{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/6087d3aca4a81031ba098a59/6a3ec86ecb67fc75eaf9e5e8?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"3 Weirdly Perfect Books to Read Now + Gavin Bell on 138 Main Street - Summer Special","description":"<p>Recorded live at <strong>Capital Crime Book Festival</strong>, Philippa talks to <strong>Gavin Bell</strong> — also known as Mason Cross, also known as Alex Knight — about his gripping new thriller <em>138 Main Street</em>. But first, three festive reads for anyone who, like Philippa, enjoys a Christmas book in the height of summer.</p><p><strong>3 Christmas Books for Summer</strong></p><p><strong>The Winter Guest</strong> – Sarah Moss</p><p>Two strangers share Christmas Eve dinner in a remote Irish hotel as a snowstorm gathers outside — and each has a confession to make. Atmospheric and unexpected.</p><p><strong>A Carol and a Killing</strong> – Reverend Richard Coles</p><p>A festive cathedral choir concert ends in tragedy when a soloist falls — or was he pushed? A cosy, witty Christmas murder mystery.</p><p><strong>The Case of the Christmas Card</strong> – Elly Griffiths</p><p>Charles Dickens turns up on time-travelling detective Allie Dawson's doorstep just before Christmas, and the two team up to solve two cases at once — all while Dickens tries to find his way home.</p><p><strong>Gavin Bell on 138 Main Street</strong></p><p>A killer is targeting victims who all live at the same address — 138 Main Street — but there are 7,664 Main Streets in America. How do you predict where they'll strike next?</p><p>Gavin and Philippa discuss:</p><ul><li>Writing under three different names, and the moment he had to invent a Gavin Bell signature on the spot at his book launch</li><li>His dream holiday on the Orient Express, with separate compartments for family, friends, and quiet decompression time</li><li>Reading <em>The Godfather</em> for the first time and why watching the film first makes you appreciate the book more</li><li>His nightmare holiday: Benidorm 1996, hangovers in the heat, and reading the backs of cereal boxes for entertainment</li><li>Where the idea came from — an offhand line in another book, plus a real-life unlocked-doors estate that spooked him into writing it</li><li>Why short, sting-in-the-tail chapters are deliberate, and why \"I read it in three hours\" is the highest compliment a thriller writer can get</li><li>Why he keeps his day job, and the colleagues (and CD collection) who keep accidentally ending up as character names</li></ul><p><strong>Ice cream order:</strong> \"Marathon Man\" Snickers ice cream in a waffle cone — no sauce, no flake, just pure peanut-chocolate perfection.</p><p><strong>Get in touch</strong></p><p>Quick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | Email: <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>","author_name":"Philippa Hall"}