Episodes
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Edi and Ash have been best friends for over 40 years, so when Edi is diagnosed with cancer, Ash has to reshape her world around the rhythm of Edi’s hospice care. This week’s Book Club novel is We All Want Impossible Things, an extraordinary story of devotion and sadness.
Author Catherine Newman joins Richard and Judy to talk about why she writes so sensuously about food and the desire for good food in the hospice. They also wonder why humour is such a powerful survival method for people in difficult situations. Plus, we know not to judge a book by its cover, but what about its title? Catherine explains how her team came up with ‘We All Want Impossible Things’.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Autumn Book Club collection, and use the code autumn10 for a 10% discount.
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When a body is found in a padlocked suitcase, Investigator Emma Makepeace knows it’s murder, and that it’s personal. In The Traitor, Emma’s investigation sees her shadowing two oligarchs procuring illegal weapons in the UK, and it’s looking increasingly likely that someone deep inside the British government is helping them.
Author Ava Glass joins Richard and Judy to talk about her own experience of working with – and being followed by – spies when she worked for the British government. Often in fiction women seem to tumble into becoming spies by accident, but Ava’s first-hand experience is that women actually make a very deliberate career choice. Ava, who used to be a crime reporter in the USA, also explains how different the job is there compared to in the UK.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Autumn Book Club collection, and use the code autumn10 for a 10% discount.
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Everyone knows the story of the Alperton Angels – a cult who brainwashed a teenager and convinced her that her baby was the anti-Christ. But 18 years later, two competing true crime authors are quickly discovering all is not what it seemed.
Author Janice Hallett joins Richard and Judy to explain why she felt so comfortable writing The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels as a series of email and WhatsApp exchanges, and why these interactions are such a great way to get to the heart of a character. They also discuss what makes a compelling cult leader, and how the themes Janice explores in the novel are evident in our everyday lives too.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Autumn Book Club collection, and use the code autumn10 for a 10% discount.
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You might already be familiar with the protagonist of this week’s Book Club novel, The Last Orphan. It’s Evan Smoak, aka government assassin Orphan X. There have been numerous books in the Orphan X series, but The Last Orphan also stands alone as a brilliant thriller.
Author Gregg Hurwitz joins Richard and Judy to talk about the moral code that defines Evan’s actions – who he’s willing to kill and why or why not. They also discuss capital punishment, and the idea of trial by social media. Plus, who does Gregg think would win in a fight between Evan Smoak and Jack Reacher...?
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Autumn Book Club collection, and use the code autumn10 for a 10% discount.
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If I Let You Go is this week’s Book Club novel. It tells the story of Janet Brown, a quiet woman who’s still carrying the guilt of a devastating loss 11 years ago when she’s catapulted into the national conscious for saving a child’s life. However, all is not as it seems...
Author Charlotte Levin joins Richard and Judy to talk about coming to writing later in life and why it was important to her to represent normal working class people in her book. Plus, given they’ve all lived in Manchester, they discuss the nuances of the Mancunian accent and delivery – something that comes across strongly in Charlotte’s characters.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Autumn Book Club collection, and use the code autumn10 for a 10% discount.
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Known for historical novels, returning Book Club author Dinah Jefferies has now written Night Train to Marrakech, a thriller and a love story rolled into one. In 1960s Morocco a young woman travels to meet her estranged grandmother, a woman whose childhood secrets are catching up with her. In 1960s Morocco a young woman travels to meet her estranged grandmother, a woman whose childhood secrets are catching up with her.
Dinah joins Richard and Judy to explain how she accidentally ended up writing a thriller this time round, and why she had to ask for professional help with this particular genre. Character Clemence is 75 years old – the same age as Dinah – and she talks about why she chose to write her as a woman who has an active sex life and paints her toenails gold. Dinah, Richard, and Judy also all share their own thoughts about ageing.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Autumn Book Club collection, and use the code autumn10 for a 10% discount.
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The Hundred Years War has begun, and although King Edward and his lords are on the march through France, the war really belongs to the men on the ground. One of the tight knit companies making their way through the chaos are the Essex Dogs, who are trying to stay alive long enough to see their home again. Author of Essex Dogs, Dan Jones, is a historian, broadcaster, and best-selling author of ten non-fiction books. He joins Richard and Judy to explain why a milestone birthday prompted him to move into fiction writing for the first time. He also talks about the parallels he’s observed between medieval armies and football hooligans, what Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin told him about how to combine fact with fiction, and how the title was inspired by a Blur song. Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code summer10 for a 10% discount.
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A shocking event shatters the conventional life Mia has carefully crafted in this week’s Book Club novel Cat Lady, and it turns out that beneath the surface there was another woman clawing to get out...
Returning Book Club author Dawn O’Porter joins Richard and Judy to talk about the very specific relationship ‘cat people’ have with their animals. Dawn explains how her relationship with her own beloved cat – who she had freeze dried when she died – inspired the insights in the novel. They all wonder how far our relationships with our pets tell us about what it is to be human.
Plus, Dawn talks about how her husband – actor Chris O’Dowd – indirectly motivated her to write for her core audience rather than for the mainstream.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code summer10 for a 10% discount.
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Amelie wakes up in a pitch black room, having been abducted, she assumes by her loathsome husband... but she quickly discovers all is not as it seems. This is the plot of B. A. Paris’ novel The Prisoner.
Bernadette MacDougal joins Richard and Judy to explain why an initial lack of confidence in her writing made her decide to write under a pen name. She also explains how this imposter syndrome meant success came as a real surprise to her. They also discuss how a book is able to become a bestseller when it hasn’t had a lot of publicity.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code summer10 for a 10% discount.
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All Grace wants for her 90th birthday is to heal the heartbreaking rift that’s rocked her family for decades. Love Untold is Ruth Jones third novel, and explores the intricate, devastating, and life-affirming relationships between four generations of Welsh women.
Ruth joins Richard and Judy to discuss why family dynamics are such fertile ground for authors – they’re at the heart of her writing on TV’s Gavin and Stacey too. She believes that there’s a little bit of bad in the best of us, and a little bit of good in the worst of us, and that writing warmly about forgiveness and redemption celebrates what it is to be human.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code summer10 for a 10% discount.
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The Brandt family faces ruin; 18 year old Thea’s aunt Nella is convinced the only solution is to find Thea a wealthy husband among Amsterdam’s elite. The House of Fortune follows Nella and Thea as they clash over the demands of duty and the heart, old secrets overwhelming them along the way.
Returning Book Club author Jessie Burton joins Richard and Judy to explain why it took her so long to write this, the sequel to bestseller The Miniaturist, including why she had found the idea of touching the character of Nella again so emotional.
They also discuss the Amsterdam of Jessie’s books – an embellished impression of the real city – as well as exploring increasing modern acknowledgement of the Dutch empire and slave trade. Plus, does having your book made into TV show financially set you up for life? Jessie gives an honest answer.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code summer10 for a 10% discount.
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The Woman Who Lied tells the story of Emilia Ward. She’s the bestselling author of detective novels, but as she embarks on her tenth book an incident straight out of one of her plots occurs in real life. Then it happens again, and again.
Returning Book Club author Claire Douglas joins Richard and Judy to talk about why this incredibly intricate story within a story meant she had to keep detailed plot and character notes for the first time in her novel writing career. They also discuss the endless re-writing process authors have to go through with editors – a procedure none of them truly appreciated until they became authors themselves.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code summer10 for a 10% discount.
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Oxford has Morse, Brighton has Grace, and now Salisbury has Atticus Priest thanks to author Mark Dawson. In this week’s Book Club novel, The House In The Woods, private eye Atticus must solve the murder of a father, mother, son, and daughter.
Mark joins Richard and Judy to talk about why setting the book in Salisbury was both a commercial and an artistic decision, and whether he would make use of AI to help him write his books in the future...
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code APRIL10 for a 10% discount.
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Do you know an It Girl? In Ruth Ware’s novel of that name, April has confidence, money, brains, friends, and good looks. This makes many people adore her, but it inspires hatred too. In fact, someone hates her enough to kill her.
Returning Book Club author Ruth joins Richard and Judy to explain why she wrote such a complex, fleshed-out murdered character, that is, why it was important to her that the reader felt her presence in the world would be missed. Ruth also talks about taking inspiration for The It Girl from classic thriller writers like Agatha Christie by setting the novel in a ‘closed circle’ – a privileged, walled Oxford University College.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code APRIL10 for a 10% discount.
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Author Anthony Horowitz felt Ian Fleming was in the room with him as he wrote the most recent in the James Bond series – With A Mind To Kill. Picking up where The Man With The Golden Gun ends, it begins at M’s funeral. But one man is missing from the graveside: the traitor who pulled the trigger and who is now in custody, accused of M’s murder – James Bond.
Returning Book Club author Anthony joins Richard and Judy to talk about needing to re-plan his storyline because it didn’t feel glamorous enough for Bond, and what he made of the controversial ending of the latest Bond film. Plus, why have the titles of Bond books – Diamonds Are Forever, You Only Live Twice, The Man With The Golden Gun - become so iconic?
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code APRIL10 for a 10% discount.
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What would you do if your husband framed you for murder? Finally free after five years in prison, Olivia looks to clear her name and bring down her husband in this week’s Book Club novel, The Guilty Couple.
Author C. L. Taylor joins Richard and Judy to talk about transitioning from writing romantic comedy to thrillers, and whether authors are in some way searching for immortality by leaving a written legacy. Plus, they share what kind of feedback their respective editors have given about their book drafts…
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code APRIL10 for a 10% discount.
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If you want the job, you have to kill the person currently holding it. Agent Seventeen is a hired gun, but he must kill his predecessor in order to assume the title the world’s greatest hitman. Agent Seventeen, the debut novel from author John Brownlow, is this week’s Book Club read. John joins Richard and Judy to tell them about the differences between writing scripts for films – something he’s done prolifically – and writing a novel. With this in mind, he also explains how writing action and dialogue in particular differ between these mediums. Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code APRIL10 for a 10% discount.
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Human bones and the seeds of a rare tree are found in a bag on the banks of the River Thames in this week’s Book Club novel, The Family Remains. DCI Samuel Owusu is called in to solve the mystery.
Returning Book Club author Lisa Jewell joins Richard and Judy to explain why, despite not liking writing literary detectives, she ended up giving her DCI, Samuel, a lot of time. The three also share their takes on whether classic novels should be allowed to be drastically changed when they’re adapted for the screen.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code APRIL10 for a 10% discount.
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Beth is a 30 year old who lives with her parents and can’t hold down a job or relationship, but she’s suddenly forced to grow up when she’s put in charge of her teenage niece and toddler nephew after a terrible accident. The question is, will she be able to step up to the plate?
Author Sarah Turner joins Richard and Judy to explain the art of taking a tragic situation and finding the humour in it, both in her real life, and in her writing. Also the author of her Unmumsy Mum blog, Sarah talks about the value of finding a community of other parents who can all share difficult and funny stories in order to feel less alone.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Spring Book Club collection, and use the code SPRING23 for a 10% discount.
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CCTV footage shows a couple driving in a car looking perfectly happy and relaxed... moments later they’ve plunged into a 90 foot ravine. When the car is found, it’s empty. Missing persons investigator David Raker must solve the mystery.
Author Tim Weaver joins Richard and Judy to talk about why sometimes real life missing persons cases can be stranger than fiction, and why he wanted to write an emotionally articulate leading man. Plus, he explains why the thrilling ending of The Blackbird made writing the sequel incredibly difficult as he’d left so many mysterious loose ends to tie.
Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Spring Book Club collection, and use the code SPRING23 for a 10% discount.
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