The Listeners

The extraordinary, genre-defying debut adult novel by the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater. AT THE AVALLON, REAL POWER COMES TO THOSE WHO WATCH AND LISTEN... High in the Appalachian mountains is a place quite unlike any other. The Avallon Hotel and its enigmatic General Manager, June Hudson, are famed for offering unrivalled luxury, season after season, to those who come from far and wide to indulge in its beautiful hot springs and take the healing waters. Everything is perfect. Perhaps too perfect. So when the Avallon is called upon to help the war effort - to oust its guests and host three hundred diplomats and Nazi sympathisers - June''s priority is business as usual. But as dark alliances and unexpected attractions crack the polished veneer of the hotel, she is forced to reckon with the true price of luxury. After all, only June knows the sacrifice required to keep everyone happy - her staff, the FBI and, above all, the tumultuous sweetwater running through the heart of the hotel. The Listeners is a story of love, lies, secrets and betrayal, based on real events and steeped with eerie Appalachian magic - and brought to life by a truly unforgettable ensemble cast of characters.

Autorentext
Maggie Stiefvater is a No. 1 New York Times bestselling writer who has sold nearly six million books worldwide. She makes art in several media, plays a number of musical instruments and lives in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia with her family. The Listeners is her first novel for adults.

Klappentext

A beguiling, powerful and heartbreaking novel from an exceptional voice in fiction, The Listeners is the story of ordinary people thrown together in extraordinary circumstances, and the things we do to survive.

'Cinematic and so very satisfying... a phenomenally immersive read' Claire Lombardo

'An ambitious work that brings its setting and its large ensemble of characters vividly to life' Sunday Times

'Funny and imaginative with real emotional heft... if this novel is not feted as one of the best novels of 2025, I'll eat my hat' Irish Independent

She still recalled the first time she saw the Avallon. It called to her; she listened...

The Avallon Hotel offers unrivalled luxury in the wild Appalachian Mountains, its curative sweetwater washing away the troubles of high society. June 'Hoss' Hudson, a local girl turned general manager, has known its power since she first stepped through the century-old doors - and into the fold of the Gilfoyle family, the hotel's aristocratic owners.

But in 1942, the real world intrudes. War comes to the Avallon dressed in fine furs and government suits. Under the State Department's watchful eye, the Gilfoyle heir welcomes three hundred enemy diplomats and Nazi sympathisers. And June must play host.

As dark alliances and unexpected desires crack the Avallon's polished veneer, not every guest is who they seem. Not least Agent Tucker Minnick, listening for secrets through the hotel walls, whose coal tattoo threatens to betray his past and undo June. And more troubling is the secret she has guarded for years - that the mountain waters can harm as much as heal...

The extraordinary, genre-defying debut adult novel by the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author.

'A marvel of storytelling' Chris Whitaker

'Around every corner of this richly imagined world, we discover some new wonder' New York Times

'A marvel: strange, witty, moving, exuberant... at once gloriously extravagant and perfectly poised' Robert Macfarlane

*READER REVIEWS*

'I have not stopped thinking about it' ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐
'It feels like the kind of story that becomes a classic' ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐
'A hauntingly beautiful read' ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐
'I wonder if Maggie Stiefvater would have ever suspected how well timed this book release would be. History tends to rhyme, after all' ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐
'A beautiful story about the human condition' ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐⭐

Zusammenfassung
Cinematic and so very satisfying. This is a rich, multilayered ride of a novel not unlike the hotel at its heart - grand, patient, leaving no particulars unnoticed. A phenomenally immersive read Claire Lombardo, bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had