The Air Raid Book Club publishing on the 11th of July

Dear Readers,

I’m excited to share news of my new book, The Air Raid Book Club, which will be published the 11^th of July. This will be my first historical fiction novel and is set in a bookshop during the Second World War. It tells the story of Gertie Bingham, owner of Bingham Books which is a small bookshop situated in the town of Beechwood, based on the small outer London town near where I live. It’s 1938 and Gertie’s in a quandary. Her beloved husband, Harry died two years earlier and having fallen out of love with books, reading and bookselling, Gertie is thinking about retiring to the coast with her faithful Labrador, Hemingway. One day she’s approached by her husband’s oldest friend, Charles, who asks her to take in a child fleeing Nazi Germany. To begin with Gertie is reluctant but soon realises that she has to help and fifteen-year-old Hedy Fischer arrives in her life. This is their story from difficult beginnings to the bonds they form through a shared love of reading, to the way they support their community by launching the Air Raid Book Club. This is also a book about communities and the power of books and reading and the way that stories have a unique ability to comfort and offer escape when the world is dark. I can’t wait for you to meet Gertie and Hedy and to hear what you think about the story.

Happy reading!

Annie x