On this edition of the Book Talk podcast host Paul Gallagher welcomes The Herald's Arts Correspondent Phil Miller and Scottish Book Trust's Reader Development Co-ordinator Claire Stewart to review arguably the most anticipated book of the year, The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling's first book for adult readers.

Now that the dust (and hype) has settled from the book's release at the end of September, we thought it the perfect moment to get into a discussion of the book itself - how does Rowling fare in choosing to tell a story of a world that's more painful reality than the magical escapism of Harry Potter?