Quick Book Reviews with Philippa Hall

Alison Barrow, PR Director at Transworld, joins me again to lift the lid on what's really happening in publishing right now — from late-night manuscript reads and "beauty contest" pitches for new books, to why the Christmas run-up is the busiest time of the year for gifting, self-purchase, and special editions. We talk about how author expectations around social media have changed, why debut autho...

Episode 500! In Conversation with Val McDermid and Jo Sharp: This Door of the Seas A 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 Se...

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 h...

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 McGilloway Philippa 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 we...

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 th...

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 Now The Angel of Death - Trevor Wood DCI 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 carer...

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...

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...

Philippa reviews four books — including two she couldn't wait to tell you about — before a wonderful, wide-ranging conversation with C.J. Tudor about her latest novel Serenity Falls , out 10th September , the book she needed to write after the hardest year of her life. 📚 Four Book Reviews One of Us is Guilty – Steve Cavanagh The 10th Eddie Flynn case finds con-man-turned-lawyer Eddie investigatin...

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...

A short but exciting episode! Philippa announces a brand new format for the podcast: a Quick Book Reviews Book Club , running throughout October . The chosen book is The One You Least Suspect by Brian McGilloway — already out in paperback, 384 pages, and available from libraries. Each week in October, listeners will read roughly 96 pages, with Philippa sharing her thoughts at the end of each episo...

Bestselling author and broadcaster  Fern Britton  joins Philippa for a very special summer edition of  Quick Book Reviews  to talk about her wonderful new novel,  A Cornish Legacy . Fern shares stories of solo travelling in Florence, cycling adventures across India, Madagascar, Cuba and Egypt, dream holidays to Penang, mosquito nightmares, Cornwall, family history, and the...

Recorded live at Capital Crime Book Festival , Philippa talks to Gavin Bell — also known as Mason Cross, also known as Alex Knight — about his gripping new thriller 138 Main Street . But first, three festive reads for anyone who, like Philippa, enjoys a Christmas book in the height of summer. 3 Christmas Books for Summer The Winter Guest – Sarah Moss Two strangers share Christmas Eve dinner in a r...

It's the Quick Book Reviews summer special, and Philippa is joined by the wonderful Elly Griffiths — bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway series — to talk holidays, her latest novel The Killing Time , and what's coming next in the world of time-travelling detective Ali Dawson. ☀️ Holiday Chat Elly is a self-confessed good traveller — half Italian, born in August, and happiest in the heat. She a...

Recorded live at Capital Crime Book Festival , Philippa talks to C.J. Merritt about his whiplash international spy thriller Octagon — but first, a public service announcement: three brilliant books you should absolutely not read on an actual flight. 3 Books You Should NOT Take on Holiday (If You're Flying) Hostage – Clare Mackintosh A flight attendant receives a note threatening her daughter's lif...

Philippa is joined by the legendary Lee Child — creator of Jack Reacher, published in over 120 countries with more than 40 million books sold — for this summer special. They cover holidays, the Reacher handover to brother Andrew Child, artificial intelligence, and why literacy in prisons matters more than you might think. ☀️ Holiday Chat Lee hasn't had a proper holiday in 10 years — when you've be...

Recorded live at Capital Crime Book Festival , Philippa talks to Ellie Levenson about her brilliantly genre-defying novel Room 706 — described by her own agent as "thrilling but not a thriller." But first, the results are in! After asking listeners for their top three holiday book recommendations, here are the three that came out on top: Your Top 3 Holiday Reads The End of Summer – Charlotte Philb...

Bestselling crime writer Karin Slaughter joins Philippa for a very special summer edition of Quick Book Reviews to talk about her new thriller, The Secrets We Hide . Karin talks about why she is not a natural holiday person, her dream trip to New Zealand, long-haul flights, travel delays, e-books, audiobooks, fish allergies, sorbet, swimming with sharks, climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge, and why she...

Recorded live at Capital Crime Book Festival , this episode kicks off Philippa's August Friday series — shorter interviews with brilliant authors you should know more about. First up: Brian McGilloway , talking holidays, control, and his standalone thriller The One You Least Suspect . But first, three books perfect for anyone who hasn't read in years and wants to fall back in love with reading on...

Bestselling psychological thriller author  John Marrs  joins Philippa for a  Quick Book Reviews Summer Special  to talk about his latest thriller,  Dead in the Water . John and Philippa chat about holiday reading, Kindle versus physical books, family trips, travel sickness, nightmare cruises, dream road trips across Canada or New Zealand, ice cream memories, and why raspbe...

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....

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 B...

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 Switch When the prime minister dies in mysterious circumstances,...

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...

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...