Mesmeric, original, and stunning. Maggie Stiefvater is an exceptional talent, and The Listeners is by turns a beautiful love story, a fascinating glimpse into the horrors of history, and a haunting tale of loyalty and courage. A marvel of storytelling. I really couldnt have loved it more. Chris Whitaker, author of All The Colors of the Dark

#1 New York Times bestselling novelist Maggie Stiefvater dazzles in this mesmerizing portrait of an irresistible heroine, an unlikely romance, and a hoteland a worldin peril.

January 1942. The Avallon Hotel & Spa has always offered elegant luxury in the wilds of West Virginia, its mountain sweetwater washing away all of high societys troubles.

Local girl-turned-general manager June Porter Hudson has guided the Avallon skillfully through the first pangs of war. The Gilfoyles, the hotels aristocratic owners, have trained her well. But when the family heir makes a secret deal with the State Department to fill the hotel with captured Axis diplomats, June must persuade her staffmany of whom have sons and husbands heading to the front linesto offer luxury to Nazis. With a smile.

Meanwhile FBI Agent Tucker Minnick, whose coal tattoo hints at an Appalachian past, presses his ears to the hotels walls, listening for the diplomats secrets. He has one of his own, which is how he knows that Junes balancing act can have dangerous consequences: the sweetwater beneath the hotel can threaten as well as heal.

June has never met a guest she couldnt delight, but the diplomats are different. Without firing a single shot, they have brought the war directly to her. As clashing loyalties crack the Avallons polished veneer, June must calculate the true cost of luxury.