30 June 2026 [7:00-8:30PM]
First Draft Books, 54 Fore Street, Bovey Tracey TQ13 9AE
BOOK YOUR SEAT // £5 to join, plus 10% off the book in-store
The next Curious Readers Club will be diving into Camilla Barnes’ The Usual Desire to Kill from 7:00-8:30pm. We will dig into all the big ideas and small moments that made us feel the feelings. Listen to a snippet of the book here. Camilla will join us virtually from France to answer our questions. Plus, when you register for this event, you get 10% off the book when you buy it from the shop (£9.99 RRP).
What to expect:
+ 7:00pm – Settle in with a drink & a biscuit
+ 7:15pm – Book club chat commences
+ 8:00pm – Camilla’s virtual Q&A
+ 8:30pm – End of event
Curious Readers Club is a book club for, you guessed it, curious readers. Books are selected by Leslie at First Draft Books with an eye towards unique, thought-provoking (and often debut) titles. Always in paperback. Always discussion-worthy. Join us!
About the book
‘Witty, moving’ Ann Napolitano ‘Hilarious and heartbreaking’ Monica Ali ‘Made me hoot with laughter’ TLS ‘Reminds me of Nancy Mitford’ Telegraph
Miranda’s parents live in a dilapidated house in rural France that they share with two llamas, eight ducks, five chickens, two cats, and a freezer full of food dating back to 1983. Miranda’s father is a retired professor of philosophy who never loses an argument. Her mother likes to bring all conversation back to the War, although she was born after it ended. Married for fifty years, they are uncommonly set in their ways.
Miranda plays the role of translator when she visits, communicating the desires or complaints of one parent to the other and then venting her frustration to her sister and her daughter. This wry, moving, exquisitely observed novel introduces a singularly eccentric family and the long-buried secrets that have shaped them.