Secret Book Swap | No. 7 - North Berwick November
Books we swapped:
The House at the End of Hope Street – Menna van Praag
A mysterious house that offers shelter to women at a crossroads in their lives? Yes please. This magical realist novel follows Alba, a young woman escaping heartbreak and loss, who discovers a house filled with portraits of past famous residents—Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie and more—each whispering advice. As she rebuilds her life, the house offers more than just shelter—it offers healing. Warm, whimsical and empowering, it’s for fans of Sarah Addison Allen or The Keeper of Lost Things.The Lamplighters – Emma Stonex
Inspired by a real unsolved mystery, this novel begins with three lighthouse keepers who vanish from a remote tower. The door is locked from the inside, the clocks have stopped—and no one knows what happened. Twenty years later, the women they left behind are still haunted by unanswered questions. Brooding, eerie and deeply emotional, this story moves between past and present as secrets surface. For fans of The Lighthouse (film) or novels like The Essex Serpent.The List of Suspicious Things – Jennie Godfrey
Set during the time of the Yorkshire Ripper, this debut is told through the eyes of 10-year-old Miv, who’s determined to protect the women of her town—even if the adults won't. She and her friend Sharon begin compiling a list of "suspicious things" in hopes of solving the mystery themselves. A moving coming-of-age tale with darkness at its edges, mixing childhood innocence with the chilling backdrop of real events.Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow – Peter Høeg
This literary thriller follows Smilla, a glaciologist with a past shaped by her Greenlandic heritage, as she investigates the suspicious death of a neighbour’s child. A slow-burning, atmospheric read combining icy landscapes with sharp intelligence and emotional depth.The Birdcage – Eve Chase
Three sisters return to their Cornish childhood home after years apart, confronting secrets long buried in a house steeped in art and memories. With its dual timelines and shifting perspectives, this is a warm, suspenseful story of family, forgiveness and what we hide to survive.The Seventh Son – Sebastian Faulks
A speculative novel blending genetics, identity and belonging. When an experiment in artificial conception creates a child unlike any other, the ripple effects span science, ethics and personal destiny. A thought-provoking read for fans of literary fiction with a speculative edge.The Wrong Sister – Claire Douglas
After a tragic accident, the surviving sister returns to her family’s holiday home, only to find disturbing clues that suggest the past isn't what it seemed. A twisty, character-driven psychological thriller about grief, guilt, and hidden truths.The Children of Green Knowe – Lucy M. Boston
A magical children’s classic about a boy who comes to stay at a centuries-old manor house and discovers it’s filled with friendly ghosts. Atmospheric, nostalgic and perfect for fans of gentle fantasy and old English settings.Jumping the Queue – Mary Wesley
Widow Matilda Poliport, estranged from her four grown children, decides to end her life before old age and solitude take over. But when she stumbles across a doomed young man on the verge of suicide, she impulsively takes him home — setting in motion a tangled web of secrets, guilt and unexpected attachment. As truths about her late husband and fractured family surface, Wesley delivers a darkly witty, unsettling tale about love, betrayal and the fragile line between salvation and self‑destruction.The Christmas Mystery – Jostein Gaarder
When Joachim opens a homemade Advent calendar, each door reveals part of a magical story about a girl journeying back through time toward Bethlehem. As her tale unfolds, mystery and wonder build in this gentle, philosophical Christmas novel about faith, history, and the joy of storytelling.
Chris Lerpiniere
Guest writer, Chris Lerpiniere
We’re pleased to welcome Chris as a guest at the Secret Book Swap. Born in Edinburgh, she has lived in various parts of Scotland, as well as abroad, and is now settled in the coastal town of North Berwick.
A lifelong reader, Chris has always appreciated the power of storytelling and the comfort of getting lost in a good book. When she’s not reading, she can often be found swimming in the sea or tending to her bees.
After a forty-year career as a nurse, Chris has turned her focus to creative writing, drawing on her experiences and observations of people and their lives.
Her debut novel, The Beckoning Cat, is a psychological crime drama set in Edinburgh. When a seemingly motiveless murder disrupts a quiet suburb, Mirry, an Organ Donor Co-ordinator, finds her work intersecting with that of her partner John, a senior police detective. As the investigation progresses and more bodies are discovered, the strain on their relationship grows. At the centre of it all lies the question: who is the killer, and what connects them to their victims?
We’re glad to have Chris join us and to share her first novel with our community.
Banned Book Reading
It’s Christmas, David, David Shannon
This month we talked about what happens when disagreement shifts into intimidation.
Earlier this autumn, The Bookseller reported a rise in hostile behaviour towards UK bookshops, with a Booksellers Association survey showing that more than half had experienced it this year. Nearly half of those said it was triggered by the titles they stocked, and others said it stemmed from perceived political views or even their window displays.
The story felt particularly close to home because The Bookseller spoke with Marie Moser, owner of The Edinburgh Bookshop. Marie said she tries to stock widely, even when a book isn’t for her personally:
“Sometimes I can look at a book and think I personally would not be reading that, but I know I’ve got up to 20 customers who are going to want that. And that is the catch for me about being in a community that has broad tastes.”
She also shared that the pressure now comes from both sides. One book shown in the window had led to accusations of being anti-trans, even though the window had featured books by trans authors just the week before.
One of the books caught up in this is The Women Who Wouldn’t Wheesht, a collection of 30 essays with the subtitle “Voices from the Frontline of Scotland's Battle for Women's Rights” but described by it’s critics as a book of “ privileged white women's anti-trans hate”
We talked about how Marie’s experience raises difficult questions. No one should face intimidation at work, but it is still possible for a book to cause real harm. It led us to reflect on the fact that at the root of all book bans is almost always someone saying: “This shouldn’t be out there because I disagree with it.” But what happens when the book is one you disagree with? Or one that feels discriminatory? Or one that contributes to real harm? How do we protect people without silencing ideas. These aren’t simple questions, but they matter.
After that discussion, we closed the evening with something gentler for our banned book reading: It’s Christmas, David! This silly, warm picture book has been challenged in the U.S. and banned in three counties in Tennessee for reasons like “encouraging disobedience,” “nudity,” and “inappropriate behaviour.”
You can preview the book online using the link below and watch out for that bare bum running up the road on page 13!
Join us at future secret book swaps: