Janet Skeslien Charles

Edi and Ash have been best friends for over 40 years, so when Edi is diagnosed with cancer, Ash has to reshape her world around the rhythm of Edi’s hospice care. This week’s Book Club novel is We All Want Impossible Things, an extraordinary story of devotion and sadness. Author Catherine Newman joins Richard and Judy to talk about why she writes so sensuously about food and the desire for good food in the hospice. They also wonder why humour is such a powerful survival method for people in difficult situations. Plus, we know not to judge a book by its cover, but what about its title? Catherine explains how her team came up with ‘We All Want Impossible Things’. Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Autumn Book Club collection, and use the code autumn10 for a 10% discount.

When a body is found in a padlocked suitcase, Investigator Emma Makepeace knows it’s murder, and that it’s personal. In The Traitor, Emma’s investigation sees her shadowing two oligarchs procuring illegal weapons in the UK, and it’s looking increasingly likely that someone deep inside the British government is helping them. Author Ava Glass joins Richard and Judy to talk about her own experience of working with – and being followed by – spies when she worked for the British government. Often in fiction women seem to tumble into becoming spies by accident, but Ava’s first-hand experience is that women actually make a very deliberate career choice. Ava, who used to be a crime reporter in the USA, also explains how different the job is there compared to in the UK. Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Autumn Book Club collection, and use the code autumn10 for a 10% discount.

Everyone knows the story of the Alperton Angels – a cult who brainwashed a teenager and convinced her that her baby was the anti-Christ. But 18 years later, two competing true crime authors are quickly discovering all is not what it seemed. Author Janice Hallett joins Richard and Judy to explain why she felt so comfortable writing The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels as a series of email and WhatsApp exchanges, and why these interactions are such a great way to get to the heart of a character. They also discuss what makes a compelling cult leader, and how the themes Janice explores in the novel are evident in our everyday lives too. Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Autumn Book Club collection, and use the code autumn10 for a 10% discount.

You might already be familiar with the protagonist of this week’s Book Club novel, The Last Orphan. It’s Evan Smoak, aka government assassin Orphan X. There have been numerous books in the Orphan X series, but The Last Orphan also stands alone as a brilliant thriller. Author Gregg Hurwitz joins Richard and Judy to talk about the moral code that defines Evan’s actions – who he’s willing to kill and why or why not. They also discuss capital punishment, and the idea of trial by social media. Plus, who does Gregg think would win in a fight between Evan Smoak and Jack Reacher...? Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Autumn Book Club collection, and use the code autumn10 for a 10% discount.

If I Let You Go is this week’s Book Club novel. It tells the story of Janet Brown, a quiet woman who’s still carrying the guilt of a devastating loss 11 years ago when she’s catapulted into the national conscious for saving a child’s life. However, all is not as it seems... Author Charlotte Levin joins Richard and Judy to talk about coming to writing later in life and why it was important to her to represent normal working class people in her book. Plus, given they’ve all lived in Manchester, they discuss the nuances of the Mancunian accent and delivery – something that comes across strongly in Charlotte’s characters. Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Autumn Book Club collection, and use the code autumn10 for a 10% discount.

Known for historical novels, returning Book Club author Dinah Jefferies has now written Night Train to Marrakech, a thriller and a love story rolled into one. In 1960s Morocco a young woman travels to meet her estranged grandmother, a woman whose childhood secrets are catching up with her. In 1960s Morocco a young woman travels to meet her estranged grandmother, a woman whose childhood secrets are catching up with her. Dinah joins Richard and Judy to explain how she accidentally ended up writing a thriller this time round, and why she had to ask for professional help with this particular genre. Character Clemence is 75 years old – the same age as Dinah – and she talks about why she chose to write her as a woman who has an active sex life and paints her toenails gold. Dinah, Richard, and Judy also all share their own thoughts about ageing. Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Autumn Book Club collection, and use the code autumn10 for a 10% discount.  

The Hundred Years War has begun, and although King Edward and his lords are on the march through France, the war really belongs to the men on the ground. One of the tight knit companies making their way through the chaos are the Essex Dogs, who are trying to stay alive long enough to see their home again.   Author of Essex Dogs, Dan Jones, is a historian, broadcaster, and best-selling author of ten non-fiction books. He joins Richard and Judy to explain why a milestone birthday prompted him to move into fiction writing for the first time.   He also talks about the parallels he’s observed between medieval armies and football hooligans, what Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin told him about how to combine fact with fiction, and how the title was inspired by a Blur song.   Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code summer10 for a 10% discount.

A shocking event shatters the conventional life Mia has carefully crafted in this week’s Book Club novel Cat Lady, and it turns out that beneath the surface there was another woman clawing to get out... Returning Book Club author Dawn O’Porter joins Richard and Judy to talk about the very specific relationship ‘cat people’ have with their animals. Dawn explains how her relationship with her own beloved cat – who she had freeze dried when she died – inspired the insights in the novel. They all wonder how far our relationships with our pets tell us about what it is to be human. Plus, Dawn talks about how her husband – actor Chris O’Dowd – indirectly motivated her to write for her core audience rather than for the mainstream. Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code summer10 for a 10% discount.

Amelie wakes up in a pitch black room, having been abducted, she assumes by her loathsome husband... but she quickly discovers all is not as it seems. This is the plot of B. A. Paris’ novel The Prisoner. Bernadette MacDougal joins Richard and Judy to explain why an initial lack of confidence in her writing made her decide to write under a pen name. She also explains how this imposter syndrome meant success came as a real surprise to her. They also discuss how a book is able to become a bestseller when it hasn’t had a lot of publicity. Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code summer10 for a 10% discount.

All Grace wants for her 90th birthday is to heal the heartbreaking rift that’s rocked her family for decades. Love Untold is Ruth Jones third novel, and explores the intricate, devastating, and life-affirming relationships between four generations of Welsh women. Ruth joins Richard and Judy to discuss why family dynamics are such fertile ground for authors – they’re at the heart of her writing on TV’s Gavin and Stacey too. She believes that there’s a little bit of bad in the best of us, and a little bit of good in the worst of us, and that writing warmly about forgiveness and redemption celebrates what it is to be human. Simply head online to whsmith.co.uk to browse the Summer Book Club collection, and use the code summer10 for a 10% discount.