Village Books

‘Totally gripping’ – Simon Sebag Montefiore

Would you sacrifice yourself to save thousands of others? In the Summer of 1940, after the Nazi occupation of Poland, an underground operative called Witold Pilecki accepted a mission to uncover the fate of thousands of people being interned at Auschwitz. His mission was to report on Nazi crimes and raise a secret army to stage an uprising. His reports from the camp were to shape the Allies response to the Holocaust – yet his story was all but forgotten for decades. The Volunteer is the first major account of his enthralling story of resistance and heroism under the most horrific circumstances.

For years, rumours of the ‘Marsh Girl’ have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say.

Where the Crawdads Sing is a breathtaking, bestselling debut from Delia Owens. It is a vivid and original narrative and, though set in the 60s, engages with political and ecological themes still relevant today. Hazel loved this book, and thought it was a beautifully written and fantastically compelling read.

Yesterday, Lydia had a bookshop.

Yesterday, Lydia was married to a journalist.

Yesterday, she was with everyone she loved most in the world.

Today, her eight-year old son Luca is all she has left.

Vivid, visceral, utterly compelling, American Dirt is an unforgettable story of a mother and son’s attempt to cross the US-Mexico border. Hazel loved this book, about an indie bookshop owner forced to flee her home. She found it riveting, thought-provoking, and utterly, utterly wonderful.

Missy Carmichael’s life has become small. Grieving for a family she has lost or lost touch with, she’s haunted by the echoes in her empty home; the sound of the radio in the dark; the tick-tick-tick of watching clock. Spiky and defensive, Missy knows that her loneliness is all her own fault. But a chance encounter with two very different women opens the door to something new. Another life beckons for Missy, if only she can be brave enough to grasp the opportunity.

For people who liked Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Beth Morrey’s beautiful debut is a moving, tender and uplifting book. Tracey really enjoyed it!

Mecklenburgh Square, on the radical fringes of interwar Bloomsbury, was home to activists, experimenters and revolutionaries; among them were the modernist poet H. D., detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, classicist Jane Harrison, economic historian Eileen Power, and writer and publisher Virginia Woolf. Francesca Wade’s spellbinding group biography explores how these trailblazing women forged careers that would have been impossible without these rooms of their own.

Ella read this book and instantly became fascinated by the lives of all of these remarkable women. She thought Square Haunting beautiful, absorbing, and a wonderful glimpse into womanhood in the interwar period.

When Korede’s dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what’s expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This’ll be the third boyfriend Ayoola’s dispatched in ‘self-defence’. She loves her sister and family comes first, but Korede begins to grow fearful when Ayoola starts dating the doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede loves the doctor, but to save one would mean sacrificing the other…

Sophie, Hannah, Ella and Tracey all loved the dark comedy in this thriller. For fans of Killing Eve, this is a vivid, sharp, and brilliantly told tale of sisterhood, love, and murder!

Patrick believes he is dead. Jennifer’s schizophrenia medication helped with her voices but did it cause Parkinson’s? Emma is in a coma – or is she just refusing to respond?

Drawing from Professor David’s career as clinician, academic, and cognitive neuropsychiatrist, these fascinating case studies reveal the unique complexity of the human mind, probing the limits of our understanding. This marvellous book by local author, Professor Antony David, has been described by Jo Brand as a ‘witty, humane and fascinating book’.

On Christmas Eve, 1617, the sea around the remote Norwegian island of Vardø is thrown into a reckless storm and the fishermen of Vardø are wiped out in an instant. Vardø becomes a place of women, until, eighteen months later, a sinister figure arrives. Summoned to take control of a place at the edge of the civilized world, Absalom Cornet sees Vardø as a place flooded with evil, one he must root out at all costs…

Tracey and Hazel both thought The Mercies, Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s first novel for adults, was completely brilliant. Described by Elizabeth MacNeal, author of The Doll Factory, as ‘storytelling at its most masterful’, this book is a gripping tale of sisterhood, courage, and community.

‘Brave, compassionate, and inspiring – it left me in floods of tears’ – Adam Kay, author of This Is Going to Hurt

From Sarajevo under siege in 1993, to clandestine hospitals in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, David Nott has carried out life-saving operations and field surgery in the most challenging conditions. Driven both by compassion, the desire to help others and the thrill of extreme personal danger, David is now widely acknowledged to be the most experienced trauma surgeon in the world. War Doctor is his extraordinary story.