From the author of the phenomenal bestseller The Keeper of Stories, comes the next uplifting story of how the most unexpected friendships are forged in the most unlikely of places . . .

Jo Sorsby knows she is hiding from her past when she steps in to look after her uncle’s stationery shop. Glimpsing the lives of her customers between the warm wooden shelves, as they scribble notes with fountain pens and browse colourful notebooks, distracts her from the life she has left behind.

Yet far from home, Jo feels adrift . . .

When she meets Ruth, a vicar running from a secret, and Malcolm, a septuagenarian struggling to write his first book, she realises that she isn’t alone.

It’s the beginning of a friendship that can transform Jo’s life . . . if only she can let them in.

‘Oh my giddy aunt what an amazing book…absolutely adored it from start to finish’ Jeannie

‘Not what I was expecting at all…loved the way it ended’ Julie

‘An absolutely wonderful, unputdownable book full of delightful characters’ Sue

‘What a wonderful idea for a book…A joy to read’ Angela

‘Beautiful story…I loved every minute of reading it!’ Rubie

‘I felt every emotion reading this, and Janice was delightful – I was rooting for her the whole time’ Kate

‘An engaging debut featuring an unexpectedly heartbreaking story’ Sarah