Quick Book Reviews with Philippa Hall

Philippa has just received the most exciting email of the year: her holiday hotel has offered to receive a box of books in advance and put them in her room on arrival. The result? An unstoppable 12-book, 4-graphic-novel holiday TBR — and an episode dedicated entirely to sharing it.
In this episode, Philippa runs through every book she's packing (plus the first line of each!), covering a wonderfully eclectic mix of:
The Confessions – Paul Bradley Carr (AI thriller)
Roman Mornings – Matson Taylor (historical fiction, Rome)
The Scandalous Ladies Football Club – Frances Quinn (Victorian women's football)
It Could Have Been Her – Lisa Jewell (domestic thriller)
Getting Away – Kate Sawyer (family saga across decades of holidays)
The Ark – Haruo Yuki (translated Japanese locked-room thriller)
How to Get Away With Murder – Rebecca Philipson (cat-and-mouse crime)
The Favourite – Fran Littlewood (family secrets, holiday implosion)
The Corfe Castle Murders – Rachel McLean (Dorset detective series, book one)
Against the Tide – G.D. Wright (crime series, book three)
This Can Never Not Be Real – Sera Milano (YA terrorism survivor testimonies)
Under the Hammer – Samantha Dooey-Miles (very angry woman, very bad landlords)
Plus four graphic novels — including the only authorised manga adaptation of Anne of Green Gables, The Bad Doctor by Ian Williams, I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conner, and Clara and the Devil Vol. 1 by Olivie Blake & Little Chmura — many discovered at Hay on Wye Comics, a brand new graphic novel bookshop in Hay-on-Wye.
💬 Tell Philippa what you think! Should any of these stay at home? Is there a book she's missed? Get in touch: Quick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.com
Quick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.
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Are hardback books too expensive, too heavy, and past their sell-by date? A recent Guardian article made the provocative case that hardbacks should die — and Philippa has thoughts.
In this episode, Philippa dives into the great book format debate, covering:
Why she strongly disagrees with calls to "ban" hardbacks
The real problem with hardback pricing — and those eye-watering £40 price tags
How long is too long to wait for a paperback edition?
The e-book pricing scandal: why is a digital file costing £15?
The case for libraries, audiobooks, and Spotify's free listening hours as budget-friendly alternatives
Sprayed edges (spreadges) — and why they might just be the best argument for buying hardbacks
Philippa's verdict? All formats are equal. Audiobook, hardback, paperback, e-book — just read the book.
This episode was inspired by a question from author Frances Quinn, whose new novel The Scandalous Ladies Football Club is out 2nd July.
💬 Join the conversation Quick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.com
Quick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa reviews four very different books — from Tintin to Elizabeth Strout — before sitting down with TV wine expert and debut crime novelist Olly Smith to talk about his joyful new book Death by Noir, and the sub-genre he's invented: wine crime.
📚 Book Reviews
The Adventures of Tintin and the Picaros – Hergé A revolutionary adventure featuring Bianca Castafiore and a mysterious plot around carnival time. Fun, but Philippa wasn't left desperate for more Tintin.
The Things We Never Say – Elizabeth Strout ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Philippa's first Strout — and now she wants them all. A quietly devastating 200-page novel about a man keeping a secret from the world, and from himself. Exquisite, beautiful writing that made Philippa sob unexpectedly. Unmissable.
The Ballad of Small Hope and Penny Royal – Jodi Taylor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Time-travelling bounty hunters, sharp humour, and perfect audiobook narration. Brilliant as a standalone even if you've never read Jodi Taylor before — and book two is coming this summer.
The Inheritance – Mark Dawson Book five in the Atticus Priest series. Enjoyable enough, but Philippa felt the magic of the earlier books wasn't quite there this time.
🎙️ Author Interview: Olly Smith on Death by Noir
Set in the rolling hills of East Sussex around the town of Lewes, Death by Noir follows Barclay Flint, eccentric proprietor of the Bottle Bank wine shop, who must use his wine-detecting skills to solve a crime and clear his own name — all before the explosive Lewes Bonfire Night finale.
Olly and Philippa discuss:
How four characters arrived fully-formed in Olly's mind while flying over the Himalayas
Why he wrote every word himself (no ghostwriter)
Inventing "wine crime" as a new sub-genre
The late Peter Hall of Breaky Bottom vineyard, who read his chapters just before he died
Writing through a gallbladder operation, missing deadlines (never), and the advice of a biodynamic economist
Why teetotallers love the book just as much as wine lovers
A rainbow moment that changed how he thinks about writing
What he's reading right now: London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe, The Traitor's Circle by Jonathan Freedland, and more
The writing fuel that isn't a biscuit: crunchy peanut butter with a drop of soy sauce
Death by Noir is out 18th June.
💬 Get in touch Quick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | quickbookreviews@outlook.com
Quick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Celebrate the weekend (nearly) with crime fiction royalty!
In this episode of Quick Book Reviews, Philippa Hall sits down with the brilliant, Sunday Times bestselling author Jane Casey to talk about her highly anticipated, mind-bending standalone thriller, Everything She Didn't Say.
Marking an exciting, fresh departure from her iconic series fiction, Jane's new Irish-set novel weaves an intricate web of secrets, unreliable narration, and deep betrayal. In this exclusive, spoiler-free conversation, Jane reveals how she maps out complex plot twists mid-walk, why she relies on her phone's Notes app for real life, and her ultimate dream writing cottage (where Wi-Fi is strictly banned!).
Plus, Jane shares a hilarious breakdown of her absolute nightmare writing environment—a turbulent, short-haul flight in a middle seat—and shares her surprisingly practical, real-life advice as a self-proclaimed "professor of falling over."
In this episode, you’ll discover:
Why Everything She Didn't Say is a unique standalone departure for Jane Casey.
How Jane crafts her plots while walking through the woods without taking notes.
The psychology of adrenaline in crime fiction versus real-life clumsy mishaps.
Jane’s ideal, isolated writing cottage (and why the internet is a total disaster!).
The hilarious horrors of trying to type a high-stakes thriller on a cramped airplane.
Books mentioned in this episode:

Everything She Didn't Say by Jane Casey [
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Welcome back to Quick Book Reviews! In this jam-packed, slightly different episode, Philippa takes you from a sweltering recording room straight into the heart of the UK book scene.
First up, hear the hilarious story of how a registration mistake at London's The Podcast Show left Philippa walking around with a giant lanyard that read "Not Applicable"—and why it actually became the ultimate conversation starter! Then, we take a trip to the Hay Festival, where a beautiful new graphic novel shop and irresistible early releases caused absolute disaster for Philippa's bank account.
Books & Authors Featured:
Land by Maggie O'Farrell: A slow, meandering, but utterly exquisite historical tale set in 1865 Ireland. Philippa shares why this beautiful book requires your full attention, how it became a therapeutic escape from screen time, and why she is currently desperate for a literary counselling session with anyone else who has read it!
M.W. Craven Re-read: Philippa is on a mission to re-read all seven Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw crime thrillers before book eight, The Killer's Mark, hits shelves. Hear why re-reading The Puppet Show, Black Summer, The Curator, and Dead Ground completely changed her perspective on how dark these books really are
The Great Audiobook Debate:
Responding to listener feedback from Sue, heavy-user Philippa gives her completely honest, unfiltered thoughts on finding a viable alternative to Amazon's Audible. We look at the pros and cons of:
Audible: Great selection, but the subscription costs can add up (plus, a sneaky tip on how to get a cheaper rate!
Spotify & Library Apps: How Philippa blends her 15-hour monthly Spotify allowance with library apps to get the most "bang for her buck"
Book Beat & Kobo Plus: Why the unlimited packages don't quite hit the mark for chart-topping new releases just yet
Listener Challenges & Coming Up next:
The Challenge: If you had to launch a brand-new podcast called "Not Applicable", what would your show be about?
The Hunt: Do you know of a brilliant audiobook platform that rival's Audible's chart-topping selection without costing the earth? Let Philippa know before her membership runs out in September
Next Episode: Tune in this Friday for an exclusive, spoiler-free author interview with Jane Casey discussing her highly anticipated new page-turner!
Connect with the Show:
Email: quickbookreviews@outlook.com
Instagram: @quick_book_reviews
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