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:
A Case of Mice and Murder
When barrister Gabriel Ward steps out of his rooms on a sunny May morning in 1901, his mind is so full of his latest case – the disputed authorship of bestselling children’s book Millie the Temple Church Mouse – that he scarcely registers the body of the Lord Chief Justice of England on his doorstep.
But even he cannot fail to notice the judge’s dusty bare feet, in shocking contrast to his flawless evening dress, nor the silver carving knife sticking out of his chest.
The police can enter the Temple only by consent, so who better to investigate this tragic breach of law and order than a man who prizes both above all things? But murder doesn’t answer to logic or reasoned argument, and Gabriel soon discovers that the Temple’s heavy oak doors are hiding more surprising secrets than he’d ever imagined.
Our readers thought:
“I loved this! The prose just flows, making this a really charming read.”
“This book is a delightful, vivid and engaging read. It is an excellent choice for fans of mysteries, crime and historical fiction. ”
“A thoroughly enjoyable cosy crime read with lots to talk about, including women’s suffrage, the role of unmarried women and the working classes.”
Precipice
Summer 1914. A world on the brink of catastrophe.
In London, 26-year-old Venetia Stanley – aristocratic, clever, bored, reckless – is having a love affair with the Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, a man more than twice her age. He writes to her obsessively, sharing the most sensitive matters of state.
As Asquith reluctantly leads the country into war with Germany, a young intelligence officer is assigned to investigate a leak of top secret documents – and suddenly what was a sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security that will alter the course of political history.
Our readers thought:
“A gripping and engaging read.”
“So well researched, but it wears the reseacrh lightly, and is just a great read.”
“I could hardly believe that these were all real letters from the Asquith side – truly fascinating!”
Rare Singles
Dinah has always lived in Scarborough. Trapped with her feckless husband and useless son, her one release comes at her town’s Northern Soul nights, where she gets to put on her best and lose herself in the classics.
Dinah has an especial hero: Bucky Bronco, who recorded a string of soul gems in the late Sixties and then vanished off the face of the earth. When she manages to contact Bucky she can’t believe her luck.
Over in Chicago, Bucky Bronco is down on his luck – and has been since the loss of his beloved wife Maybelle. The best he can hope for is to make ends meet, and try and stay high.
But then an unexpected invitation arrives, from someone he’s never met, to come to somewhere he’s never heard of. With nothing to lose – and in need of the cash – Bucky boards a plane.
And so Bucky finds himself in rainy Scarborough, where everyone seems to know who is – preparing to play for an audience for the first time in nearly half a century. Over the course of the week, he finds himself striking up new and unexpected friendships; and facing his past, and its losses, for the very first time.
Our readers thought:
“Myers excels in this novel, depicting how grief is the price of love”
“Benjamin Myers can do no wrong, the range of styles and genres of his books knows no bounds and Rare Singles was amazing.”
“I loved this book, I loved all the main characters and I found the story profoundly moving as Bucky comes to terms with loss, tragedy and discovers that it is possible to build a new life with new friends.”
Get involved
You can listen to this and other Radio 2 Book Club podcast episodes on BBC Sounds.
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