Quick Book Reviews with Philippa Hall

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 Found
In 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 could
The once-in-a-career bidding war: Sam Mendes' production company, Amazon MGM, and The Walking Deadshowrunner Angela Kang all in pursuit of the same book
Why Jo always writes books for the love of them and scripts for the money — and why those two things are entirely separate
The 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 disappear
How Veronica justifies what she does — and the moral question at the heart of the book
Why layers matter more than first drafts, and what it looks like from the outside when Jo is deep in the editing stage
Her dream writing location: the coast path between Moville and Greencastle in Donegal — where the Wi-Fi barely works and the day takes its time
Her nightmare: a writer's room, surrounded by other writers, expected to create on demand
The pressure of reader expectations for twists — and why she's made peace with the fact that she can't please everyone
BookTok: how she joined to keep an eye on her children and ended up addicted, embarrassing them daily, and discovering her last three books there
What she's reading: The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, the latest Jane Harper, and London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
Biscuit 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 touch
Quick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.com
Quick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.
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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 Reviews
The 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 Gannon
A 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 McFadden
A 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 Tailor
A 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 accessory
The rule Tim never breaks: we never laugh at George, only with him or at others' reactions to him
Why this is absolutely not cosy crime — and why the original covers did the books a disservice
Writing longhand with fountain pens (a collection of Pelikans, Montblancs, and Lamys), and why the family complain less if there's no laptop open
Writing book nine without knowing who the second killer is — and why not plotting keeps the writing organic
Being turned down by agents for neurodivergent appropriation, self-publishing the first two books, and being embraced by the autistic community instead
Why he's reluctant to sell TV rights — and why protecting George's authenticity matters more than a screen deal
The 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 book
His one remaining ambition: to look up on the Tube and see a stranger reading one of his books
Biscuit answer: Flapjacks or white chocolate cookies — and absolutely no dunking. George would never allow it.
💬 Get in touch
Quick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.com
Quick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa sits down with the brilliant Adele Parks — bestselling author of 25 novels, over six million copies sold, OBE for services to literature — to talk about her latest book Eyes on You, the pressure of reader expectations, and a biscuit revelation that may change your tea break forever.
🎙️ Adele Parks on Eyes on You
When Amy was 15, she watched her father brutally murder his secret lover. Her testimony sent him to prison. Now in her early 30s, she's living a small, quiet life — until a privileged, wealthy man walks into the noodle bar where she works, and everything changes. What feels like connection may hide something far darker.
Adele & Philippa discuss:
Why Adele thinks this might be her best book yet — and why that's not just author hype
The working title that was ditched: The Murderer's Daughter — too on the nose, too reductive
Daddy issues, trauma, and why Amy's story is really about what happens when the person who was supposed to protect you destroys everything instead
The pressure of being an "auto-buy author" — and why that status has to be earned every single time
Whether podcasters and book reviewers have made readers more demanding of twists and reveals (Adele thinks probably yes, and is fine with it)
Why she writes at home, needs air conditioning installed, and requires a scary social media bouncer to confiscate her phone
Her nightmare writing location: a writer's retreat, surrounded by other writers all typing away confidently while she types "the" again and again
The importance of pre-orders — how they affect stock decisions, first print runs, and author sanity on launch day
Her signed pre-order service through Bert's Books in Swindon
📚 Order a signed copy of Eyes on You from Bert's Books
🔗 Pre-order Eyes on You and find Adele's tour dates at adeleparks.com
What she hopes readers feel at the end: shock, awe, possibly tears, and the satisfying sense that everyone got what they deserved
What Adele's reading:
Mad Mabel – Sally Hepworth (an 80-year-old with a very murky past and a suspicious neighbour)
The Last Tudor – Philippa Gregory (big, fat, brilliant, and finished in two days)
Biscuit answer: Cherry GoAhead biscuits, dunked in tea, timed to perfection. Three per pack — the ideal number. Not to be eaten dry under any circumstances.
Eyes on You is out 27th August. Pre-orders open now.
YOU CAN:
🔗 Pre-order Eyes on You and find Adele's tour dates at adeleparks.com
📚 Order a signed copy of Eyes on You from Bert's Books
💬 Get in touch with the podcast
Quick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.com
Quick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa is joined by three brilliant crime writers — Abir Mukherjee, Jane Casey, and Sarah Hilary — to talk all about St Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend, the unique Oxford crime fiction event running 4th–6th September. 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.
🎓 St Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend 🔗 Book tickets for St Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend
What makes St Hilda's different from every other crime festival — long-form talks on themes rather than authors plugging their own books
This year's theme: Bad Apples: Crime Fiction's Enemies and Antiheroes
The legendary annual Whodunit, costumes, accents, and Abir's reputation for staying in character (and wig) all weekend
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
Guest of honour Andrew Taylor, and returning speaker Natasha Cooper
The online option for people joining from Australia, Japan, and beyond
Punting mishaps, Jimi Hendrix-via-laptop disasters, and other backstage panic stories
The on-site Blackwell's bookshop and the chance to win a rare first edition at the Whodunit
📚 The Books
The Pinnacle – Abir Mukherjee
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."
Everything She Didn't Say – Jane Casey
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.
The Drowning Place – Sarah Hilary
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.
🍎 The Final Question (Bad Apples Edition)
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.
🔗 Book tickets for St Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend
💬 Get in touch
Quick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.com
Quick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Amman Brar about Mr. Sidhu's Post Office — one of BBC News's 12 books to read in 2026.
📚 Three Book Reviews
The Burning Tide – William Shaw (out 16th July)
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.
The Tailor – Tim Sullivan
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.
Eyes on You – Adele Parks (out next month)
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.
🎙️ Amman Brar on Mr. Sidhu's Post Office
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.
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.
Amman and Philippa discuss:
Growing up around his father's post office in the '80s and '90s, and wanting to capture a world that's slowly disappearing
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
His background in theatre (Royal Court, Soho Theatre, Tamasha) and how writing a novel is completely different — more solitary, less terrifying than opening night
The original working title: Dave and Rose (which made him laugh, which is why he chose it)
Why his dream writing location is the South of France — and why his black Labrador is his best untangling tool
His nightmare: the quiet carriage, one man on his phone, and the moment Aman became that guy
What he's reading: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee and This Is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniel Murtagh
The second book: another family drama, this time about his own generation
Biscuit answer: French Normandy butter and almond biscuits, dunked in coffee — with rosé on the side if Philippa's paying.
💬 Get in touch
Quick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.com
Quick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.