Quick Book Reviews with Philippa Hall

Noelle W. Ihli on The Last to Drown + 3 Book Reviews

Five days, twenty strangers, eighty-four miles of whitewater and no way out. Today I am talking to bestselling thriller author Noelle W. Ihli about The Last to Drown, the

I'm Not Sure the National Year of Reading Is Working. Here's Why

It's past my bedtime, my microphone has given up the ghost, and I've got something to get off my chest: the National Year of Reading. I've been having a dig into where th

In Conversation with Ian Rankin: The Heights

This episode is a special one — a full interview with Ian Rankin on The Heights, his first standalone thriller in nearly two decades. But first, a confession: I've just b

A Book Shopping Confession, Plus Book Club Week One

My Book Haul Confession + Book Club Begins I have a confession: despite trying to go all-in on ebooks, I found myself with an hour to kill, a closed independent bookshop

In Conversation with Ann Cleeves: The Dying Light

In Conversation with Ann Cleeves: The Dying Light This is a special Wednesday episode — Ann Cleeves joins me to talk about The Dying Light, the fourth Matthew Venn novel

In Conversation with Linwood Barclay: Not a Word

In Conversation with Linwood Barclay: Not a Word This episode is a special one — Linwood Barclay returns to talk about Not a Word, a family secrets thriller that opens w

Alison Barrow on Publishing + Our October Book Club Launches

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

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

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 wh

In Conversation with Kate Atkinson: Our Noble Selves

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 trau

The Unpopular Book Opinion I've Been Keeping to Myself

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 wh

Frances Quinn: The True Scandal Behind The Scandalous Ladies' Football Club

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 — a

What Really Happened at Harrogate — and the Book Rescued From the Toilets

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' toi

Sarah Pinborough on They Say a Girl Died Here, Horror, Secrets & Pick and Mix

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

Why Isn't Everybody Talking About This Crime Author? My Holiday Top 8

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 t

C.J. Tudor on Serenity Falls, Creepy Disney Towns & the Smell of Buttered Popcorn

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 Ser

Philippa's Best Books of 2026 So Far — 12 Picks & an Honourable Mention

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 men

We're Starting a Book Club — Here's the Twist

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 O

SUMMER SPECIAL — Fern Britton on A Cornish Legacy, Florence & Finding Home

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 Le

3 Weirdly Perfect Books to Read Now + Gavin Bell on 138 Main Street - Summer Special

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 Ma

SUMMER SPECIAL: Elly Griffiths on The Killing Time, Time Travel & Las Vegas Hell

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, he