Simon Mayo's Books Of The Year

Crime writer Abir Mukherjee joins Simon and Matt to discuss his new novel, Hunted.Abir is known for his Wyndham and Banerjee series, set in 1920s India, however this book is his first stand alone.They chat about the importance of writing something contemporary, the issues that he wanted to tackle and why it has taken so long to finish.Here's a little more on Hunted:IN A RACE AGAINST TIME, WHAT IF THE GREATEST THREAT WAS YOUR OWN CHILD?It’s a week before the presidential elections when a bomb goes off in an LA shopping mall…In London, armed police storm Heathrow Airport and arrest Sajid Khan. His daughter Aliyah entered the USA with the suicide bomber, and now she’s missing, potentially plotting another attack.But then a mysterious woman called Carrie turns up at Sajid’s door after travelling halfway across the world. She claims Aliyah is with her son Greg, and she knows where they could be.Back in the US, Agent Shreya Mistry is closing in on the two fugitives. But the more she investigates, the more she realises this case is far from as simple as it seems.Hunted by the authorities, the two parents are thrown together in a race against time to find their kids before the FBI does and stop a catastrophe that will bring the world to its knees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling author and screenwriter, David Nicholls, chats to Simon and Matt about his writing processes, what he's reading at the moment and some of his favourite authors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new David Nicholls books is always an exciting event, and his new novel, You Are Here, does not disappoint.He joins Simon and Matt for a chat about the writing process, creating his characters, the latest adaptation of One Day and how he came to the music choices in this new novel.They also discuss the influence and importance of the pandemic on stories, and how we will be talking (and writing) about it for many years to come.Here's some more info on the book:Marnie is stuck.Stuck working alone in her London flat, stuck battling the long afternoons and a life that often feels like it's passing her by.Michael is coming undone.Reeling from his wife's departure, increasingly reclusive, taking himself on long, solitary walks across the moors and fells.When a persistent mutual friend and some very English weather conspire to bring them together, Marnie and Michael suddenly find themselves alone on the most epic of walks and on the precipice of a new friendship.But can they survive the journey?A new love story by beloved bestseller David Nicholls, You Are Here is a novel of first encounters, second chances and finding the way home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist and author Tom Burgis joins Simon and Matt for our bonus Q&A episode.He talks about the authors he admires, the stories and scandals he wishes he had discovered, and who he would invite to his fantasy dinner party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Investigative journalist, Tom Burgis, joins Simon and Matt to discuss his fascinating new book 'Cuckooland: Where The Rich Own The Truth'They discuss the dangers involved in his job, what goes in to researching such incredible stories and why he continues to do it.Here's more info on the book:Everywhere, the powerful are making a renewed claim to the greatest prize of all: to own the truth. The power to choose what you want reality to be and impose that reality on the world.For three years, Tom Burgis followed a lead that took him deeper and deeper into Cuckooland – the place where the rich own the truth. The trail snaked from the Kremlin to Kathmandu, Stockholm to the Steppe, from a blood-soaked town square in Uzbekistan to a royal retreat in Scotland. Burgis hunted down oligarchs, developed secret sources and traced vast sums of money flowing between multinational corporations, ex-Soviet dictators and the west’s ruling elites. And he found one man who wanted the power to bend reality to his will.This book tells an astonishing story: a tale of secrets and lies that reveals how fragile that truth can be. Whether it’s in Kazakh torture chambers or the UK’s High Court, the lords of Cuckooland are seizing control of the truth. They decree what stories may be told about war and money and power, what we are permitted to know – and more importantly, what we are not.From the bestselling author of Kleptopia, Cuckooland is a deeply reported work of non-fiction that reads like a thriller. It is a story of how globalisation and technological revolution have combined to imperil the foundation of free societies: that the truth belongs to the many, not the few. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bestselling author and journalist, Erin Kelly, joins Simon and Matt to answer some Questions about her writing and reading habits.She also tells us about the last book she really really enjoyed, who she'd invite to her fantasy dinner party - and answers a question from fellow author, Jane Casey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist and author Erin Kelly joins Simon and Matt for a chat about her new novel - a follow on from her debut novel, but also a stand alone! Erin discusses her characters, plotting and how Frasier helps her write scenes. They also chat about the email she received from Stephen King, praising her book, and why she has returned to these characters so many years later.About the book:In the sweltering summer of 1997, straight-laced, straight-A student Karen met Biba - a bohemian and impossibly glamorous aspiring actress. A few months later, two people were dead and another had been sent to prison.Having stood by Rex as he served his sentence, Karen is now married to him with a daughter, Alice, who runs a vintage clothing company in London. They're a normal family, as long as they don't talk about the past, never mention the name Biba, and ignore Alice's flashes of dark, dangerous fury.Karen has kept what really happened that summer of '97 hidden deep inside her. Alice is keeping secrets of her own. But when anonymous notes begin to arrive at Alice's shop, it seems the past is about to catch up with them all ... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who would John O'Farrell invite to his fantasy dinner party? Does he work best to deadlines? Which author always makes him laugh?Find out the answers to these questions, and many more, on this Q&A episode of Books Of The Year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simon and Matt are joined by screenwriter and author John O'Farrell to talk about his latest novel, Family Politics.They discuss...politics...believe it or not, as well as the humour that can be found in all political parties, Question Time, Mrs Doubtfire the musical and what doesn't always translate from the UK to the US (and vice versa).You could say it's a cornucopia of an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our bonus Q&A episode, Historian, Broadcaster and Writer, Anna Keay, answers Qs about screen adaptations, writing processes, her research...and who she'd invite to her fantasy dinner party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices