Bestsellers

Can you believe it...? Not only are Phil and Natalie back for season SEVEN (cue Len Goodman impressions) but we have also been double nominated at this year's Independent Podcast Awards in Best Books and Best Arts & Crafts Categories. Thank You for all of your support, virtual coffees on Ko-Fi and subscribing and downloading our podcast. It means a lot. Enough Gushing! We're Back with a return...

Tim Booth, yes that Tim Booth, singer with the band James, has a lot to say about writing his first fiction novel. He's well aware of the clichés about rock star books and is here to address them all. Nothing was off limits, so there's talk of sex and drugs and rock'n'roll, but also vulnerability and confidence and truth'n'lies. The genesis for the story came 28 years ago, but the catalyst was an...

Phil first met Chris Whitaker on the radio during lockdown, when Chris published, 'We Begin At The End.' His extraordinary new book, 'All The Colours of the Dark,' also features a strong teenage lead character, facing some pretty dire circumstances. Chris tells Natalie and Phil he drew on his own early years trauma to create his new hero, Patch. He also opens up about being arrested, accused of a...

Abir Mukherjee is the hugely successful writer of five historical crime novels. He created the Wyndham and Banerjee series of thrillers, starting in 1919 India, each book progressing towards Partition. His brand new novel - Hunted - is a stand alone contemporary edge of the seat thriller which took Abir over three years to write and resulted in him forming a mentoring group with luminaries such as...

Want even more book recommendations? We got 'em for you! There are 8 books to discover from Nat and Phil's reading stacks - ranging from an action thriller to a drama stepped in the '68 music scene, to short stories and a collaborative book featuring dozens of writers. These are all stories that have grabbed our attention, some we've read, some we're mid-read and some we've yet to start, but all s...

Mark Billingham makes a welcome return to BestSellers. This is his second book in his brand new tragic-comic series of DS Declan Miller books. Book Two - The Wrong Hands - starts with a botched briefcase robbery inside of which is a pair of severed human hands! In this edition Mark speaks candidly about how nervous he is of putting book two out there; he reveals when Tom Thorne will return and Nat...

Mid-career as a screenwriter, adapting other people's stories, Yulin Kuang swerved to write her own book and yes, it's likely to be adapted for the screen too when she finds the time! How to End a Love Story is about Helen, who has a very good reason to detest Grant after what happened when they were at high school, but then they are put in the same writers' room. He's adapting her very successful...

How do you adapt a much-loved, bestselling book into a film, and keep fans happy? Nat and Phil spoke to Robinne Lee about her gorgeous book, The Idea of You, back in 2021. Around that time producer Cathy Schulman also read that story and set about turning it into a movie, with Michael Showalter directing and co-writing. And this, is the story of how that happened, the changes that were made, and w...

You know those books that catch a moment? Jennie Godfrey’s The List of Suspicious Things is one of those happening right now. It’s a heart-warming tale of friendship immersed in late 1970s Yorkshire, where everyday life is overshadowed and ever-changed by the news of a serial killer at large. Jennie shares how there were early questions about writing the Yorkshire accent into her characters’ speec...

Imran Mahmood is a Barrister by day; A Sunday Times Top 10 Bestselling Writer by night! He's back with his fourth book, Finding Sophie and in this chat with Natalie and Phil, Imran talks about the challenges of writing a thriller about a missing teenager as a parent himself; where to draw the line on gruesome outcomes for Entertainment, and he sprinkles in some hilarious stories about being in Cou...

This Week, both Phil and Natalie received an infux of new books in the post. They're all worthy of being mentioned, but neither of them have had a chance to read any of these books yet. So that's why this episode is called Books We've Been Sent (but are yet to read) They are: Don Winslow - City in Ruins Yulin Kuang - How to end a Love Story David Nicholls - You Are Here Andrew Hunter Murray - A Be...

What's the difference between a love story and a romance novel? Why are some people so anti-romance in books but definitely not in life? All this and oh so much more gets discussed on this episode as author Milly Johnson joins Nat and Phil to share the process and the inspiration behind her latest bestseller, The Happiest Ever After. Starting out as a joke writer, Milly has kept that humor through...

Nicci French are husband and wife writing team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. They've been together 33 years and have co-authored novels for 27 of those years. Their latest is a stand alone about a mother who fails to turn up to her husband's 50th birthday party back in 1990. Set across two timelines, the book follows the search for Charlotte Salter and features a true crime podcast trying to outp...

It's the return of WWBR! Will the acronym catch on? Let's see... Anyway, this is what Phil and Nat have been reading, or have bought and haven't had the chance to read yet, but still a delicious teetering pile of books to recommend. From the upcoming Anthony Horowitz whodunnit, to a sun-drench cinematic epic story, and Nat's gone rogue with a cookbook again. Hopefully there's something here to tem...

Cate Quinn precedes her brand new novel by telling us: "This is the first book I've written sober." From her brilliant mind comes THE CLINIC - a novel about a high end rehab center with dark secrets inside. It's told from the perspective of Meg, a casino security guard, who thinks her sister has died in the rehab and Cara, who's poached to run the centre. It's terrific. In this Episode, Cate tells...

Two writers for the (free) price of one, as author Charmaine Wilkerson talks about adapting her book, Black Cake, into a TV series with show runner Marissa Jo Cerar. It's a thriller and a family drama, straddling the past and the present, and yep, the black cake of the title - a Caribbean rum cake - features heavily too! Charmaine and Marissa talk about the key things to think about, and get right...

If you're new to SA Cosby's writing, have a listen to what to expect from All The Sinners Bleed, and then race to get the book at your local library or book store! It's that good. This is a thriller, a southern noir, about the first Black sheriff to preside in a small southern town, investigating a murder. But that's the tip of the iceberg... SA Cosby writes with such lyricism and empathy about th...

This is a Bonus Ep, it's under 15 mins and it's Natalie grilling Terry Hayes on the ending of his latest thriller THE YEAR OF THE LOCUST. You should only hear this, once you've read the book, but it's a fascinating explanation of how he arrived at a genre busting ending and the huge amount of research which went into it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For our first Ep of 2024, Natalie and Phil speak to Screenwriter turned Novelist, TERRY HAYES. You may've read I Am Pilgrim: It sold over five million copies. But the realisation of a dream for the Mad Max writer to become a published author took it's toll. Over a decade followed before Terry was able to deliver his second novel. In this hugely entertaining episode Terry talks about delivering a m...

We all need a Danyah Miller in our lives - that's the conclusion after spending an hour in her company which is why Phil and Natalie are thrilled to introduce you to her debut book. It's fiction and non-fiction in one neat package - Seven Secrets of Spontaneous Storytelling - stuffed with helpful ways to navigate how we share stories and the connections we make in telling them. Danyah's lived many...

It's the 2023 edition of Phil and Natalie's books of the year! These are the stories they've enjoyed reading the most over the year, simple as that; the books that have been un-put-downable, the ones that made them smile, or gasp, or want to share with you. It's a mix of thrillers, dramas, comedies, and hopefully some surprises to inspire your reading lists as well! There are lots more episodes to...

On the 7th October 2023, Phil and Natalie recorded their first EVER live Episode at the first EVER Chiltern Kills Crime Festival. Chiltern Kills was created by ace crime writer, Tony Kent, with all proceeds going to the homeless charity, Centrepoint. Sharing the stage with Phil & Natalie are: IMRAN MAHMOOD MARK BILLINGHAM TONY KENT CLARE MACKINTOSH In this live recording, they discuss everythi...

We're back, BABY! And who better to ring in Season 5 of BestSellers than MICHAEL CONNELLY - the multi award winning writer and creator of the Harry Bosch, Lincoln Lawyer, Renée Ballard series of books. Michael is back with book 38: Resurrection Walk. A brilliant new Lincoln Lawyer story in which Mickey Haller must overturn a wrongful conviction, but in doing so he faces the opposite of the usual l...

Steve Cavanagh is King of the Hook. His previous taglines include, "The serial killer isn't on trial. He's ON THE JURY," and, "His client is innocent. His wife is guilty." His brand new ninth novel is a stand alone called, "Kill for Me Kill for You." It pays homage to Strangers on a Train and explores what would happen if two strangers meet by chance and agree to murder the other one's nemesis, le...

You know we love books, but do you also have that pile just waiting to be read, always?! The TBR pile can be a glorious thing, a teetering stack of books, full of ideas and stories that made us pick them, awaiting our full attention when the mood is right. Phil & Natalie run through their summer TBR stacks - 3 each - in the hope that a story will jump out at you and demand to be added to your...