THE SAFEKEEP | Fiction Book Club in Coconut Grove!

Books & Books in Coconut Grove is proud to present a new Fiction Book Club hosted by our very own bookseller extraordinaire, Katherine Wakefield. The Fiction Book Club will meet on the last Tuesday of every month. and the August 2025 pick is Yael van der Wouden's The Safekeep (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, $18.99). Buy the book here

This event will take place at Books & Books in Coconut Grove. RSVP is free, but please only register if you intend to join us as space is limited. This is an authorless event, and please come prepared to discuss the novel.

* SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 BOOKER PRIZE ** WINNER OF THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FOR DEBUT FICTION ** WINNER OF THE 2025 WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION *

Shortlisted for the 2025 Dylan Thomas Prize and Aspen Words Literary Prize • A Best Book of 2024: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Time, The Economist, The Globe and Mail (Toronto), Kirkus Reviews, The Independent, BookPage, The Sunday Times (London)

“Remarkable…Compelling…Fine and taut…Indelible.” —The New York Times • “Moving, unnerving, and deeply sexy.” —Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with the Pearl Earring • “A brilliant debut, as multi-faceted as a gem.” —Kirkus Reviews

A “razor-sharp, perfectly plotted” (The Sunday Times, London) tale of desire, suspicion, and obsession between two women staying in the same house in the Dutch countryside during the summer of 1961—a powerful exploration of the legacy of WWII and the darker parts of our collective past.

A house is a precious thing...

It is 1961 and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet. Bomb craters have been filled, buildings reconstructed, and the war is truly over. Living alone in her late mother’s country home, Isabel knows her life is as it should be—led by routine and discipline. But all is upended when her brother Louis brings his graceless new girlfriend Eva, leaving her at Isabel’s doorstep as a guest, to stay for the season.

Eva is Isabel’s antithesis: she sleeps late, walks loudly through the house, and touches things she shouldn’t. In response, Isabel develops a fury-fueled obsession, and when things start disappearing around the house—a spoon, a knife, a bowl—Isabel’s suspicions begin to spiral. In the sweltering peak of summer, Isabel’s paranoia gives way to infatuation, leading to a discovery that unravels all Isabel has ever known. The war might not be well and truly over after all, and neither Eva—nor the house in which they live—are what they seem.

Mysterious, sophisticated, sensual, and infused with intrigue, atmosphere, and sex, The Safekeep is “a brave and thrilling debut about facing up to the truth of history, and to one’s own desires” (The Guardian).

​Katherine Wakefield is a native Miamian and lifelong book lover. She was a part-time bookseller while in college studying music, and after a fifteen-year sojourn in Germany teaching English and voice, she returned to Miami and to putting books into the hands of eager readers. She marked her tenth year of employment at Books and Books this past December, having worn many hats including, but not limited to, OG staff at the Arsht and Coconut Grove locations, merchandiser, event host, offsite bookseller, storybook reader, and general bookslinger. And, up next, book club leader. She finds the most rewarding aspect of working at Books and Books is being in the company of such excellent, interesting people who contribute immeasurably to the vibrancy and well-being of literary Miami.

Host or Publisher Books & Books