ReadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2025

The Paris Bookshop Secret

Iris Costello author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd

Published:31st Jul '25

Should be back in stock very soon

The Paris Bookshop Secret cover

How far will they go to find their story?

When Alexis meets Maeve – a reclusive woman in her eighties – they feel an unexpected and beautiful kinship. Alexis is embracing nomad life after burning out as a big-shot editor. And Maeve is mourning her glory days as a bestselling author.

Their friendship inspires Maeve to write again. Her last novel pours out of her - a story of love and heartbreak, centred around a bookshop in 1950s Paris.

But the line between fact and fiction is as fine as a whisper, and the novel unfurls a long-buried mystery, one that has haunted Maeve’s existence.

And will reverberate into the lives of both women, decades later…


PRAISE FOR IRIS COSTELLO

'A rich and tender story' Ruth Hogan, The Keeper of Lost Things

'The perfect winter read' Amanda Prowse, To Love and Be Loved

'Spellbinding, addictive, and beautifully written' Sophie Irwin, A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting

'Richly atmospheric, evocative and moving' Abbie Greaves, The Ends of the Earth

‘Makes for a spellbinding read' Rhiannon Ward, The Shadowing

'Beautifully written with a story that draws you in' Jane Corry, I Died on a Tuesday

Utterly compelling -- Heidi Swain on The Story Collector
Evocatively written, poignant and compulsive -- Emma Curtis on The Story Collector
Brilliant, twisty -- Sara Sheridan on The Story Collector

ISBN: 9781405974615

Dimensions: 196mm x 129mm x 23mm

Weight: 258g

368 pages