Quick Book Reviews with Philippa Hall

Philippa sits down with Ellery Lloyd — the husband and wife writing duo of Colette and Paul — to talk about their brilliant new novel Time to Burn, their Radio 2 Book Club selection, and what it's really like to write a book with the person you live with. Plus listener questions from the Quick Book Reviews Facebook group, and a biscuit answer that connects beautifully with a very recent episode.🎙️ Ellery Lloyd on Time to BurnIn the very near future, time travel is possible — but only for the obscenely wealthy. Tech entrepreneur Inigo Frank has built Tempus Tours, and documentary maker Phoebe Hunt is there to film his story. Until the first day of filming, when a returning group of time travellers come back bloodied and dazed — and one of them is missing. Someone Phoebe knows.Colette, Paul, and Philippa discuss:The real-world inspiration: billionaire obsessions with space travel, and what happens when technology outpaces consequenceWhy the book is driven by character and mystery rather than quantum physics — it's a thriller that happens to involve time travel, not the other way aroundTheir dream writing locations: a railing-free balcony on Dartmoor (Colette) and a house with extraordinary sea views in Devon (Paul) — neither of which involves being in the same roomThe nightmare writing location: sitting next to Paul, who types loudly, laughs at his own sentences, and performs the act of writing like a 1930s movie reporterThe Radio 2 Book Club announcement — recorded with Sara Cox the morning of this episodeReader questions from the Facebook group: cover design, who first suggested writing together, how they develop ideas (WhatsApps, balconies, and a legendary late-night text from China), whether they argue about plot points (they don't — but one of them keeps a backup Word document, just in case)The Ellery Lloyd formula: a world you haven't been inside before, characters with real motivations, and everything tied up satisfyingly at the endWhere they'd travel if they could: Paul chooses dinosaurs and Romans; Colette wants a dress she saw when she was 18 and has never stopped thinking aboutWhat they're reading: London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe (Colette) and The Death of Us by Abigail Dean (Paul)Biscuit answer: Colette powers her writing with Tim Tams — bite off both ends, suck tea through the middle, eat immediately before it collapses. Paul eats his daughter's digestives resentfully and wishes he'd bought Hobnobs.💬 Get in touchQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

Philippa opens with a brief history lesson — the word "blurb" was invented in 1907 by a writer mocking self-congratulatory publishers, and his fictional creation Miss Belinda Blurb gave us the word we still use today. Then it's three book reviews and a wide-ranging, genuinely fascinating conversation with David Baldacci — over 200 million books sold — about his latest novel Hope Rises.📚 Three Book ReviewsThe Compound – Aisling RuhlTen women wake up in a desert compound, cameras rolling, waiting for men to arrive. A dark, thought-provoking take on reality TV culture — more layered than it first appears.They Called Us the Enemy – George TakeiA graphic novel memoir by the Star Trek actor recounting his family's imprisonment in Japanese American internment camps during World War II. Essential, heartbreaking, and — given it has now been banned in some US libraries — more important than ever.Mad Mabel – Sally Hepworth81-year-old Elsie Fitzpatrick has a curious history of people around her coming to a foul end. A beautifully narrated audiobook that defies easy genre labels — somewhere between a slow-burn thriller and the Thursday Murder Club, but entirely its own thing.🎙️ David Baldacci on Hope RisesWalter Nash did everything right — worked hard, earned well, built the American dream. Then an FBI agent turned up the night of his father's funeral and told him he had a choice: help bring down the criminal organisation he'd unknowingly worked for, or lose everything anyway.David and Philippa discuss:Why Walter Nash is a metaphor for everyone wondering where they fit in a world being reshaped by AIThe three-year class action lawsuit David and other authors brought against major AI companies — and the nine-hour deposition in which he was asked whether he'd copied Charles DickensWhy he writes in a Greek deli near his Virginia office, where he has an unofficial plaque above his usual tableBeing both an introvert and an extrovert — and why total isolation is actually his nightmare writing locationThe reading crisis: why he stopped letting "I just don't have time to read" go unchallenged at book signingsThe Wish You Well Foundation and why forcing children to read specific books is the fastest way to kill a love of readingGrowing up in segregated Richmond, Virginia, and why books were his "body armour against bigotry"What he's reading: essays by Jesmyn Ward, a Toni Morrison biography, James by Percival Everett, Kurt Vonnegut's Jailbird, and ARCs from Ann Cleeves and Michael KorytaThe expression he hopes to see on readers' faces at the end of Hope Rises: a contented sigh, and a little more empathyBiscuit answer: Cheez-Its — reduced fat, but consumed in quantities that would alarm a nutritionist. His son ate two boxes and then went out to buy a replacement, then ate that one too.💬 Get in touchQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

Philippa sits down with Robert Peston — ITV political editor, bestselling author, and reluctant biscuit convert — to talk about The Kill Switch, the third and final book in his Gil Peck thriller trilogy, and why he felt compelled to put artificial intelligence and the fragility of democracy at its heart.🎙️ Robert Peston on The Kill SwitchWhen the prime minister dies in mysterious circumstances, journalist Gil Peck finds himself at the centre of a conspiracy that may or may not involve artificial intelligence. In a world of misinformation, fractured democracy, and technology that is rewriting the rules of everything, who — or what — is really pulling the strings?Robert and Philippa discuss:Why AI had to be at the heart of this book — and why he believes we are living through the most dangerous moment for democracy since the 1930sThe acknowledgment that stopped Philippa in her tracks: "Don't take democracy for granted. Our way of life is more at risk than at any time since the 1930s. This is the fight of our lives."How the trilogy was always planned as three eras: New Labour 1997, the financial crisis of 2007-08, and the AI revolution nowWhy writing fiction is joyful and writing nonfiction feels like work — and why he may never go backHow COVID gave him the time and space to finally finish a novel he'd been putting off for decadesThe nightmare writing scenario: not a place but a moment — Trump inaugurations, government collapses, and the relentless news cycle taking over every inch of available brain spaceHis dream writing location: a central Lisbon Airbnb over Christmas and New Year — sunny, beautiful food, friendly strangers, and a scene in the novel as a thank-you to the cityWhy he doesn't have a current auto-buy author but is devoted to Dorothy L. Sayers, John Buchan, and Isaac Bashevis SingerThe endless agony of book titles — including the battle to keep WTF on the cover of a Waterstones-stocked bookWhat he hopes readers feel at the end: hope, and curiosity about what comes nextWhat he's reading: London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe and Mariana Mazzucato's The Common Good EconomyBiscuit answer: A chocolate man first and foremost — his go-to is the Choco Leibniz. Introduced mid-conversation to the M&S chocolate-drenched custard cream, which he had already discovered and confirms is "totally addictive." Castle Chocolates in Carlisle and their chocolate-covered lemon sponge are now firmly on his radar for the next book.💬 Get in touchQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

Philippa is joined by T.M. Payne — and her co-conspirator Susie — for what may be the most gloriously chaotic episode in Quick Book Reviews history. There are kitchen implement debates, merch updates, a real duck called Crispy, and a live Penguin biscuit demonstration that will genuinely change how you eat biscuits forever. Oh, and there's a brilliant book to talk about too.But first, three book reviews.📚 Three Book ReviewsThe Reader on the 6.27 – Jean-Paul DidierlaurentPlease don't read the blurb — just pick this up. Under 200 pages, beautiful and surprising. All Philippa will say is: what Gillian does for a living will floor you.Queenie is Working on It – Candice Carty-WilliamsQueenie is back — still fallible, still gorgeous, still making questionable decisions — and that's exactly why she's so loveable. If you loved book one, you'll love this.Heartstopper Volume Six – Alice OsemanThe final chapter of Nick and Charlie's story. Not what Philippa was expecting — but on reflection, exactly right. She needs to talk to someone about it. Get in touch when you've read it.🎙️ T.M. Payne on One Bad DeedDI Sheridan Holler is back — and this time she does something she never thought she'd have to do. That's all Tina will say.Tina, Susie, and Philippa discuss:The tongs vs spatula debate — and the merch empire that has got completely out of handWhy Sheridan Holler is deliberately not a flawed, angst-ridden detective, and why her warmth comes from Tina's real 14 years as a police case investigatorWhether you need to start at book one (Tina says ideally yes, Susie and Philippa respectfully disagree)The extraordinary true story behind the book's deaf character: a chance encounter with a hotel receptionist in Portsmouth who had been deaf since birth, who lip-read Tina from 12 feet away, and whose voice was then perfectly captured by audiobook narrator Heather Bleasdale — who will never be able to hear itThe dream book festival: a pop-up travelling event on a Routemaster bus, driven by Tina in a cap, pulling up outside people's houses when they can't get to a festivalThe nightmare book festival: anywhere near a beetroot factoryCrispy the Duck — real, found on the Norfolk Broads, returned to the following yearThe smell of One Bad Deed: duck poo and waterPhilippa gets a mention in the acknowledgements of book six — alongside broccoliBiscuit answer: Penguins — but not eaten normally. Bite off both ends, submerge in warm tea, suck the tea through the biscuit, shove it in your mouth at once. Three have been posted to Philippa. Videos are expected.💬 Get in touchQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

Philippa sits down with the brilliant Jo Spain — 13 bestselling thrillers already published, translated into 17 languages, TV writer and producer — to talk about her extraordinary new novel Never to Be Found, which sparked a bidding war from some of the biggest names in television before it was even published.🎙️ Jo Spain on Never to Be FoundIn Japan, up to 100,000 people every year voluntarily evaporate from their lives — a phenomenon known as jōhatsu. Entire industries exist to help them do it, providing new identities, documents, and a clean start. Veronica Paige has brought this concept to Britain, running a business disappearing people — until she discovers she's helped a murderer vanish.Jo and Philippa discuss:How a lunchtime article led to the entire concept of the book — and why Jo raced to write it before anyone else couldThe once-in-a-career bidding war: Sam Mendes' production company, Amazon MGM, and The Walking Deadshowrunner Angela Kang all in pursuit of the same bookWhy Jo always writes books for the love of them and scripts for the money — and why those two things are entirely separateThe three categories people fall into when they hear about jōhatsu: those who want to vanish, those horrified by abandonment, and those who think they'd be brilliant at making people disappearHow Veronica justifies what she does — and the moral question at the heart of the bookWhy layers matter more than first drafts, and what it looks like from the outside when Jo is deep in the editing stageHer dream writing location: the coast path between Moville and Greencastle in Donegal — where the Wi-Fi barely works and the day takes its timeHer nightmare: a writer's room, surrounded by other writers, expected to create on demandThe pressure of reader expectations for twists — and why she's made peace with the fact that she can't please everyoneBookTok: how she joined to keep an eye on her children and ended up addicted, embarrassing them daily, and discovering her last three books thereWhat she's reading: The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, the latest Jane Harper, and London Falling by Patrick Radden KeefeBiscuit answer: A committed biscuit addict who has written an entire novel powered by ginger nuts. Current favourite: shortcake with sultanas, dunked, and firmly classified as healthy eating.💬 Get in touchQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

Philippa opens with an update on the Great Book Parcel Saga — a box of holiday reading, a Greek customs office, a handwritten letter explaining why a normal person would post books to themselves, and the very real possibility of being detained at passport control. Then it's three book reviews and a long-overdue conversation with Tim Sullivan, creator of the beloved DS George Cross series, about his eighth book The Tailor.📚 Three Book ReviewsThe Pinnacle – Abir Mukherjee ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐A washed-up Hollywood actor wakes from a drunken stupor to find his Bollywood superstar wife murdered in their Mumbai penthouse. Told from multiple perspectives across one luxury skyscraper — brilliantly written and Philippa's favourite Mukherjee yet.Table for One – Emma GannonA woman's carefully constructed life falls apart, and she has to rediscover herself from scratch. Philippa read this on a train surrounded by serious businessmen while experiencing silent heaving sobs. Deeply moving and not what you might expect.The Divorce – Freida McFaddenA woman whose husband has left her for a younger woman refuses to accept defeat and spirals into dangerous obsession. Gripping, compulsive, and — toward the end — absolutely unhinged in ways Philippa did not see coming.🎙️ Tim Sullivan on The TailorA bespoke tailor is found murdered in the lavatory of the Bristol to London train. George Cross can tell immediately it wasn't opportunistic — and follows the evidence wherever it leads, even into territory that makes him deeply uncomfortable.Tim and Philippa discuss:Why George Cross belongs in the tradition of Dupin, Holmes, and Poirot — and why his autism is his gift, not an accessoryThe rule Tim never breaks: we never laugh at George, only with him or at others' reactions to himWhy this is absolutely not cosy crime — and why the original covers did the books a disserviceWriting longhand with fountain pens (a collection of Pelikans, Montblancs, and Lamys), and why the family complain less if there's no laptop openWriting book nine without knowing who the second killer is — and why not plotting keeps the writing organicBeing turned down by agents for neurodivergent appropriation, self-publishing the first two books, and being embraced by the autistic community insteadWhy he's reluctant to sell TV rights — and why protecting George's authenticity matters more than a screen dealThe exclusive interview with George Cross hidden inside the hardback first edition (George found the whole thing fairly pointless)What he's reading: Northanger Abbey, Bleak House, and an advance copy of Ian Rankin's new bookHis one remaining ambition: to look up on the Tube and see a stranger reading one of his booksBiscuit answer: Flapjacks or white chocolate cookies — and absolutely no dunking. George would never allow it.💬 Get in touchQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.