The Radio 2 Book Club

Bestselling author, Donal Ryan, joins Sara in the Book Club to chat about his new novel, "Where Are The Kings".

He reveals what inspired this book and why he very nearly didn't write it at all. There are lots of elements of Donal- and his own son - in the main character, which make this a deeply personal book. He also talks about balancing humour with the serious subjects of loss and grief.

Donal gives us a cracking book recommendation - and we get to hear a short snippet of the audiobook too.

Here's a little more info on Donal's novel:

Something terrible has happened to Jack but no one seems to want to talk about it.

His uncles can tell him about everything from quantum physics to how to hunt for deer, but they can’t seem to tell him anything about their own sister or why Jack doesn’t feel sad for her in the way he should, or why Grandad tries to shoot Jack’s dad when he gets out of the hospital.

Still, there’s work to be done in the oily wonderland of his uncles’ garage; there’s his beautiful aunt Rose to hypnotise him and his loving grandparents to console him; then there’s JJ, who wants to fight him one day and save him the next.

But with so many questions, in a family with so many secrets, it is difficult for Jack to understand the person he is becoming. How can a simple boy learn to become a king?

The Queen Of Crime - Val McDermid - and winner of our Radio 2 Book Club Award - Roisin O'Donnell - join Sara for some good ole book chat.

Sara hosts this very special edition of the Radio 2 Book Club from the BBC Sounds Garden at Radio 2 In The Park - Stirling - in front of a live audience.

She chats to the authors about their latest novels, their inspirations, why Scotland is such a good setting for crime fiction - and gets some brilliant book recommendations from them too!

Roisin is the inaugural winner of our Radio 2 Book Club Award - and managed to bring her trophy, all the way from Dublin, to show off! Apparently airport security had a few questions...

Here's more info on our guests' brilliant books:

SILENT BONES - BY VAL MCDERMID

When torrential rain causes a landslide on a motorway in Scotland, it reveals a crime scene: someone hid a body in the tarmac eleven years before. Journalist Sam Nimmo had been the prime suspect in the murder of his fiancée when he disappeared, and now DCI Karen Pirie and her Historic Cases Unit must find out who buried him, and why.

Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, new evidence reopens a closed case and the accidental death of a hotel manager starts to look like murder. But what did Tom Jamieson's book club have to do with his demise - and what will they do to keep their secrets?

Karen and her team begin to untangle a web of lies, one that connects their murder cases with Scotland's rich and powerful. They will be tested to their limits - and possibly beyond . . .

NESTING - BY ROISIN O'DONNELL

On a bright spring afternoon in Dublin, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes from the washing line, Ciara straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe.

This was meant to be an escape. But with dwindling savings, no job, and her family across the sea, Ciara finds herself adrift, facing a broken housing system and the voice of her own demons. As summer passes and winter closes in, she must navigate raising her children in a hotel room, searching for a new home and dealing with her husband Ryan’s relentless campaign to get her to come back. Because leaving is one thing, but staying away is another.

What will it take for Ciara to rebuild her life? Can she ever truly break away from Ryan’s control – and what will be the cost?

Sara welcomes international bestselling author Robert Harris to the Book Club.

This is Robert's FIFTH time on the Radio 2 Book Club, making his the author with the most appearances to date!

They discuss 'Agrippa', his new novel, which sees Robert return to Ancient Rome - something he hasn't done since his Cicero trilogy in 2015.

They chat about Robert's fascination with the character of Agrippa, why he's not as well-known as Augustus Caesar, and how you get in the mind of a person like that as a novelist. (turns out, all you need is a giant bust of the persons head on your desk!)

We also hear a clip from the audiobook - narrated beautifully by Simon Russell Beale - and get a top book recommendation from Robert as well.

Here's a little more info on 'Agrippa':

Julius Caesar is dead, and the lives of two teenaged boys are about to be changed forever. One is Caesar’s 17-year-old nephew, Octavius, whom he has made his heir.

The other is Octavius’s closest friend, Agrippa.

To claim Octavius’s inheritance, they must fight the giant figures of the Roman Empire – and, against all odds, they win. Octavius becomes the Emperor Augustus. For twenty years, they rule the world together.

Now Agrippa is fifty. Ailing and alone, betrayed by his wife’s infidelity, he takes refuge in his house on the Bay of Naples and begins to write his memoirs. Yet to stir up the past can be dangerous. From his earliest meetings with Julius Caesar, through the epic conflict with Mark Antony and Cleopatra, the great naval battle of Actium and the endless wars to expand the empire, he describes how one man has dominated his life: the cunning, ruthless, unknowable Octavius.

When it comes to power, does friendship exist at all?

Author Simon Wroe joins Sara for a chat about his new novel, 'Ghost Month'.

They discuss ghosts and spirits and the inspirations behind this story.

The novel is set in London and told from four different character perspectives. Simon tells us about each character and how he formed them, as well as some real-life experiences which influenced him too.

He also recommends us a book he's enjoyed reading recently - and - we hear a clip of the audiobook too!

Here's a little more about 'Ghost Month':

The haunting has become a holiday - part Christmas, part Halloween, full of annual reckonings with the past. The ghosts aren't real in any way that can hurt you, so it's hard to tell the silent spectres from ashen commuters: they linger on train platforms, they crowd buses, they take up space on your sofa. The proper term these days is 'people without pulses'.

This year, four strangers prepare for a visit from their dearly departed. The season forces them to confront all the things that haunt them, not just their dead. As suppressed truths emerge from the shadows, each of them will end Ghost Month changed in ways they never imagined.

Happy Haunting.

This week, Sara is joined by one of our Superstar Librarians - Evie Loy O'Neill. They chat about her job at Richmond Libraries, the Radio 2 Book Club Panel - and - the books that have been flying off the shelves this summer.

She also tells us her Top Five Reads of the Year (so far!):

1. 'Where Are The Kings' - Donal Ryan

Debut author, Max Doty, joins Sara for a natter about his horror novel 'The House That Eats The Dead'.

They discuss his love of the genre, the inspiration for this story (spoiler alert, his wife sparked the idea!) and how it started life as a short story on the internet.

Max also talks about power shifts, the lengths people will go to to protect themselves and their lives, and classic horror authors he loves.

As well as this, Max recommends us a book he recently read - and - we hear a clip from the audiobook too.

Here's more info on 'The House That Eats The Dead':

The new house is a fresh start for Claire and her family. It’s a move towards the quiet suburban life she has craved since her turbulent childhood; a step up the corporate ladder for her husband, Tom; and a safe haven for their two children.

Yet, as they unpack their boxes, she senses something is wrong . . .

Fresh flowers dry up, store-bought eggs are inexplicably hollow and her daughter’s favourite toy disappears. Claire soon confronts a series of impossible truths: the house is hungry. It’s devouring anything that was once alive. And only Claire and Tom, the owners of the house, will remember that this ‘food’ ever existed.

When Claire exploits the house’s power in a moment of weakness, she and the house forge a fragile bond. But as its hunger intensifies and Claire starts to lose control, she fears who else might be drawn to her home – and what sinister appetites they’ll bring.

Author Frances Quinn joins Sara in the studio to discuss her new novel, 'The Scandalous Ladies Football Club'.

They chat about the real-life inspiration behind the story, how she nearly gave up writing the whole thing because of a sticky plot point - and why she hides ABBA references in all her books. (yes, she's a mega fan)

Sara also asks her about her Tonkinese cats and her 'other job', writing food packaging for a well-known supermarket. (apparently she loves using the word 'buttery')

We also get a great book recommendation from her - and - hear a clip from the audiobook too!

Here's a little more info on Frances' novel:

From a motley collection of replies, Minnie puts together a squad. Most of the women have never kicked a ball before – but a little thing like that isn’t about to stop them. And when they take the game public, it isn’t long before they are drawing huge crowds, stirring controversy across the capital and beyond.

But Minnie is hiding an explosive secret. Soon, all the attention the club is getting begins to threaten the life she has built for herself.

Can she walk the line between independence and safety, or will the truth about who she really is finally come out? And is the beautiful game enough to save her freedom?

In this bumper episode of the Radio 2 Book Club, Jeremy Vine visits the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.

It's the world's largest crime writing festival, which welcomed over 20,000 crime fiction fans over four days, at the Old Swan Hotel (the hotel where Agatha Christie was found after she went 'missing' for 11 days, in 1926).

Jeremy chats to some of the biggest names writing crime fiction today: David Baldacci, Denise Mina, Vaseem Khan, Anthony Horowitz, Ann Cleeves, MW Craven, Anthony Horowitz and Tim Sullivan.

They discuss their new books, the joy of the festival, the popularity of crime fiction in the UK and how they keep coming up with murders!

David Baldacci (who has sold over 200M books!) won the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award this year - and talks about the threat of AI on writers.

Vaseem Khan discusses his new series of books, which he's writing for the Ian Fleming estate, featuring the Bond character, Q.

Ann Cleeves is a stalwart of this festival, and was their first writer in residence, so as well as telling us about her new novel - and working with Brenda Blethyn on 'Vera' - she also sums up what this celebration of crime fiction is all about.

Tim Sullivan self-published his first books, because agents didn't want them, but is now a million copy bestselling author - and he talks to Jeremy about that journey.

Denise Mina's new book asks lots of moral questions of the reader - which she gets into - as well as revealing the treats she got from Betty's.

Anthony Horowitz talks about meta fiction, writing himself into his books and writing a book within a book - whilst keeping it simple!

And MW Craven reveals how he started taking writing seriously after nearly dying from a tumor - and why writing his character, Washington Poe, was so cathartic!

There's something for everyone in this bumper edition!

Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos (aka Ellery Lloyd) join Sara for a natter about their new novel, 'Time To Burn'.

Paul and Collette not only write together, but are married too - and Sara has A LOT of questions!

Their new novel is about time travel gone wrong, so we delve into their inspirations for the book, how important the history was, and just how they plot and plan (and write) between the two of them.

Plus, we hear an extract from the audiobook - and - get two cracking book recommendations too!

Here's a little more about Ellery Lloyd's latest novel, 'Time To Burn':

If the past catches up with you, time travel can be murder . . .

London, the present day: commercial time travel is a reality. Tempus Tours – owned by controversial tech entrepreneur Inigo Frank – offers the wealthy a chance to witness pivotal moments in history.

To immortalise his achievement, Frank enlists award-winning filmmaker Phoebe Hunt to create a fly-on-the-wall documentary. On her first day shadowing Inigo, she is set to witness the return of a billionaire property developer and his family from their trip to the past. But instead of their awe-filled return, she captures the group arriving bloodied and traumatized, with one of their number missing.

Not only that, but Phoebe recognizes the missing woman. She knows not only that she's not who she claims to be, but that the woman has every reason to harbor a grudge against her. And as events begin to unravel in the present day, it seems increasingly clear that the woman had sinister motives for returning to the past – and that people close to Phoebe are in danger.

Can Phoebe stop the ripple effect before she loses everything – and everyone – she holds dear?

Debut novelist, Anna Goldreich, joins Sara in the Book Club to discuss 'The Leveret'.

They chat about her inspirations behind the story, farming, baby hares, grief, queer love and much much more.

Anna is also a keen twitcher - and runs a queer bird watching group in Norfolk - which Sara gets very interested in!

We also hear a clip of the audiobook - and - get a cracking book recommendation too!

Here's a little more about 'The Leveret':

Moving to the countryside is supposed to fix Clare and Phoebe’s relationship. A fresh start, a change of scenery, a chance to heal after the miscarriage of their baby girl.

Instead, Phoebe feels suffocated. Back in the rural community she ran from at seventeen and unable to face the partner she cannot help, she throws herself into work on the family farm. Clare is a stranger in the village, uninitiated and out of place. She spends her days drifting around the cottage, its walls groaning and shifting as she withdraws into a world inside her head.

One day, wandering through the forest nearby, Clare finds a leveret – her own little Isla. A surrogate to lick and love. A way to feel whole again.

But as Isla grows into an adult hare she becomes wild and unruly – a kicking, biting, scratching creature. With Clare’s grasp on reality growing ever more tenuous, Phoebe begins to question whether Isla is the cure for grief Clare is searching for as she desperately clings on to the woman she loves . . .

With this bruisingly tender love story, debut author Anna Goldreich has conjured a hazy dream of a novel about the fantasies we create as a refuge from grief. The Leveret is a heartbreakingly gorgeous and lyrically haunting hymn to queer love and the power to rebuild from the wreckage of a relationship.