Episode Details

Philippa opens with an update on the Great Book Parcel Saga — a box of holiday reading, a Greek customs office, a handwritten letter explaining why a normal person would post books to themselves, and the very real possibility of being detained at passport control. Then it's three book reviews and a long-overdue conversation with Tim Sullivan, creator of the beloved DS George Cross series, about his eighth book The Tailor.

📚 Three Book Reviews

The Pinnacle – Abir Mukherjee ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A washed-up Hollywood actor wakes from a drunken stupor to find his Bollywood superstar wife murdered in their Mumbai penthouse. Told from multiple perspectives across one luxury skyscraper — brilliantly written and Philippa's favourite Mukherjee yet.

Table for One – Emma Gannon

A woman's carefully constructed life falls apart, and she has to rediscover herself from scratch. Philippa read this on a train surrounded by serious businessmen while experiencing silent heaving sobs. Deeply moving and not what you might expect.

The Divorce – Freida McFadden

A woman whose husband has left her for a younger woman refuses to accept defeat and spirals into dangerous obsession. Gripping, compulsive, and — toward the end — absolutely unhinged in ways Philippa did not see coming.

🎙️ Tim Sullivan on The Tailor

A bespoke tailor is found murdered in the lavatory of the Bristol to London train. George Cross can tell immediately it wasn't opportunistic — and follows the evidence wherever it leads, even into territory that makes him deeply uncomfortable.

Tim and Philippa discuss:

• Why George Cross belongs in the tradition of Dupin, Holmes, and Poirot — and why his autism is his gift, not an accessory
• The rule Tim never breaks: we never laugh at George, only with him or at others' reactions to him
• Why this is absolutely not cosy crime — and why the original covers did the books a disservice
• Writing longhand with fountain pens (a collection of Pelikans, Montblancs, and Lamys), and why the family complain less if there's no laptop open
• Writing book nine without knowing who the second killer is — and why not plotting keeps the writing organic
• Being turned down by agents for neurodivergent appropriation, self-publishing the first two books, and being embraced by the autistic community instead
• Why he's reluctant to sell TV rights — and why protecting George's authenticity matters more than a screen deal
• The exclusive interview with George Cross hidden inside the hardback first edition (George found the whole thing fairly pointless)
• What he's reading: Northanger Abbey, Bleak House, and an advance copy of Ian Rankin's new book
• His one remaining ambition: to look up on the Tube and see a stranger reading one of his books

Biscuit answer: Flapjacks or white chocolate cookies — and absolutely no dunking. George would never allow it.

💬 Get in touch

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Quick Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers.

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