The BBC Radio 2 Book Club features the best new fiction around. With a wide range of titles and authors, this is a great resource for recommendations for great reads from both new and much-loved writers, encouraging people to perhaps try out a genre they might not have read before, or simply discover the latest novel from their favourite author.
The Reading Agency, along with a panel of library staff and reading experts across the UK, help the BBC to choose the Book Club titles. Hundreds of the best brand-new fiction titles are submitted to us each year and are then read by our brilliant readers, who select their favourites. The best books are shared with the BBC, and they choose the final picks for the Book Club.
We’re delighted to share three recent Radio 2 Book Club picks that we love, which are featured in the latest Radio 2 Book Club podcast episode on BBC Sounds. Find out more about them below:
Hunted
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 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 there is more to this case than meets the eye and suspects a wider conspiracy.
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 country to its knees.
Our readers thought:
“Wow! The author takes you on a breathless roller coaster ride of suspense and excitement with his book.”
“I thought this was absolutely superb from start to finish!”
“An excellent book that I couldn’t put down.”
My Favourite Mistake
Anna has just lost her taste for the Big Apple…
She has a life to envy. An apartment in New York. A well-meaning (too well-meaning?) partner. And a high-flying job in beauty PR. Who wouldn’t want all that? Anna, it turns out.
Trading a minor midlife crisis for a major life event, she switches the skyscrapers of Manhattan for the tiny Irish town of Maumtully (population 1,217), helping old friends Brigit and Colm set up a luxury coastal retreat.
Tougher than it sounds. Newflash: the locals hate the idea. So much so, there have been threats – and violence.
Anna, however, worked in the beauty industry. There’s no ugliness she hasn’t seen. No wrinkle she can’t smooth over.
There’s just one fly in the ointment – old flame Joey Armstrong. He’s going to be her wingman. Never mind their chequered history. Never mind what might have been.
Because no matter how far you go, your mistakes will still be waiting for you.
Our readers thought:
“Absolutely great fun, heartwarming and a delight to read”
“Marian Keyes can do no wrong and this latest adventure is no exception”
“Funny, romantic, and engagiing – characters to fall in love with”
James
The Mississippi River, 1861. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a new owner in New Orleans and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson’s Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father who recently returned to town.
Thus begins a dangerous and transcendent journey by raft along the Mississippi River, towards the elusive promise of the free states and beyond. As James and Huck begin to navigate the treacherous waters, each bend in the river holds the promise of both salvation and demise.
With rumours of a brewing war, James must face the burden he carries: the family he is desperate to protect and the constant lie he must live. And together, the unlikely pair must face the most dangerous odyssey of them all…
From the shadows of Huck Finn’s mischievous spirit, Jim emerges to reclaim his voice, defying the conventions that have consigned him to the margins.
Our readers thought:
“A superlative novel from its opening sentence, which introduces us to Huck and Tom Sawyer, to Jim’s final words.”
“A really engaging and nuanced story. This reworking of the Huck Finn tale, told from the perspective of the enslaved character James, feels original and really powerful.”
“The book is riddled with satire, action, pain and suffering and some great moments of revenge and retribution and would make a great choice for any reading group worth its salt!”
Get involved
You can listen to this and other Radio 2 Book Club podcast episodes on BBC Sounds.
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