Associate Professor of English, Alison Espach joins Phil and Natalie this week, to discuss her break out third novel, The Wedding People. This went straight into the New York Times Top Ten and has been picked up by Tristar to become a movie.

It walks a tightrope of heart wrenching and seriously funny. Alison talks about posh hotels, weddings and her time working the photo both at them, plus her role as an Exec Producer on the movie of her own novel.

TRIGGER WARNING: The plot of this book involves a woman turning up to a hotel where everyone except her is part of a wedding party. The woman has gone there with the express intention of taking her own life. Whilst we don't discuss methods of suicide, it is clearly a theme in this novel and if you might be triggered by that, we'd like very much to direct you to organisations such as the National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK at 0800 689 5652 (6pm to midnight every day), or the Samaritans, who areavailable 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can call 116 123, or email: jo@samaritans.org.

Looking for your next read to take on holiday, or the commute, or to read before bed? Then Nat and Phil have got you covered. Here they talk you through 10 new books they are either currently reading, or want to read - that's 5 choices from Nat, and 5 from Phil. There's a range of genres from mystery to memoir, love story to thriller, and hopefully at least one of these will be the next book you want to reach for too.

The recommendations are:

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

Never Flinch by Stephen King

The Compound by Aisling Rawle

Must You Go by Antonia Fraser

The Director by Daniel Kehlmann

Black Water Lilies by Michel Bussi

City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim

What the Night Brings by Mark Billingham

Swept Away by Beth O'Leary

Galway Confidential by Ken Bruen

With a special mention to Books Are Magic, a Brooklyn bookstore, whose hat Nat was coincidentally wearing for this recording!

On this episode we're talking the joy of thrillers as Iris Mwanza opens up about what inspired her debut page-turner, The Lion's Den. From growing up in a household where people would drop off boxes of books they couldn't take abroad, to channeling the themes of her day job at the Gates Foundation into her fiction work, Iris shares the challenges and rewards with getting a novel out of her brain and into a bookstore. She's currently working on not one, but two novels, one of which is a sequel to the story we discuss here, so prepare to meet rookie lawyer Grace Zulu and strap in, it's a fascinating ride.

To go straight away to Iris's book recommendations, just head to www.bestsellerspodcast.com

Please note, Bestsellers Podcast is an Amazon Associate, and so earns from qualifying purchases