{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/6087d3aca4a81031ba098a59/6a45536cd668ce458568820e?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Amman Brar on Mr. Sidhu's Post Office — One of BBC News's 12 Books of 2026","description":"<p>Philippa opens with a much-requested update on the Barcelona Kindle story — specifically, the one detail everyone wanted to know: did the Kindle survive? (It did. The case did not.) Then it's three book reviews and a wonderful conversation with debut novelist <strong>Amman Brar</strong> about <em>Mr. Sidhu's Post Office</em> — one of BBC News's 12 books to read in 2026.</p><p><strong>📚 Three Book Reviews</strong></p><p><strong>The Burning Tide</strong> – William Shaw <em>(out 16th July)</em></p><p>The second Eden Driscoll mystery sees the ex-Met detective pulled into a case involving a stranger who claims someone is trying to kill him — only to vanish before Eden can ask more questions. Beautifully written, with Shaw's signature warmth in portraying adult-child relationships.</p><p><strong>The Tailor</strong> – Tim Sullivan</p><p>A bespoke tailor is found murdered on the Bristol to London train. DS George Cross deduces immediately it's an execution, not a robbery — and finds himself in personal danger for the first time. Tim Sullivan joins Philippa next Monday to discuss it in full.</p><p><strong>Eyes on You</strong> – Adele Parks <em>(out next month)</em></p><p>A woman whose father murdered his secret lover when she was 15 meets a man with his own dark past — and what feels like love may be something far more dangerous. Philippa opened it intending to file it away and couldn't put it down. Adele Parks joins the podcast soon.</p><p><strong>🎙️ Amman Brar on Mr. Sidhu's Post Office</strong></p><p>Mr. Sidhu is a widower in his 60s, quietly devoted to his post office, his two willful grown-up children, and his coworker Rose — with whom he's unexpectedly falling in love. When money starts going missing from the till, his carefully built life begins to unravel.</p><p>Written as a tribute to Aman's father, who ran a post office in Richmond for decades, the book also quietly acknowledges the devastating Post Office Horizon scandal and its human cost.</p><p>Amman and Philippa discuss:</p><ul><li>Growing up around his father's post office in the '80s and '90s, and wanting to capture a world that's slowly disappearing</li><li>Writing the book as a way of spending time with his father after he passed away eight years ago — and why finishing it felt like letting him go all over again</li><li>His background in theatre (Royal Court, Soho Theatre, Tamasha) and how writing a novel is completely different — more solitary, less terrifying than opening night</li><li>The original working title: <em>Dave and Rose</em> (which made him laugh, which is why he chose it)</li><li>Why his dream writing location is the South of France — and why his black Labrador is his best untangling tool</li><li>His nightmare: the quiet carriage, one man on his phone, and the moment Aman became <em>that</em> guy</li><li>What he's reading: <em>Pachinko</em> by Min Jin Lee and <em>This Is Where the Serpent Lives</em> by Daniel Murtagh</li><li>The second book: another family drama, this time about his own generation</li></ul><p><strong>Biscuit answer:</strong> French Normandy butter and almond biscuits, dunked in coffee — with rosé on the side if Philippa's paying.</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>","author_name":"Philippa Hall"}