From July 13th to the 27th booklovers at the Blue Mountains Library can dive into a suspenseful, bestselling novel during Big Library Read, the world’s largest digital book club. Readers will join over a hundred thousand others around the globe in enjoying Audrey Blake’s historical fiction The Girl in His Shadow from their public library. Blue Mountains Library card holders can borrow the ebook and audiobook for free without waiting on the Libby app Readers can then discuss online at https://biglibraryread.com/join-the-discussion/

The Girl in His Shadow takes place in London in 1845. Raised by surgeon Dr. Horace Croft after losing her parents, Nora Beady knows little about conventional life and much about suturing and anatomical illustrations of dissections. Women face dire consequences if caught practicing medicine, but in Croft’s private clinic Nora is his most trusted—and secret—assistant… until the new surgical resident Dr. Daniel Gibson arrives. To protect Dr. Croft and his practice Nora must learn to play a new and uncomfortable role—that of a proper young lady. When she makes a discovery that could change the field forever, Nora faces an impossible choice. Remain invisible and let the men around her take credit for her work, or step into the light—even if it means being destroyed by her own legacy.

Big Library Read is an international reading program that connects millions of readers around the world with an ebook through public libraries. The Girl in His Shadow is the 28^th selection of this program which began in 2013 and takes place three times per year. Readers can join an online discussion about the book at https://biglibraryread.com/join-the-discussion/.