Welcome poppets, to another spiffing review!

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This month, we step inside The Bookshop of Buried Pasts by Sarah Clutton, a treasure trove of mystery, love, family secrets and just a touch of the uncanny.

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Set in the picturesque village of Brookbank, Southern Highlands (think a slightly fancier, Australian version of Stars Hollow), antiquarian bookseller Phyllida Banks is known in her community as a warm, considerate and intuitive woman who left England with her young son years ago under unknown circumstances.

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As long as she’s known her, Phyllida’s past has remained an enigma to her granddaughter/co-worker, Lottie. However, when she receives a letter containing a clue to her grandmother’s former ties in England, she recruits a small team of confidantes (a freelance accountant and sardonic teen) who follow a trail all the way to Cambridgeshire and a mysterious, decades-old crime that is somehow connected to Phyllida.

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Spanning from the 1960s to the current day, The Bookshop of Buried Pasts is an engaging and emotional story that kept me glued to the page as each piece of the puzzle fell into place.

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Phyllida, working in a quaint English bookshop in the 60s as a young woman (vibes), commits one well-intentioned act that sets off a chain of events leading her into the lair of a monster. With danger mounting each day, Phyllida is forced into making a grueling decision to protect her family the only way she can.

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The extraordinary lengths this woman goes to is nothing short of remarkable and her unfailing kindness and generosity, as well as her own burning passion for books and ancient Celtic wisdom, endeared me to her as much as one of my own grandmothers.*

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Fans of Sarah Clutton’s previous book, the uplifting The Remarkable Truths of Alfie Bains, will not be disappointed as the same dose of sparkling charm, wit and heart is to be found here in its cast of vibrant and complex characters.

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Both the friendships and dramas of village life lighten the novel’s darker themes and the enduring intergenerational bonds of Phyllida’s family are as sweetly nourishing as a mug of hot chocolate on cold day (of which, there are currently several).

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Evocative, moving and richly layered, this complex story transported me across time and to the cosy rooms of the Bookshop of Buried Pasts, of which I was very reluctant to leave.

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5 out 5 Cartier brooches.

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*Don’t tell them I said that… though you’d need a Ouija board to, anyway.

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If you need further convincing of adding this gem to your TBR pile, I’ve included my usual list of favourite things below.

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Em’s Book Bingo Card (annoyingly specific, but so am I)

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• Flashbacks – best storytelling device since puppets

• Thrifting – Roddy is a natural hunter and I would have been thrilled to accompany him.

• Mother/daughter drama – Miriam and Lottie give Edie and Saffy a run for their money.

• Old bookshops – obviously.

• Old books – see above.

• Celtic rituals and beliefs – the stuff of teenage obsession.

• The accidental group email – you love to see it, hate to do it.

• Monsters meeting their come-uppance

• Twists!

• Amateur detectives – you’re never too old or too young to crack a case.

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