Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the advance copy of "The Hidden Library" for review.
If I used the phrase "rip-roaring yarn" to describe "The Hidden Library", it would certainly capture how I felt about the book. Sharon Gosling starts with an uncommon, albeit fictional, setting. Rathbrooke is a near-deserted island off the coast of Northumberland, privately owned by the Gissings family for hundreds of years. It boasts a decaying mansion, an immense protective seawall as shelter from the fierce North Sea storms and a lighthouse, no longer in use. The only way to get to the mainland is by boat.
Gosling has also written a great cast of characters. The Gissings have lived in Rathbrooke Hall, the family seat, for generations. Of the original family, only one heir remained, the recently deceased Cyril Gissing. The elderly Cyril closed off much of the house and lived in a few small rooms near his library. Looking after Cyril were Rufus, all-around caretaker of Rathbrooke Hall, Martha, the housekeeper and her teenage daughter Cora. The three of them are still living on the island, but since Cyril's death their future is uncertain.
Even after death Cyril is still very intriguing. He was a rare and antique book collector who cultivated a secret library that conceals treasures of its own. He corresponded with scholars all around the world about a rumored rare manuscript, one he was convinced existed. Cyril was also very proud of Rathbrooke Hall's extensive seawall-sheltered gardens. Within their walls grows a centuries-old tree that Cyril suspected of holding the key to an extraordinary historical find. Uncharacteristically, although Cyril told his attorneys to delete his old will because he was updating it, no one can find the new document. For such a meticulous and erudite man, this is most unusual.
Soon to be a part of this world is protagonist Helen Thorne. A new author, she's having a rare night out with her oldest friends. Her first book, "All of the Above", is a bestseller and Helen has just sold the film rights. Everyone is celebrating, and Helen and best friend Melanie have had a bit too much to drink. That night, Helen gets a menacing text from "B", an abusive man she hasn't heard from in ten years, Trying to be a good friend, Melanie grabs Helen's phone and texts "B" an angry reply that blows up Helen's entire world overnight.
The next morning Helen is grievously hungover. She's awakened by a frantic call from one of the producers working on her film. When she checks her phone, she has voicemails from her agent, publisher, mother, and no end of journalists. Whoever "B" is, he did not take her friend's text lightly. He revealed Helen's worst secret to the entire world, and overnight she has gone from success to pariah. She feels guilt, shame, and an overwhelming desire to hide.
She returns the call from her mother Irene, a lawyer, who offers her what sounds like an ideal getaway plan. The law firm is working on the estate of the late Cyril Gissing. When Helen learns that Cyril owned the island of Rathbrooke, she is incredulous. "He owned an island?" 'Just a small one' her mother said, as if this somehow made it less extraordinary."
Irene's firm needs someone to go to Rathbrooke and find the will while cataloging Gissing's estate, including his vast inventory of books and antiques. The only access to Rathbrooke is by boat. Rathbrooke Hall doesn't have a phone or the internet. Basically, Helen will be cut off from the outside world. To Helen, this all sounds absolutely perfect.
The next day she packs a few things, borrows a car, and drives to Northumberland in a gradually worsening storm. By the time she gets to the coastal town of Seahouses, the rain is coming down in torrents and the wind is fierce. Helen was told to meet someone named Rufus, who is going to take her to the island, but she's sure that he wouldn't take out a boat in this weather. However, when she finds Rufus in the pub he barks out "let's get going" and they're out in the storm.
Although Helen is badly frightened by the rough seas, they both get to the island safely. The next morning Helen wakes up to a much calmer day. She begins to explore the house and gets to know Rufus and Martha. The 15-year-old Cora, however, is very hostile and resists all of Helen's attempts at friendship. Cora was very close to Cyril and hates the idea of anyone going through his private possessions. But as Helen will discover, Cyril did not share all of his secrets with her either.
Helen begins to search for the missing will and catalog the library. She's dazzled as she finds treasure after treasure on the bookshelves. But living alone in the enormous house (Martha and Cora live in a cottage, Rufus in the lighthouse) is very unsettling. At night, Helen is mystified by strange sounds coming from a locked wing of the house, but no will admit to having a key. She wonders if there is someone hiding there because if so, one of the people on the island must know about it.
Her days, however, fly by as she uncovers more of Cyril's treasures and as many puzzles. She's thrilled to find his diary, but it looks like it's written in code. Most compelling, Helen unearths a series of letters to Cyril from a "Thiago Montera" (shades of The Princess Bride?), writing of his pursuit of rare and antique volumes and manuscripts for his friend.
There's an unexpected visit from a raffish book pirate, Shakespearean lore, and lots of bookish skullduggery. I don't want to reveal too much, because Gosling makes it so much fun to follow Helen on her adventures. She begins the story as a woman forced by circumstances to take on a lonely task. At the end, Helen has been forever changed by her experience with Rathbrooke, its inhabitants and of course, the library itself.
"The Hidden Library" is an intricate tale and a thoroughly enjoyable literary yarn. How could any bibliophile and mystery lover resist?
Sharon Gosling started out as a journalist. Her first children’s book, The Diamond Thief, won the Redbridge Children’s Book Award in 2014, and was followed by two sequels, The Ruby Airship and The Sapphire Cutlass. Her young-adult horror FIR was shortlisted for Lancashire Book of the Year 2017, and The Golden Butterfly, published in 2019, was nominated for the 2020 Carnegie Medal. She also writes non-fiction books and articles about television and film, and has written, produced and directed audio dramas. Sharon lives with her husband and cantankerous cat Mr. Jones in a small village in Cumbria, in the UK.
Please buy/order "The Hidden Library" from your local independent bookstore, or go to bookshop.org and order there. They now offer ebooks as well.
For audiobooks, go to libro.fm.
