Secret Book Swap | North Berwick | No.2 | May 2025

Books We Swapped:Certainly! Here are the synopses for your next batch of books, formatted in the style we've established:

Hindsight – Mary Turner Thomson. In this dual-timeline novel, Catherine's present-day life becomes entangled with vivid memories of Merwynn, a defiant 9th-century Saxon woman. As Catherine delves deeper through hypnotherapy, the boundaries between her own experiences and Merwynn's past blur, revealing profound connections. This narrative explores themes of identity, generational trauma, and the enduring strength of women across time.
Witch Light – Susan Fletcher. Set against the backdrop of the 1692 Glencoe Massacre, this lyrical novel follows Corrag, a young woman imprisoned and accused of witchcraft. As she awaits execution, she recounts her life story to an Irish historian, revealing a tale of love, resilience, and the human spirit's capacity for hope amidst persecution.
Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge – Lizzie Pook. In Victorian London, Maude Horton seeks justice for her sister Constance, who perished after disguising herself as a boy to join an Arctic expedition. This gripping tale of sisterhood and vengeance explores the lengths one woman will go to uncover the truth and honor her sibling's memory.
The Secrets of Thistle Cottage – Kerry Barrett. After her husband's scandal lands him in prison, Tess Blyth retreats to Thistle Cottage in North Berwick to escape media scrutiny. As she delves into the cottage's history, she uncovers tales of witchcraft and realizes that past and present are intertwined in unexpected ways.
The Gargoyle – Andrew Davidson. A severely burned man recovering in a hospital is visited by a mysterious woman who claims they were lovers in medieval times. Blending elements of fantasy and romance, this novel explores themes of redemption, love, and the healing power of storytelling.
Dirt – Bill Buford. In this culinary memoir, Buford chronicles his journey from New York to Lyon, France, to immerse himself in the world of French cuisine. Through apprenticeships in renowned kitchens, he offers an insightful and often humorous look at the challenges and triumphs of mastering the art of cooking.
Red Rising – Pierce Brown. Darrow, a lowborn miner on Mars, infiltrates the elite Gold caste to incite a revolution against the oppressive societal hierarchy. This dystopian saga combines action, political intrigue, and a richly imagined world to explore themes of justice and transformation.
I Feel Bad About My Neck – Nora Ephron. In this collection of essays, Ephron offers candid and witty reflections on aging, beauty, and the challenges of modern womanhood. Her sharp humor and relatable anecdotes provide a comforting and entertaining perspective on life's inevitable changes.
Framed – Frank Cottrell Boyce. When a flood of famous paintings arrives in a small Welsh town, young Dylan Hughes finds his world transformed. This heartwarming tale celebrates the power of art to inspire and unite communities in unexpected ways.
The Artificial Silk Girl – Irmgard Keun. Doris, a young woman in 1930s Berlin, dreams of fame and luxury but faces the harsh realities of economic depression and societal expectations. Keun's novel offers a poignant and satirical look at ambition, identity, and the pursuit of happiness.
The Art Thief – Michael Finkel. This true-crime narrative delves into the life of Stéphane Breitwieser, who stole over 300 artworks across Europe not for profit, but for personal admiration. Finkel explores the psyche of a man driven by obsession and the complexities of art, crime, and passion.
Amsterdam – Ian McEwan. Two friends, a composer and a newspaper editor, make a pact that leads them down a dark path of moral ambiguity and revenge. McEwan's Booker Prize-winning novel is a sharp exploration of friendship, ethics, and the consequences of our choices.

Guest Author

Mary Turner Thomson, Author, Speaker & Founder of The Book Whisperers

Mary is an Edinburgh author, a captivating speaker and the international best-selling author behind the powerful autobiographical books about her bigamist, psychopath ex-husband.

As an expert in the field of writing, publishing, and understanding psychopaths, Mary is dedicated to sharing her knowledge and experiences with a wider audience.

We were delighted to welcome Mary back to the Secret Book Swap after she joined us in Currie in January. Once again, our group were captivated not only by her story behind her true crime novels but with the amazing work she’s done since then, both as an author and her work with The Book Whisperers, a community to bring writers and experts in the publishing field together.

Find out more

Mary's Books

Visit The Book Whisperers

Banned Book Reading

Untitled (A Poem for Ross and Felix), By Rosie Jo Hunter

This month I wanted to share a poem that speaks directly to the theme of erasure which is so key to the conversations we’ve been having around book banning . “Untitled (A poem for Ross and Felix)” by Rosie J Hunter explores the first step in erasing a people: erasing their history.

I first saw Rosie perform this at a Loud Poets Showcase event earlier this year, then caught their sell out solo show at the Traverse Theatre in April and was blown away by poetry and performance. Recently a recording from the Loud Poets event was added to youtube and it was the poem I shared with our group this week. It was one that had stuck with me since seeing it performed live and with it relating specifically to a piece of art which in the Smithsonian which is one of the organisations targeted by anti-DEI acts from the Trump administration, to me it helped show the impact of these stories, be them through books or visual art, being removed.

I spoke with RJ about our group and this section in our evenings. They thought it was really great we were having these conversations and really pleased to hear their poem would be part of it. They hoped to join us in person to hear your reactions but instead I’ll be sure to pass on the reactions from our groups.

You can watch Rosie perform their poem below. They introduce the story ahead of their poem and in that you’ll see how this links to the current book bans and dei erasure in the US including their instructions to the Smithsonian, as RJ says themselves, “The first way to erase a group is to erase their history.”

You can follow Rosie Jo Hunter on Instagram here

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