The latest edition of The Thursday Book Club was broadcast on 21st November 2024 at 2pm on Phonic FM. Joining host Jonathan Posner was Jason Mann. Click the names to find out more about them, and use the audio bar below to listen to the full show.
We reviewed The Winter Guest by W. C. Ryan.
Our discussion was on: What makes a good historical novel??
The next show is at 2pm on the 19th December 2024. We’ll be reviewing Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. Read along with us and send us your thoughts on the book – either through the Contact page, or via the Facebook page, and we may well read them out on air.
NEWS
For All Your Endeavours by David Sharp is a captivating tale of murder in the most unexpected of places. When a ‘bog body’ is discovered in Dartmoor, local archaeologists are thrilled by the unusual find. But when the body is identified as a cold case murder victim, detectives must unravel a murky web of forbidden love and family tragedy as they attempt to uncover the truth.
Carryl Church’s debut novel The Forgotten Life of Connie Harris came out in September published by Joffe books. It’s a dual timeline historical romance set in Tiverton and Exeter in the 1950s and 1990s against the backdrop of cinema.
Jenny Bradley’s book Tidelines, A Year of the Coast, will be published on November 29th by Clevedon Community Press. It’s a collection of poetry and prose about the coast set over a calendar year. Started in lockdown, it aims to share the joy and comfort nature can bring, along with raising awareness of our beautiful, fragile coastline. Jenny says she is passionate about writing and protecting the environment, and this book combines both. Jenny hopes others find beauty and hope in the pictures she paints with words. It will be available from the Clevedon Community Bookshop in North Somerset.
Gary Miles’s new book was published at the end of last month. Called Where The Mind Wanders, it’s a tale of dreamers, druids and queens. It’s available from Amazon and most online retailers in paperback and ebook. It could be the ideal gift for a teenager, or an adult who likes fantasy.
The follow up to the debut novel The Pool by Richard Collis will be released in a month’s time, just in time for Christmas. The new book is called Wolf Mother, and explores themes of motherhood, nature and chaos.
The 20th novel from Terri Nixon comes out on 5th December. It’s the final book in her latest Cornish saga, Pencarrack, and it’s called The Watchers of Pencarrack Moor. It’s set against the 1932 Dartmoor Prison Mutiny. Available on Amazon in eBook and Paperback.
Orlando Murrin’s debut crime novel, Knife Skills For Beginners is a whodunit set in a posh London cookery school. It’s been shortlisted for the Crime Fiction Lovers Debut Award 2024, and it’s decided by public vote. So if anyone has read it and liked it, or just wants to do Orlando a favour, go to www.crimefictionlover.com and vote (takes 15 seconds). We’ll put the link up on the Listen Again page. The book was also shortlisted for the McDermid Debut Award.
Tinsel and Tapas, Paula Rooney’s third travel memoir, came out last week. It’s all about her solo month’s trip around Andalucia, Spain, searching for Christmas. Her children have flown the nest and she says Christmas has lost its sparkle without them. In a bold move, Paula decided to forgo an English Christmas altogether and embarked on a solo adventure to explore the warmth and beauty of Andalusia, Spain. The perfect book for readers searching for a story about reclaiming joy and embracing life’s unexpected turns, this heartfelt memoir will remind you that new beginnings can happen at any age, and that sometimes the best gift we can give ourselves is the courage to change.
James Lee’s 2nd book will be out in December. It’s called Sleeping in the Ditch with Slobodan Milosevic. James says he’s bringing peace to the Former Yugoslavia with diesel, gas, plastic cutlery and booze. For James, 1996 was the time of his first tour of the Balkans, capturing the surreal situations in which he often found himself, where the line between the absurd and the tragic was constantly blurred. It’s a tribute to all who took part in encouraging peace in the Balkans after one of modern Europe’s darkest periods. James’s first book Licking The Taliban’s Flip-Flop, is on Amazon, so it’s fairly safe to assume this one will be as well.
Clive Donovan’s third book of poetry Movement of People is available in all good book shops or from the publishers, Dempsey & Windle. According to their website, it’s an ambitious portrayal of the world — as seen in a timeless mirror — of its problems and betrayals. The causes and effects of mass-migrations, climate change, war, genocide and man’s inhumanity to man are explored in striking, powerful poems. Clive Donovan’s uncompromising vision is tempered by his wry sense of humour — a virtuoso writer, he confidently ranges through time and place to present vivid evidence for his principles, always thought-provoking, never didactic.
Project Deadhead by local author Bob Fairbrother has just been launched, and he says he’s currently busy on the road promoting. This dystopian near future thriller features DCI MacGillivray solving murders as the UK economy teeters on the edge of collapse, heralding a bleak era of lawlessness. Available on Amazon.
Helena Dixon’s new book, Murder in New York releases November 25th. Available in kindle, paperback and audio and free to read on kindle unlimited. It’s Kitty Underhay’s 18th mystery, and it’s set in 1936 in – you guessed it – New York. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey or Lee Strauss, who will adore this utterly charming murder mystery. The perfect treat for cozy crime fans!
Alison Simpson is an author in Torbay who has recently switched genres from romance to cosy murder/mystery. The first in her new series, featuring super-sleuthing twins Kitty and Nora Markham in 1930s Torquay – is called Murder under the Rock. It’s due for publication in April 2025. Pre-readers are invited to sign up to Alison’s newsletter to get lots of interesting bookish news, competitions, free chapters and exclusive access. Sign up at www.alisimpson.co.uk.
Laura Harrison McBride is an ex-journalist who has now retired after 45 years and has turned her hand to poetry. She has several books of poetry on Amazon, such as Time on a Greased Toboggan: Fear, hope and the whole enchilada. Her next volume of poems comes out in the early spring.
Talking of poetry, Songs from a Tone-Deaf Minstrel is coming out on November 26th, from author Jane Jago. This collection of poems, from love songs to limericks, is available to pre-order on Amazon.
Debut author Angela Joyce’s first novel The Rydle Year comes out in February. It’s a nostalgic tale set in 1970s Plymouth.
The Barmouth Affairs by Vanessa M. Tanner is available to pre-order on Amazon. This is a heartwarming, nostalgic and atmospheric story of life, love, and two women’s search for happiness. It’s also set in the 1970s, and is based on true events.
