Quick Book Reviews with Philippa Hall

Episode 500! In Conversation with Val McDermid and Jo Sharp: This Door of the SeasA huge milestone — this is episode 500 of Quick Book Reviews! Thank you to everyone who's been listening since the very start (sadly the first few episodes were lost in a platform move years ago, but the memories remain).To celebrate, I'm joined by Val McDermid and Jo Sharp to talk about This Door of the Seas, their first book written together, and the latest in Polygon's Darkland Tales series. It tells the true and largely forgotten story of the Darien Scheme — Scotland's disastrous 17th-century attempt to found a trading colony in Panama, an event so significant it helped push the country into union with England, yet one neither of them were taught in school. We talk about how the idea was born on a very long drive down the A9, why they chose to tell the story entirely through letters (including real historical figure Dr James Wallace), and the moment Val discovered — almost as an aside — that there was a murder in the story she hadn't been told about. Jo also describes the genuinely moving experience of holding one of the original 1698 letters in the National Library of Scotland, and we talk about what it's actually like to co-write a book with your spouse.Plus: the Darien colonists' extraordinary questions from the era's leading scientists (yes, including one about an animal that breathes through its navel), what Val and Jo are both reading right now, and their verdict on the classic Quick Book Reviews question — the biscuit that powered the words.Featured book:This Door of the Seas, Val McDermid and Jo SharpThis episode is available as video on Apple Podcasts — watch it here.Get in touch - links:Quick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

This episode is a special one — Kate Atkinson joins me to talk about Our Noble Selves, her wonderful new novel set at the 1951 Festival of Britain. We talk about her traumatised journalist hero Harry Flynn (nearly named Quinn, and nearly given a much darker backstory), the real dog behind fictional character Mrs Betty, and the working title she changed at the very last minute. Kate also reveals her dream writing location is not a beach or a cabin, but Specsavers, and delivers the most devastating answer in this podcast's history to the crucial biscuit question.Before that, a spoiler-free look at three books I've been reading:Endless Night, Agatha Christie — no Poirot, no Miss Marple, a slow start that turned into one I couldn't put downCall Me By Your Name (graphic novel edition), André Aciman — a beautiful, reflective illustrated edition of the love story, not one for the kidsWhistler, Ann Patchett — a book everyone else is raving about; I liked it, didn't love it, and that's entirely on meFeatured book:Our Noble Selves, Kate AtkinsonThat's this episode — spoiler-free reviews of Endless Night, Call Me By Your Name, and Whistler, plus Kate Atkinson on Our Noble Selves.This episode is available as video on Apple Podcasts on your browser — watch it here.Get in touchQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

A shorter episode this week, but a packed one. Philippa has an announcement, a question to answer honestly, and a book-related confession she has been sitting on for a while. Brace yourselves.October Book Club: The One You Least Suspect by Brian McGillowayPhilippa is launching a relaxed, no-pressure book club in October. Each week she'll read 96 pages and share her thoughts at the end of that week's episode. You can join in, get in touch with your thoughts, or simply skip that section if it's not for you — it'll always be at the end of the episode so nothing is missed.The book: The One You Least Suspect by Brian McGilloway. Katie is a barmaid in Derry who is approached by two detectives wanting her to become their informant. Trapped between the police and the dangerous brothers she works for, her only hope is to remain the one nobody suspects.Available in paperback, audiobook, and at most libraries. No quiz. No dress code. No deadline. Just books.Am I Being Paid to Review Books?Someone recently asked whether Philippa charges for book reviews — prompted by another reviewer apparently charging $200 to listen to an audiobook and $800 for a video review. The answer is no. Philippa receives books for free and earns a small amount from podcast advertising, but has never been paid to review a book and would never recommend something she didn't genuinely love. She also declines paid video offers — partly on principle, partly because she suspects publishers would be politely horrified by the result.The Confession: She said it. She means it. She is ready for the hate mail.Prologues grind her gears — the running-through-a-forest opener followed by a gentle chapter one that has nothing to do with it, the bones discovered in a field that are never referenced again until page 300, the dramatic peril that is forgotten by the time the story gets going. Philippa's view: just start the story. She acknowledges you may disagree. She welcomes the debate.Get in touch — whatever your views are on prologuesQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

Victorian Women Weren't Allowed to Play Football. They Did It Anyway.In 1897, a woman calling herself Nettie Honeyball founded Britain's first ladies' football club — and doctors wrote to the newspapers warning it would make women infertile. Author Frances Quinn joins me to talk about The Scandalous Ladies' Football Club, her brilliant historical fiction novel inspired by that true story, and the real Victorian scandal of women simply choosing to play the game.We talk about inventing a fictional rival team to give the real history its missing plot, writing three women each trapped by Victorian society in different ways, and the friend who told her a 70,000-word draft was "a little bit rubbish" — and was right. Frances also tells me about her dream writing retreat with three fellow authors in a Norfolk cottage, why a sea view would ruin her concentration completely, and what powered the words this time round (a chocolate digestive, eaten strictly undunked).Before that, a spoiler-free look at three books I've been reading:Not Quite Myself, by Mike and Claire Gayle — a body-swap story about a couple who separate the morning after dropping their youngest at university, told in alternating chapters by a husband-and-wife writing teamThe Butler, by Clare Mackintosh — a shorter, glamorous whodunnit set at a French villa during Cannes, a real change of pace for the authorIn Deep Water, by Elle Blair — a cruise-ship murder mystery that didn't land for me, though the reviews suggest it may well land for youFeatured book:The Scandalous Ladies' Football Club, Frances QuinnThat's this episode — spoiler-free reviews of Not Quite Myself, The Butler, and In Deep Water, plus Frances Quinn on the real history behind The Scandalous Ladies' Football Club.Get in touchQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

Philippa went to Harrogate Crime Festival and came back with an alarming number of books. Here is everything she picked up, was given, or had rescued from the ladies' toilets on her behalf.Out NowThe Angel of Death - Trevor WoodDCI Jack Parker has a secret early onset dementia diagnosis. When a mercy killer begins targeting the terminally ill in Newcastle, and the killings are traced to a carers group his wife has been attending in secret, Jack faces a question he cannot ignore.The Fifteenth Man - William CookA Cold War thriller hunting the last Nazi war criminal alive to have signed off on the final solution. Rescued from the women's toilets at Harrogate. Out October.The Man Comes Around - Caimh McDonnellSmiling Johnny — charming, monstrous, long thought dead — is back in Dublin with scores to settle. Bunny McGarry must find him before he reaches Pamela Cassidy. Also: someone has nicked a bonfire.Her Last Move - John MarrsReissued with a bonus chapter. DS Becca Vincent hunts a killer with the help of a super-recogniser — while the killer watches her every move.The Museum of Second Chances - Jo LeeversEvelyn Silver has spent sixty years gathering objects the tide leaves behind. At the heart of her small museum is a fragment of lace found in her blanket when she was abandoned as a newborn. Already out.The Housewife - Natalie BorelliJodie has the perfect life. She is also convinced her husband killed his first wife. Out since June.Seeing Red - Damien BoydBook 16 in the DI Nick Dixon series. A body staged too neatly in a Somerset churchyard. Dixon is certain someone is being silenced. Already out.Coming SoonThe Domino Man - Helen Jones (January 2027)Cardiff, 1972. Six bodies, each a decapitated corpse with a different head sewn on. Case never solved. Cardiff, 2022. A cold case unit reopens it. Philippa met the author in the food truck queue.Bitter Fruit - Tempest Black (March 2027)A debut. A ritualistically posed body in a Dublin churchyard. A detective. A woman haunted by visions. The publisher handed out branded fruit boxes.Face First Case - Jeffrey Boakye (February 2027)Faith Apponsa runs the Met canteen with an iron fist — until a shocking discovery pulls her into the middle of a murder investigation. Sharp and darkly funny. One of Pan Macmillan's big books for 2027.Extraordinary Correspondence - Robert Hutton (June 2027)Sycamore Bell answers letters addressed to Sherlock Holmes — until one arrives begging Holmes to save a man on death row. The proof arrives in the shape of an actual envelope you can open.It Didn't End There - Charlotte DolmanNew Year's Eve 1999. A threat. A decision. Twenty-three years later, six estranged friends are summoned to a manor house and everything buried comes back up. Discovered in the beer tent.Almost the Whole Truth - Robin Stevens (June 2027)Robin Stevens's debut adult novel. Alice Dearlove's ex is convicted of murdering the woman he left her for. Then a podcast starts pointing the finger at Alice instead.Confessions of a Crime Writer - Louise MangosCrime writer Nigel Inchcock attends a literary festival and things go badly, funnily wrong. Louise signed Philippa's copy with hope you have a laugh.A Christmas Mystery - Katie Lumsden (November)December 1884. A country estate. A family. Guests. And a body. 478 pages. Philippa is completely here for it.Get in touchQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

Philippa is back with her first author interview in two months — and opens with a confession: she recorded the entire thing without plugging her microphone in. Apologies have been issued. The show goes on.The guest is the wonderful Sarah Pinborough — author of over 30 books including Behind Her Eyes — talking about her latest novel They Say a Girl Died Here. Plus three book reviews ranging from emotionally devastating to cosy Miss Marple, with a live retraction of a book review opinion somewhere in the middle.Three Book Reviews:Saving Noah – Lucinda BerryDiscovered via a Wild & Wordy subscription box swap. A top student, a champion swimmer, a hometown hero — and a confession that changes everything. Philippa was utterly consumed by this book, was stunned by the direction it took, and is now following Lucinda Berry's every move. Very emotional, not for everyone, but extraordinary writing.The Body in the Library – Agatha ChristieAfter Saving Noah, Philippa needed something cosy. Miss Marple delivered. A beautiful edition spotted in a bookshop, a body in the library, and the enduring joy of watching Miss Marple quietly observe everyone into a corner. Philippa always thinks she knows who did it. She never does.Cross My Heart I Hope You Die – Mallory ArnoldThree women discover they've all been dating the same man and hatch a revenge plan at a remote mountain cabin. Philippa wasn't sure how she felt about it while recording — and then issued a live retraction mid-review. On reflection: she liked it. Didn't love it. Would like you to read it and tell her what you think.Sarah Pinborough on They Say a Girl Died HereAnna Mayborn arrives in Harper's Creek — a drought-stricken Nebraska town — with her mum, her little sister, and her grandmother, who is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. Two girls have been murdered three years apart. The anniversary is approaching. Anna starts digging. Her grandmother starts having strange nightly episodes. And everyone in town seems to know more than they're saying.Sarah and Philippa discuss:How the book began as a horror novella ten years ago — different ending, younger Anna — and how it was transformed into a crime thriller by her UK editorWhy Anna is a different kind of unreliable narrator: not hiding something from the reader, but genuinely unable to trust her own judgment after traumaThe drought as a character in itself — the smell of the book would be dry summer with a slight rot, because nothing washes away when there's no waterHow small towns work: reputations linger, everyone knows everyone, and a town's willingness to look away is as interesting as the murders themselvesThe book is optioned for screen — Sarah is currently writing the first episodeWhy she'll never be a one-lane author and has made peace with thatHer preference for sofa over desk, dog over coffee machine, and staying home over book festivalsLiving in a small town herself and knowing exactly how reputations workHer next book: The Winter Bones, set in West Virginia — a whole town unravelling after a little boy dies. Secrets and snow this time, rather than secrets and sun.What she's reading: A biography of George Boleyn, and Fitcher's Bird by Angela Slatter — a dark modern fairy tale novella by an author she considers an auto-buy.Biscuit answer: Doesn't buy biscuits because she'd eat all of them. The book was probably powered by Itsu and Deliveroo. Her true love is pick and mix — particularly after a life-changing visit to a vast pick and mix shop in Boston where a stranger told her to just try one and covered her.Get in touchQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

Philippa is back from holiday — and the books made it to Rhodes eventually, after a handwritten letter to Athens customs explaining why a normal person would post books to themselves. Today she's sharing her top eight reads from the trip, spanning crime, horror, graphic novels, historical fiction, and AI thrillers. All different. All five stars.The Top 8 Holiday Reads (in reverse order)8. Under the Hammer – Samantha Dooey MilesA woman whose landlord has a fatal accident discovers her life's mission: punishing as many landlords as possible, starting with the ones she's spotted on a home improvement TV show. Sharp, witty, and wickedly entertaining.7. Splasher – Billie HostBought at Imagine Things bookshop in Harrogate. A swim coach returns to Richardson University a decade after tragedy struck — and on the first day of training, two students are found dead in the pool. Funny horror, perfectly read beside a swimming pool.6. The Confessions – Paul Bradley CarrAI bot Liam powers society — until he goes offline. Then identical white envelopes start arriving at people's houses, confessing their darkest secrets. Dystopian, clever, and full of unexpected turns. Philippa was audibly groaning with delight.Joint 4th. The Scandalous Ladies Football Club – Frances QuinnLondon, 1897. A schoolteacher places a newspaper ad asking for volunteers for the first ever women's football team. Philippa was so engrossed she propped the book up at the edge of the private pool and swam on the spot while reading it. Auto-buy author. Frances Quinn joins the podcast soon.Joint 4th. Roman Mornings – Matson TaylorRome, 1952. A young English woman arrives full of idealism. By 1976, she's wilting — until a chance encounter with a young carpenter changes everything. A celebration of friendship, identity, and the eternal city. Mattson Taylor joins the podcast over Christmas.3rd. The Corfe Castle Murders – Rachel McLeanDCI Leslie Clark is transferred to rural Dorset after being injured in a bomb attack — and before she's even started, she's investigating a murder at Corfe Castle. Book one of a long series. Philippa loved it and wants the next one immediately.2nd. The Bad Doctor – Ian WilliamsA graphic novel following a rural GP whose patients cause equal measures of empathy and dismay. Funny, serious, and with mental health storylines that Philippa found astonishing. Highly recommended as a first graphic novel for anyone curious about the format. Found at Hay-on-Wye Comics.1st. Better Off Dead – Sean WatkinThe second DCI De Silva and DS Barkley novel — and Philippa's undisputed book of the holiday. She was so immersed she didn't realise she was mouthing the words as she read. A cold case, a dismembered body in the Formby woods, and a duo who can't trust anyone around them. The third book in the series is already pre-ordered. The first is Black Water Rising. Auto-buy author who Philippa insists needs to be on every crime reader's radar immediately.Get in touchQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

No author interview, no book reviews — just Philippa's most personal episode of the year: her best reads of the first six months of 2026. Twelve books, one honourable mention, and the admission that it was genuinely hard to narrow it down.These are books Philippa read between January and June — not necessarily published this year — in alphabetical order by author surname, because she doesn't want to rank them.🎖️ Honourable MentionThe Wedding Suit – Rachel Joyce (BBC Radio Drama)A five-part radio serial about an eccentric elderly couple whose isolated lives are transformed by the unexpected arrival of a child. Written by Rachel Joyce, narrated by her husband Paul Venables (Yakob in The Archers). Still available on BBC Sounds — Philippa considers it essential listening.📚 The Top 12YesterYear – Caro Claire BurkeThe trad wife book everyone's been talking about — and rightly so. A brilliant concept, word-of-mouth sensation, and genuinely hard to put down.Body of Lies – Jo CallaghanThe fourth and final Kat and Lock book. An AI detective, a murdered MP, a cyberattack, and a taunting binary code message. Plus: Philippa gets a mention in the acknowledgements. Chef's kiss.Solitary Agents – David GoodmanThe second Jamie Tulloch spy novel. Clever concept, brilliant writing, and completely readable without the first book.Broken Country – Claire Leslie HallA quiet sucker punch of a book — part courtroom, part countryside, all heart. Beautifully written and emotionally devastating.The Drowning Place – Sarah HilaryA Peak District crime series debut unlike anything else in the genre right now. Joseph's story is different in a way Philippa isn't willing to spoil — but can't stop recommending.A Family Matter – Claire LynchShort, devastating, and extraordinary. A letter arrives. Two timeframes — 1982 and 2022. About love, acceptance, and everything in between.Slings and Arrows – Nick McLachlanA book about darts in the 1980s that turns out to be about friendship, marriage, health, and everything men don't say to each other. Published 2024. Beautiful.Night Swimmers – Roisin McGuireA coastal Northern Ireland village, a quirky swimmer called Grace, a visitor with a complicated story, and a cast of locals who made Philippa laugh out loud. The audiobook is gorgeous.Land – Maggie O'FarrellStarting in 1865 Ireland, this is Philippa's favourite Maggie O'Farrell yet. Exquisite writing, emotional gut-punches from nowhere, and a book that feels like the land itself is reading alongside you.Mars One – Charlotte RobinsonA sci-fi thriller that works even if you don't read sci-fi. A one-way mission to Mars, a conspiracy, a vanished coder in Hong Kong, and his cat. Needs to be a film immediately.The Things We Never Say – Elizabeth StroutPhilippa's first Strout & now she wants them all. A teacher named Arty handles life with quiet grace & devastating tenderness. Already pressed into multiple people's hands.The Ballad of Smallhope and Pennyroyal – Jodi TaylorTime travel, hijinks, chaos, and joy. A brilliant entry point into Jodi Taylor's world, and the audiobook is perfection.💬 What were your best reads of the first half of 2026?Quick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.comQuick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.