Dark Peak Books & Gifts

05/10/2026

Book and Bottle tonight! Come and discuss this excellent book over your favourite tipple at Harvey Leonard's. 7.30pm, see you there!

Lovely to see so many people at Book & Bottle this month!

Universality by Natasha Brown proved to be a divisive read, with opinion split almost evenly between those who enjoyed it and those who did not. On the positive side, many readers appreciated the book for the fact it was short and concise. There was praise for the novel’s sharp satire, with several members finding it genuinely funny and recognising familiar character types drawn from professions such as law, journalism and finance. However, others felt that the novel needed greater depth, stronger character development and a better conclusion. Overall, it was seen as a social critique, exploring themes of race, class and gender.

For September we’ve chosen The Hiding Game by Naomi Wood.

´In Roaring Twenties Germany, Paul, Charlotte and Walter meet at the Bauhaus art school. The trio form a close-knit group, in which passions and rivalries collide.

But when Walter is betrayed, he makes a terrible mistake – a secret he will keep from Paul and Charlotte for as long as he can. As political tensions escalate and the N***s gain power, Walter’s secret – hidden in notebooks, paintings and blueprints – ultimately threatens the very lives of his friends, with devastating consequences.´

Copies in the shop, our vending machine and on our website now. We next meet at Harvey Leonard's on Monday 5th October. Come!

24/09/2026

UPDATE: Start time is now 8pm

📣 EVENT ALERT! Thursday 8th October

Join Dr Ceri Houlbrook, senior lecturer in folklore and history at the University of Hertfordshire, and Glossop-based archaeologist Tim Campbell-Green for a scintillating conversation about her book Folklore.

Ceri, alongside co-author Own Davies, delves into folklore in all its remarkable variations: from village rituals and fairy tales to UFO legends and internet fan fiction. We will journey through a landscape of witches, wizards and wicker men and hear how the idea of folklore first emerged and how it has evolved over time.

British folklore is much more than the fossilised remains of a distant, rural past; it is a living tradition that is forever being transformed and renewed.

Tickets here: https://wegottickets.com/f/28235

Or save yourself the booking fee and pop down to the shop for a paper ticket.

16/09/2026

Lovely to see so many people at Book & Bottle this month!

Universality by Natasha Brown proved to be a divisive read, with opinion split almost evenly between those who enjoyed it and those who did not. On the positive side, many readers appreciated the book for the fact it was short and concise. There was praise for the novel’s sharp satire, with several members finding it genuinely funny and recognising familiar character types drawn from professions such as law, journalism and finance. However, others felt that the novel needed greater depth, stronger character development and a better conclusion. Overall, it was seen as a social critique, exploring themes of race, class and gender.

For September we’ve chosen The Hiding Game by Naomi Wood.

´In Roaring Twenties Germany, Paul, Charlotte and Walter meet at the Bauhaus art school. The trio form a close-knit group, in which passions and rivalries collide.

But when Walter is betrayed, he makes a terrible mistake – a secret he will keep from Paul and Charlotte for as long as he can. As political tensions escalate and the N***s gain power, Walter’s secret – hidden in notebooks, paintings and blueprints – ultimately threatens the very lives of his friends, with devastating consequences.´

Copies in the shop, our vending machine and on our website now. We next meet at Harvey Leonard's on Monday 5th October. Come!

10/09/2026

Gruffalo Granny is here in all her glory! We’ve got lovely prints to give away with the first 20 copies sold. PLUS for every copy you buy from us between now and 10th October, Macmillan Children’s Books will donate a Gruffalo finger puppet book to The Hummingbird Project in Glossop. If you preordered it, your copy is now ready to collect!

07/09/2026

Book & Bottle tonight! Come and discuss Universality by Natasha Brown at Harvey Leonard's, 7.30pm - all welcome!

Dream Hotel by Laila Lailami very much split the room at Book & Bottle last week. Those who enjoyed the story felt that the main character was well imagined, they enjoyed the ending and found the speculative nature of the AI themes interesting. Some of our younger readers really did not like it and almost stopped reading, feeling it was 'too real' almost and quite scary. People wondered if a sequel might be good to expand on some of the themes, let’s see if one emerges!

For August we’ve chosen to read Universality by Natasha Brown.

“On an abandoned Yorkshire farm, a group of hippie-anarchists have taken up residence to build a new society. When their leader is brutally bludgeoned with a solid gold bar, an ambitious young journalist sets out to uncover the truth behind the attack. The longr ead exposé she writes goes viral - but is there more to the story than meets the eye? Universality unravels the messy aftermath of that exposé through the perspective of each of the mystery's key players: a self-pitying banker, a columnist with secrets, a cult leader with dreams, and a fugitive with nothing left to lose.”

Copies in the shop now. We next meet on Monday 7th September at Harvey Leonard's. Join us!

14/08/2026

James Ellson will be in the shop on Saturday 19th September signing copies of The Rule of Threes, the 5th book in his excellent DCI Castle series. Come down and say hello, 11.00 - 12:30!

´In South Manchester, duty does not take days off. Days before his wedding, DCI Rick Castle is pulled into the one case he cannot refuse—finding a missing protected witness who could finally bring down an untouchable Mancunian crime lord.

The trail leads him to the desolate Scottish Highlands and explodes into violence and conspiracy, revealing a suspected leak within the police. Cut off from support, and fearful he’s being watched, Rick pushes on. But the closer Rick gets to the witness, the closer his family gets to danger, turning his obsessive investigation into a fight he cannot walk away from—and a battle for survival he may not win.

If the case does not break him, they will go after the one thing that will.´

10/08/2026

Dream Hotel by Laila Lailami very much split the room at Book & Bottle last week. Those who enjoyed the story felt that the main character was well imagined, they enjoyed the ending and found the speculative nature of the AI themes interesting. Some of our younger readers really did not like it and almost stopped reading, feeling it was 'too real' almost and quite scary. People wondered if a sequel might be good to expand on some of the themes, let’s see if one emerges!

For August we’ve chosen to read Universality by Natasha Brown.

“On an abandoned Yorkshire farm, a group of hippie-anarchists have taken up residence to build a new society. When their leader is brutally bludgeoned with a solid gold bar, an ambitious young journalist sets out to uncover the truth behind the attack. The longr ead exposé she writes goes viral - but is there more to the story than meets the eye? Universality unravels the messy aftermath of that exposé through the perspective of each of the mystery's key players: a self-pitying banker, a columnist with secrets, a cult leader with dreams, and a fugitive with nothing left to lose.”

Copies in the shop now. We next meet on Monday 7th September at Harvey Leonard's. Join us!

10/07/2026

An excellent Book & Bottle session on Monday night, huge thanks to Almanac for hosting us as a one off this month. Everyone very much enjoyed my hero Bob Mortimer’s The Long Shoe. It was character driven, and while many didn’t like Carol, they loved Matt and his girlfriend Harriet. Cat lovers in the group loved the realistic portrayal of the cat and the cat parent dynamic. A great read and recommended for summer holidays!

For July we’ve chosen The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami.

“Sara is at the airport, travelling home from a work conference. Out of nowhere she’s pulled aside by agents from the Risk Assessment Administration. Their algorithm has determined that she’s an immediate threat to her husband, and must be kept under observation at a retention centre for twenty-one days.

The evidence? Data collected from her dreams. When she arrives at the centre, she discovers that each deviation from their strict and ever-changing rules – loitering in the hallway, a ‘non-compliant hairstyle’ – results in her stay being extended. Desperate to return to her family, Sara must make a choice.

Does she play by their rules, or risk taking matters into her own hands?”

Copies available online or in the shop, and in the vending machine by the end of the weekend. Come and grab one and join our next meeting, back home at Harvey Leonard's on Monday 3rd August.

08/07/2026

Don’t miss this it’s going to be another great one!

📣 Event alert! Tim Sullivan Book Launch: The Tailor

DS George Cross is tenacious. He always gets to the truth.

So when the body of a tailor is found on the 09:26 from Bristol to London, DS Cross is quick to realise that what looks like a robbery is, in fact, an organised hit - a realisation that forces him into a merciless, unfamiliar world.

“A perfect detective for our time and for all time.” - Stephen Fry

Join us for a special evening with author Tim Sullivan on Monday 13th July, the first date of his national book tour. Ticket link here https://wegottickets.com/f/21620. Or come down to the shop and save yourself the booking fee!

—

Tim Sullivan is a crime writer, screenwriter and director, whose film credits include A Handful of Dust, Jack and Sarah, and Cold Feet. His critically acclaimed crime series centres around protagonist DS George Cross, a brilliantly persistent detective with Autistic Spectrum Condition. This clever, twisty, touching and funny series has sold more than half a million copies and the previous title in the series, The Bookseller, was a Dark Peak Books Book & Bottle book club hit.

03/07/2026

We're working with Derbyshire Libraries this summer to get your children reading! We're one of 50 bookshops across the country piloting taking part in the Summer Reading Challenge for the first time. Children can pick the packs up, collect their stickers and receive their certificates from both us and local libraries. The more reading they're doing the better, we want to hear all about it! The challenge starts tomorrow, 4th July. GET READING KIDS!






Illustrations © Harry Woodgate 2026. Read to the Beat © The Reading Agency 2026, registered charity number 1085443 England and Wales