This Week's New Book Drop

Five books. Five very different journeys. Where will your next read take you?

One of the things we love most about unpacking and cataloguing pre-loved books is never quite knowing what we're going to find.

One box might take us into the dark streets of eighteenth-century London. Another carries us to wartime Paris. Turn to the next pile and suddenly we're caught inside a psychological mystery, standing beside a remote lake, or reading the remarkable true story of three friends whose ordinary journey through Europe became anything but ordinary.

That's exactly what happened with this week's new arrivals.

So, rather than trying to find a theme amongst them, we thought we'd celebrate the thing they do have in common:

Every one of them can take you somewhere completely different.

The English Monster — Lloyd Shepherd

Dark, atmospheric and steeped in history, The English Monster takes us into eighteenth-century London and a world of murder, mystery and secrets.

It's the kind of book for readers who enjoy their crime fiction with a strong sense of place and a generous helping of historical intrigue.

The Hotel on Place Vendôme — Tilar J. Mazzeo

From the streets of London we travel to one of the most glamorous addresses in Paris.

The Hotel on Place Vendôme tells the remarkable story surrounding the Ritz during the German occupation of Paris, bringing together famous names, extraordinary characters, wartime intrigue and the complicated lives being lived behind the doors of one legendary hotel.

A fascinating choice for anyone who enjoys history told through the people who actually lived it.

The Girl on the Train — Paula Hawkins

Then things become decidedly more unsettling.

Rachel watches the same houses from her train every day, gradually creating stories about the people she sees through the window.

Until one day she sees something she wasn't supposed to see.

The Girl on the Train became a phenomenon for good reason: unreliable memories, secrets, obsession and that irresistible feeling that you need to read just one more chapter to find out what really happened.

At Yellow Lake — Jane McLoughlin

Three teenagers.

Three very different lives.

One remote lake.

At Yellow Lake brings their stories together in a tense young-adult thriller set against the wilderness of northern Wisconsin.

It's a story of survival, danger and unexpected connections — and a reminder that sometimes the people we meet completely by chance are the ones who change everything.

The 15:17 to Paris — Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone & Jeffrey E. Stern

And finally, a story made even more extraordinary because it actually happened.

In August 2015, three American friends travelling through Europe found themselves aboard a train bound for Paris when a gunman began an attack.

The 15:17 to Paris tells the story of the events aboard that train, but also of the friendship and lives that brought Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone to that moment.

Sometimes the most remarkable stories aren't imagined at all.

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And that's what we love about a new book drop.

There doesn't have to be a theme.

There doesn't have to be a reading list carefully designed around one genre.

Sometimes you simply wander amongst the shelves until something catches your attention.

A cover.

A title.

A place you've always wanted to visit.

A period of history you know nothing about.

Or perhaps a book you'd completely forgotten you wanted to read.

That's part of the pleasure of browsing a second-hand bookshop.

You don't always find the book you were looking for.

Sometimes you find the book you didn't know you wanted.

And we rather like it that way.

Wherever today finds you, I hope you find a story worth getting lost in.

BookBuddies