Quick Book Reviews with Philippa Hall

We chat to agent Hannah Sheppard from the DHH Literary Agency and also review "The Cutting Place" by Jane Casey, "The Jigsaw Man" - Nadine Matheson, "An Absolutely Remarkable Thing" by Hank Green, "Red Snow" by Will Dean and "The Emperor’s Babe" by Bernadine Evaristo. Plus a book box opening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews Don Macpherson about his book “How To Master Your Monkey Mind” and reviews “One by One” by Ruth Ware, “Bridgerton - The Duke & I” by Julia Quinn, “The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet” by Becky Chambers and “The Journal Of A Psychotherapist during lockdown” by Jane Haynes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I interview Ellery Lloyd about the thriller "People Like Her" and also review "Collecting Sticks" by Joe Decie, "The Stone Circle" by Elly Griffiths, "Coming Up For Air" by Sarah Leipciger, "Redder Days" by Sue Rainsford and "Dune" by Frank Herbert. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews Ericka Waller about her new book "Dog Days" and reviews the following: Your Neighbour’s Wife by Tony Parsons, The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill, Hunted by Anthony Dunford, The Supper Club by Lara Williams and Mimi by Rauf Khalilov. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews Robert Goddard about his new book “ The Fine Art of Invisible Detection” and reviews “Full Disclosure” by Camryn Garrett, “The Whole Truth” by Cara Hunter, “The Rosie Effect” by Graeme Simsion and “The Night Circus” by Erin Morganstern. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interview Russ Thomas about his book “Nighthawking” and also reviews: “Word Perfect” by Susie Dent, “Bound” by Vanda Symon, “A Violent Gentleman” by Danny O’Leary, “Sleeping Dogs’ by Wendy Turbin and “The Gritterman” by Orlando Weeks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews Mel McGrath about her new book “Two Wrongs” and also reviews “Ready Player Two” by Ernest Cline, “Deity” by Matt Wesolowski, “My Brother’s name is Jessica” by John Boyne and “Hotel Cartegena” Simone Buchholz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews Robert Thorogood about his new book ”The Marlow Murder Club” and also reviews “The Firm” by John Grisham, “Containment” by Vanda Symon, “Agent Running In The Field” by John Le Carre and “Wundersmith” By Jessica Townsend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews Sarah Pearse about her book "The Sanatorium", and also reviews "The Dark Angel" by Elly Griffiths, "Lie Beside Me" by Gytha Lodge, "Beauty and the Bin" by Joanne O'Connell, "Smokescreen" by Horst & Enger and "Firewatching" by Russ Thomas. Philippa also unboxes another subscription book box. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews Helen Fisher about her book Space Hopper and also reviews: The Appeal by Janice Hallett, The Wife Who Knew Too Much by Michele Campbell, Without A Trace by Mari Hannah, Over Her Dead Body by A B Morgan and Last One At The Party by Bethany Clift. Plus a Book Box Club unboxing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews Linwood Barclay about his new book "Find You First" and then takes a different approach to her book reviews by using the “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue” tag! Books covered include: “My Cousin Rachel” by Daphne Du Maurier, “Ready Player Two” by Ernest Cline, “Death Undercover” Martin Walker and "Hamnet" by Maggie O’Farrell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews C L Taylor about her new book “The Island” and reviews “Girl A” by Abigail Dean, “Winterkill” by Ragnar Jonasson, “Unsettled Ground” by Claire Fuller, “Red Corona” by Tim Glister, “There’s Only One Danny Garvey” by David F Ross and “Push” by Ashley Audrain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews C K McDonnell author of Stranger TImes and reviews The Chalet by Catherine Cooper, The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths, The Angel of Whitehall by Lewis Hastings, A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell and Set Me On Fire collated by Ella Risbridger. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews Francis Quinn author of "The Smallest Man" and reviews "Tell Me The Truth About Life" curated by Cerys Matthews, "Someone We Know" by Shari Lapena, "Hot to Trot" by M C Beaton & R W Green & "The invisible Life of Addie La Rue" by V E Schwab. Plus a book box opening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa interviews Will Dean about his latest book "The Last Thing to Burn" and reviews "Hitler & Stalin" by Laurence Lees, "The Therapist" by B A Paris, "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier, "The Poetry Pharmacy" by William Sieghart and "The Law of Innocence" by Michael Connelly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a best of 2020 special! Philippa looks at her top 10 books that she has read this year and also interviews Doug Johnstone about his book “Dark Matter”. The top ten books include: “Dark Matter” by Doug Johnstone, “Fifty Fifty” by Steve Cavanagh, “The Curator” by M W Craven, “The Miseducation of Evie Epworth” by Matson Taylor, “How To Disappear” by Gillian McAllister, “Nowhere To Be Found” by Louisa De Lange, “The Postscript Murders” by Elly Griffiths. “The Heart’s Invisible Furies” by John Boyne, “Take Me Home” by Alex Hart, “Run Rebel” by Manjeet Mann Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Its the Christmas special! Philippa talks to Lauren the 'BookTube sensation from "Lauren and the books" to find out her top 5 Christmas books. Books include:Philippa's top 5 published this year:This Winter - Alice OsemanJoy To The World - Jodi TaylorChristmas is Murder - Val McDermidRyan's Christmas - L J RossI wish it could be Christmas every day - Milly Johnson(and Philippa cheekily sneaked in one from previous years: The Empty Stocking by Richard Curtis)Lauren's top 5 (not published this year)Another Night Before Christmas - Carol Ann DuffyChristmas Days - Jeanette WintersonThe Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe by C S LewisT'was the nightshift before Christmas - Adam KayThe Christmas Chronicles - Nigel Slater Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interview Fiona Cummins about her latest book “The Neighbour” and reviews “V2” by Robert Harris, “Playing Nice” by J P Delaney, “33 Women” by Isabel Ashdown, “As good as it gets” by Romesh Raganathan“ and “A Symphony of Echoes” by Jodi Taylor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews Deborah Masson about her latest book “Out for Blood” and she then also reviews “Cut Short” by M W Craven, “Truth Be Told” by Kia Abdullah, “The Salt Path” by Raynor Winn and “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do” by Amy Morin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews Claire Askew about her book "Cover Your Tracks" and also reviews "The Vow" by Debbie Howells, "Planet Earth is Blue" by Nicole Panteleakos, "A Year of Living Danishly" by Helen Russell and "Call for the Dead" By John Le Carre. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa has a solution provided by a listener to the problem of opening a plastic bag with a face mask on - wonderful! She interviews Simon Kernick about his new book “Kill A Stranger” and also reviews “Inside Out” by Chris McGeorge, “The Death of Mrs Westaway” by Ruth Ware, “A Kind of Spark” by Elle McNicoll and “The Minders” by John Marrs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa talks about online bookclubs and 3 podcasts she listens to. Philippa reviews 5 books and interviews author John Marrs! Books reviewed include "What Lies Between Us" by John Marrs, "Remember Me" by Amy McLellan, "The Archers - Ambridge At War' By Catherine Miller, "Platform Seven" by Louise Doughty and "On Borrowed Time" by Adam Croft. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A special episode! First Philippa looks at some interesting crime/writing compilations from “Howdunnit” edited by Martyn Edwards, “Noir from the bar - 30 Crime & Mystery Shorts” Compiled by Simon Bewick & Vic Watson, “Mortification” Edited by Robin Robertson and “The Crime Writers Guide to Police Practice & Procedure” by Michael O’Byrne. THEN we have a review of “Hard Time” by Jodi Taylor and an interview with her - what an amazing author - talking about which is her favourite character in the Time Police, how does she write each book, what are Data Stacks and Scratch Pads like? And so much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews Kia Abdullah about her book "Take It Back" and also reviews "Fallen Angel" by Chris Brookmyre, "The Illustrated Child" by Polly Crosby, "Punching The Air" by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam, "Once Upon A River" by Diane Setterfield and "Because Of You" by Dawn French. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa interviews Rosamund Lupton about her book "Three Hours" and also reviews "The List" by Carys Jones, "Lost" by Leona Deakin, "The Dead of Winter" by Nicola Upson and "Untamed" by Glennon Doyle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I interview Peter James about his book “I Follow You” and then review “The Postscript Murders” by Elly Griffiths, “One Step Behind” by Lauren North, “Precious You” by Helen Monks Takhar and “The Bass Rock” by Evie Wyld. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A packed episode! We have an unboxing of a "Book Box Club" Subscription box and an interview with three amazing authors: Gytha Lodge author of "Watching From The Dark", Nikki Smith author of "All In Her Head" and Lauren North author of "One Step Behind". Plus Philippa's book reviews of "Moonflower Murder" by Anthony Horowitz, "Before I Saw You" by Emily Houghton, "Take Me In" by Sabine Durrant, "Run, Rebel" by Manjeet Mann and "What Lies Beneath" by Adam Croft. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we have listeners questions for me to answer and an amazing interview with William Shaw about his latest book “Grave’s End”. We also review “Home Stretch” by Graham Norton, “Atomic Love” by Jeannie Fields, “Take Me Home” by Alex Hart and “How To Survive The End Of The World” by Aaron Gillies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lots of books being read by our Facebook Group! Wonderful! We also have an interview with the fabulous Simon Mayo, talking about his wonderful new book “Knife Edge”. Plus reviews of “The Heart’s Invisible Furies” by John Boyne, “The Wives” by Tarryn Fisher, “Easy Peasy Doggy Squeeze” by Steve Mann, “Friend Request” by Laura Marshall and “The Thursday Murder Club” by Richard Osman. Wow, wow and wow! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa unboxes a “My Chronicle Book Box” (Discount code: QUICK10) and interviews founder Louise about the company, the boxes you can choose and how she goes about selecting the contents. Philippa then reviews 7 books including: “Just Like The Other Girls” by Claire Douglas, “Blood Lines” by Angela Marsons, “The Silent Daughter” by Emma Christie, “Goodbye Perfect” by Sara Barnard, “Underland” by Robert Macfarlane, "The Switch" by Beth O'Leary (audiobook) and “When The Coffee Gets Cold” by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa interviews Phoebe Morgan, Editorial Director of Harper Collins about the publishing process and all that is involved. Philippa also reviews: “His and Hers” by Alice Feeney, “The Turn of the Key” by Ruth Ware, “The Final Cut” by S J Watson, “Plan For the Worst” by Jodi Taylor, “Silver Sparrow” by Tayari Jones, “Fearless” by Allen Stroud and the audiobook “Down the Line” by Pam Ayres. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa interviews Elly Griffiths and talks to her about the Ruth Galloway series. Philippa also reviews 7 books: "The Hit List" (audiobook version) by Holly Seddon, "The Woman In Blue" by Elly Griffiths, "Here Is The Beehive" by Sarah Crossan, "You Can Trust Me" by Emma Rowley, "I am, I am, I am" by Maggie O'Farrell, "Orfeia" by Joanne M. Harris, "The Sentient" by Nadia Afifi & "All The Lonely People" by Mike Gayle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a "Fifty Fifty" and Steve Cavanagh special! The book “Fifty Fifty” is published this week so Philippa looks at the book and then talks to Steve about how the idea for the story came about and what inspired it. Philippa then looks at each book in the Eddie Flynn series and the standalone “Twisted”. She also reviews 4 other books including “The Weight of Water” by Sarah Crossan, “Sensible Footwear - A Girl’s Guide” by Kate Charlesworth, “Nowhere to be found” by Louisa De Lange and “The Search Party” By Simon Lelic. Back to normal next week! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is the special of all specials! In this episode (due to public demand) Philippa looks back at 2017/18 and her first 10 favourite books that she reviewed PLUS a wonderful author interview! So we have: “I am Pilgrim” by Terry Hayes, “ Death Knocks Twice” by Robert Thorogood, “The Betrayals” by Fiona Neill, “The Child” by Fiona Barton, “Places in the Darkness” by Chris Brookmyre, “Small Great Things” by Jodi Picoult, “He Said She Said” by Erin Kelly, “Moonrise” by Sarah Crossan. “The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair” by Joel Dicker and “Close to Home” by Cara Hunter. Philippa interviews Cara Hunter to talk about this book, the series itself and the characters that make it special. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa talks about her lovely Facebook Group and all the books they are currently reading. She reviews “The End of Her” by Shari Lapena and also gets to interview Shari herself about this wonderful book! Philippa reviews “Seven Bridges” by L J Ross, “The Girl Before” by J P Delaney, “The Bookshop” by Penelope Fitzgerald and “Daughter of Smoke & Bone” (Audiobook) by Laini Taylor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa talks about the books her Facebook Group are reading. She interviews The Sunday Times’ Bestselling author Sarah Vaughan about her latest book called “Little Disasters”. Philippa also reviews “The Second Sleep” by Robert Harris, “Dear Emmie Blue” by Lia Louis, “The Last to Know” by Jo Furniss & “The Apocalypse” by Jason Parent. Fantastic! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa takes great delight in unboxing a "Book Club Box" subscription. She answers 5 listeners' questions and then reviews 3 simply stellar books! They are "The Other Passenger" by Louise Candlish, "Black Flamingo" by Dean Atta and "Six Years" by Harlan Coben. Philippa also interviews Louise Candlish about her wonderful new book. Splendid! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa chats through the books her Facebook Group are reading at the moment. She reviews “Killing Rock” by Robert Daws and interviews him about the book and the reasons behind its creation. She also reviews “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt, “Dark Skies” by L J Ross, “Those Who Were Loved” (audiobook) by Victoria Hislop and “Rivers of London - Water Weed” (Graphic Novel) by Ben Aaronovitch. Happy Days! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa unboxes a "Books That Matter" monthly subscription box. She reviews "A Song of Isolation" By Michael J Malone and then interviews the author himself, which is very exciting! Other books reviewed in this episode include "A Rising Man" by Abir Mukherjee", "The Dispatcher" by John Scalzi (Audio Book) and "Pumpkin Heads" by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks (YA Graphic Novel). All different but all interesting! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa Interviews The Sunday Times’ Bestselling author Gillian McAllister and reviews her wonderful new book “How to Disappear”. Philippa talks about her lovely Facebook Group and reviews other books including “Clap When you Land” by Elizabeth Acevedo, “If I Had Your Face” by Frances Cha, “Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race” by Reni Eddo-Lodge and “I Feel Bad About My Neck” by Nora Ephron. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa reviews “Queenie” by Candice Carty-Williams, which she has just read for the second time. She reviews “The Catch” by T M Logan on audiobook, “This Is Not A Love Story” by Mary Hargreaves and the “Lockdown Parenting Hell Podcast” by Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe. Plus she interviews the super Jenny Blackhurst about her great books including her latest “Someone Is Lying”. Lovely! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa interviews Matson Taylor, author of “The Miseducation of Evie Epworth”. She also reviews “The First Lie” by A J Park, “My House is Falling Down” by Mary Loudon and “The Organised Mum Method” by Gemma Bray. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode includes an interview with the world famous M.W. Craven, whose latest book “The Curator” is out now. Other books covered include “Rhythm and Poetry” By Karl Nova, “Gemma Bovery” by Posy Simmonds, “The House Guest” by Mark Edwards and “Locked Together” which is an Audible Original. Philippa also mentions her lovely Facebook Podcast Group and the books they are reading. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some fabulous books! Philippa interviews Holly Watt about her paperback “To The Lions” and her more recent hardback “The Dead Line”. Philippa also reviews ”Just My Luck” by Adele Parks and the “The Bill Chill” by Doug Johnstone, as well as mentioning her lovely Facebook Podcast Group and the books they are reading. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A special episode! Philippa looks at book covers, how important they are, the process involved in deciding what sort of a cover a book should have, what influence an author has and the impact a retailer also has. With considerable help from (and thanks to) Phoebe Morgan, editorial director of HarperCollins and author. Her latest book is “The Babysitter” and is out now, with the most marvellous book cover, of course. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa reviews “The Retreat” by Mark Edwards, “#Taken” by Tony Parsons, “Deep Work” by Cal Newport, “The Ghost Fields” by Elly Griffiths and “A Girl Called Justice” also by Elly Griffiths. Fiction, Non Fiction and Children’s fiction, all in one podcast! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa reviews “The Darling Buds of May’ by H E Bates, “The Mothers” By Sarah Naughton, “Rules for Perfect Murders” by Peter Swanson and “Fair Warning” (Audiobook version) by Michael Connelly. Which will be her Book of the Week? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa reviews some marvellous books including: “The Shelf” By Helly Acton, “Seven Lies” by Elizabeth Kay, “The Fate of Ten” by Pittacus Lore, “The Cockroach” by Ian McEwan and “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” by J K Rowling, the audible exclusive version. Which will be her book of the week? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa reviews “The Curator” by M W Craven (out next month), “Flake” by Matthew Dooley (Graphic Novel), “Cows” by Dawn O’Porter (Paperback), “Beating About The Bush” by M C Beaton (Hardback) and “The Jane Austen Society” by Natalie Jenner (Audiobook). Such fun! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Philippa reviews: Audiobook “The Split” by Sharon Bolton, Graphic Novel “Locke & Key - Welcome to Lovecraft” by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, Hardback “Strangers” by C L Taylor, Paperback “Liar in the Library” by Simon Brett and Hardback “All That’s Dead” by Stuart Macbride. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.