skilled trade, and by and large is left to her own devices to live her life as she sees fit.

Which leads me to that missing star. Lily has two suitors and pursues relationships with each unremarked on...in 1901. It's the unremarked on that is the bridge too far in straining my suspension of disbelief. She'd have A Reputation, be called names, be gossiped about. As we're never in the men's company for long enough to form our own opinion about them, at least the gossiping neighbors could've filled us in. Also, the mystery is set in 1851...how did it end? Why do I care if a mid-Victorian pairing gets consummated? For that matter, why does Lily, except to distract herself from the unsatisfying life she's leading?

I liked very much the bookbinding bits. I honestly got invested in Lily's struggles with discovering clues, being perfectly willing to lie and steal to acquire them; but also was sure this would not have gone unremarked in her small professional world. For all of my willingness to meet the book halfway, this was my quarter-star docking point. In the future installments of the series this is clearly meant to be I hope some judicious pruning will cut some redundancies, some peril will attach to Lily's unconventional lifestyle, and her men will either be more present or at least gossiped about. show less

This story is a mystery, quest, and thriller with a touch of romance all rolled up into a spot of historical fiction. For what more could one ask?!

Set primarily in 1901 Oxford, England, Lilian ('Lily') Delaney is a gifted apprentice bookbinder who is coming into her own. She's been called to the stately home of Dr. Ashburn to consult on the rebinding of a book on botany for his wife. While there, he shares with Lily an unbidden scorched book which had arrived with the rest of an order. He's about to toss it to flames when Lily steps in to rescue the tome. He gladly lets her have the book. Later, as she spends time with the book, she begins to unveil its secret mystery. There were apparently others like it which together, tell a rather show more sad tale. Lily is compelled to discover the other tomes and apparently, someone less respectable is after them all as well. What is a girl to do?

Ms. Bell has crafted a wonderfully twisty mysterious yarn around the publishing industry. One travels through England vicariously as the protagonist tracks down the respective tomes. The writing is solid and well crafted. The characters are well developed and reveal some depth. The quest is initially interesting and gradually increases in its gravitas as bad actors enter into the equation. All in all, this was an engaging and enjoyable read.

I am grateful to St. Martin's Press for having provided a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication date: January 13, 2026
Number of Pages: 400
ISBN: 978-1250412645 show less

Lilian Delancy is an apprentice to a bookbinder in Oxford. The year is 1901. When she is given a burned book while picking up some books to be bound at the library of a well-to-do physician, she discovers a mystery that will change her life.

Lily discovers a letter tucked into the binding of the burned book. The letter hints at mystery and romance and danger. She is intrigued enough to want to look into things further. She discovers the book is one of a set of six by a rather obscure author. Finding a second book leads her to more of the story but it also attracts some dangerous elements who also want to have the books and keep the secrets secret.

Lily travels all over England and finds herself meeting reclusive and shady book show more collectors and publishers and authors always being trailed by a man who is willing to do violence to get the books from her.

I enjoyed the way Lily breaks out of her rather confined life on her quest. I liked that the story is told from Lily's point of view. I liked the action and the mystery in the story. show less

The Bookbinder's Secret has a number of elements I enjoy: a historical setting, a *bookish* mystery, a strong central female character, quirky secondary characters. Nonetheless, it just didn't work for me. Part of the reason was, I think, that it has a strong thread of romance in it, and I simply don't enjoy romance, especially straight romance, which I already get enough of from the world I live in. I don't want its heavy presence in my reading as well.

For me, what it boils down to is slow pacing, over-the-top-ness in terms of the mystery part of the novel, and a poorly developed love triangle (the romance thing). I'm an outlier here. This book has been receiving good pre-publication reviews, so look at some of the more enthusiastic show more reviews as well as mine. This books definitely has a constituency that will enjoy it—I'm just not part of that constituency.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own. show less

I was really loving this book for a while, but after the halfway mark, I struggled to stay engaged. The premise of a mystery hidden within a series of old books was intriguing, but the story's pacing was slow, and I could have done without the love triangle. I'm not sure the payoff in the end was worth it — why would the main character jeopardize the career she had worked so hard for, not to mention the safety of people she cared about, just to solve this random mystery? Even though I didn't love it, the book was clearly well-researched, and it piqued my interest in the art of bookbinding.

This is a fast-paced murder mystery with a suspenseful plot.

It made me feel unsettled. Why didn’t Lily, a bookbinder apprentice in 1901, listen to a man who told her a book was dangerous? She should have left it behind but no, she had to take it. Lily found a personal love letter inside the book and wanted to know more. She should have walked away from the shop in London as it was clear that bad things were about to happen.

It’s well written and the story grabs your attention with a man who starts to threaten her life as well as those around her. Lily was now a detective and had to solve a series of risky cases. The plot included a love story and Lily’s frustration of a woman’s role in life. What would a man do if he was in love show more with a 25-year-old woman who wanted a career and no children?

The author centered the book around the fine art of bookbinding before machines took over. It laid out how it was a true treasure to own a hand-crafted leather book that had been constructed with care. For me, that was the value of this book, thinking about the beautiful pieces that were created.

This story also showed how it’s always the unexpected things that happen that can change someone’s path in life. It’s my guess that many readers could relate to this. It would be a great book for a discussion.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of January 13, 2025. The views I share are my own. show less