{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/6087d3aca4a81031ba098a59/6a3b9f2297b52d99361fc6d9?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"St Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend: Abir Mukherjee, Jane Casey & Sarah Hilary","description":"<p>Philippa is joined by three brilliant crime writers — <strong>Abir Mukherjee</strong>, <strong>Jane Casey</strong>, and <strong>Sarah Hilary</strong> — to talk all about <strong>St Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend</strong>, the unique Oxford crime fiction event running <strong>4th–6th September</strong>. Each guest is allotted a school role (head girl, school council rep, and chair stacker) which determines the questions they're asked — and the chaos that follows is exactly as fun as it sounds.</p><p><strong>🎓 St Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend </strong>🔗 <a href=\"https://www.st-hildas.ox.ac.uk/events/2026-crime-fiction-weekend\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Book tickets for St Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend</a></p><ul><li>What makes St Hilda's different from every other crime festival — long-form talks on themes rather than authors plugging their own books</li><li>This year's theme: <em>Bad Apples: Crime Fiction's Enemies and Antiheroes</em></li><li>The legendary annual Whodunit, costumes, accents, and Abir's reputation for staying in character (and wig) all weekend</li><li>The Friday Night Special ticket — drinks on the lawn, a talk on Bond villains, a three-course chef-prepared dinner, and an after-dinner speaker</li><li>Guest of honour Andrew Taylor, and returning speaker Natasha Cooper</li><li>The online option for people joining from Australia, Japan, and beyond</li><li>Punting mishaps, Jimi Hendrix-via-laptop disasters, and other backstage panic stories</li><li>The on-site Blackwell's bookshop and the chance to win a rare first edition at the Whodunit</li></ul><p><strong>📚 The Books</strong></p><p><strong>The Pinnacle</strong> – Abir Mukherjee</p><p>A failing Hollywood actor moves to Mumbai with his Bollywood star wife, wakes up after a bender to find her murdered, and becomes suspect number one to 1.4 billion people. Described by Abir as \"exotic satire crime fiction.\"</p><p><strong>Everything She Didn't Say</strong> – Jane Casey</p><p>Set on the windswept west coast of Ireland — a woman wakes covered in blood with no memory of what happened to her missing best friend. A twisty, modern gothic thriller.</p><p><strong>The Drowning Place</strong> – Sarah Hilary</p><p>Seventeen years after a school bus tragedy drowned everyone aboard except one survivor, DS Joseph Ash investigates a murdered family in a small Peak District town — accompanied by a best friend who may or may not be a ghost.</p><p><strong>🍎 The Final Question (Bad Apples Edition)</strong></p><p>No biscuits this time — favourite apples instead (Golden Delicious, Braeburn, and Pink Lady all get a mention) — though the conversation inevitably swings back to biscuits anyway, sparking a full-blown debate about thin arrowroots, fig rolls, dunking etiquette, and the legal status of the Jaffa Cake.</p><p>🔗 <a href=\"https://www.st-hildas.ox.ac.uk/events/2026-crime-fiction-weekend\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Book tickets for St Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend</a></p><p>💬 <strong>Get in touch</strong></p><p>Quick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | <a href=\"mailto:quickbookreviews@outlook.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">quickbookreviews@outlook.com</a></p><p><em>Quick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.</em></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>","author_name":"Philippa Hall"}