The Vanishing Bookstore

By: Helen Phifer

Narrated by: Stephanie Cannon

A spellbinding and unpausable listen

‘Every story needs a happy ending. And you can’t have yours until you find the bookstore.’

1692. On the outskirts of Salem, a bookstore stands covered in overgrown vines. Inside, a young woman hides a linen-wrapped journal under a loose floorboard and runs away, panicked by the sound of hounds barking in the distance. The bookstore vanishes into thin air…

Present day. Stepping inside a pale-pink house on one of the oldest streets in Salem, Dora can’t believe she’s about to finally meet the mother she thought died tragically when she was just a child. But the excitement is short-lived. Dora’s mother has fear in her eyes, and with a trembling voice she whispers: ‘my life is in danger, and now so is yours…’

Desperate not to lose her mother all over again, Dora digs into her family’s mysterious past, and stumbles upon a seemingly impossible secret: the key to their survival is hidden in a bookstore that no one has seen for generations.

Losing herself amongst thorny brackens and twisted ferns, Dora eventually finds the path that leads to the bookstore. But someone is watching her. They’ve been waiting for her.

As she pushes open the beautiful blue door hidden amongst the sharp brambles, and stands in front of rows of crumbling leatherbound books with faded pages, she has no idea of the secrets she is about to uncover. Or that her life is in more danger than ever before…

Listeners will lose themselves in the mesmerising magic. Perfect for fans of Weyward, The Lost Apothecary and Practical Magic.

©2024 Helen Phifer (P)2024 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

Love love loved it!

What an amazing book, can’t wait to read more, loved every bit of this wonderful book!!

When love, family and solidarity win

This is a lovely book; a story of a family, whose lives and after lives would be affected by a single person. It has all of the classic makings of a witch story – secrets, hidden powers, a righteous enemy, and a love story. It could have easily been cliché, but instead, I found it delightful and just sparkly enough to whisk me into the story.

Childlike

Characters were not realistic- very childish - maybe it was the audio - some discrepancies in story and descriptions
It’s was an ok story- could have been developed better

Cute

Some points were a loosely added in it felt like, but overall it is a great read. Hoping there will be more since it had an epilogue?

Innovative storytelling

The characters were well forms and the suspense builds. You can almost smell the sea breeze of Salem Harbor!