Sara welcomes the international bestselling author of 'Yellowface' - R.F. Kuang -to the Radio 2 Book Club.

Her latest novel, 'Katabasis', sees Rebecca return to her fantasy roots - and tell an unexpected love story, set in hell.

They chat about her inspirations for this incredible story, her research - and how her Philosopher husband came in handy. There's also a guest star appearance from a cat as well!

Here's a little more about 'Katabasis'

Katabasis, noun, Ancient Greek. The story of a hero's descent to the underworld.

Grad student Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become the brightest mind in the field of analytic magick. But the only person who can make her dream come true is dead and – inconveniently – in Hell. And Alice, along with her biggest rival Peter Murdoch, is going after him.

But Hell is not as the philosophers claim, its rules are upside-down, and if she’s going to get out of there alive, she and Peter will have to work together.

That’s if they can agree on anything.

Will they triumph, or kill each other trying?

Chantelle Tijhaar is this week's listener reviewer, and has some great recommendations for us.

She works as a librarian, and as well as being in The Radio 2 Book Club - she's also a member of two other book groups, including a fantasy book club!

On this episode, Sara chats to Chantelle about her Top Five Reads of the year so far - and what books she's looking forward to later in the year.

Here are Chantelle's choices:

'Notes On An Execution' by Danya Kukafka

'My Father's House' by Joseph O'connor

'All The Colours Of The Dark' by Chris Whitaker

'The Great Alone' by Kirstin Hannah

'Wedding People' by Alison Espach

Debut novelist, Connor Hutchinson, joins Sara for the Book Club to tell us all about his new book - 'Dead Lucky'.

Connor is originally from the North of England, and it was very important to him that the book was set near where he's from, and that he told a working class story. When he was growing up, he didn't see many characters in books that reflected his own upbringing.

He tells Sara about getting a quote from legendary director Mike Leigh, working with his writing idol Douglas Stuart, the inspiration behind an undertakers setting - and - recommends us a brilliant book as well.

Here's the blurb for Dead Lucky: Jamie Fletcher should be the luckiest man in Manchester. His girlfriend Rebecca is out of his league, he has a best mate and drinking buddy in Trick, and he loves his job at a busy funeral home.

Preparing the dead is not something Jamie takes lightly - whether it's choosing the right stockings for his old dinner lady, or playing the local butcher's favourite album to him before cremation. But beneath his seemingly perfect life, Jamie has been keeping a big secret - one he reveals only to the dead.

His gambling addiction has left him in eye-watering debt, and he's running out of ways to keep it hidden. When Rebecca decides it's time for them to buy their first home together, he knows he has to do something to cover his tracks. Desperate, Jamie does what he knows best - he walks up to the bookies and places the biggest bet of his life.

How far will he go until his luck runs out?

Sara welcomes former librarian turned book vlogger extraordinaire - Simon Savidge - to share his top five Summer Reads!

As well as recommending a range of great books - he picks out a few former Radio 2 Book Club choices which would go down well on the sun lounger - and tells us all about his recent induction to the Royal Society Of Literature.

Simon's Summer Reads

Passiontide by Monique Roffey The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden Dusk by Robbie Arnott Harriet Tubman Live In Concert by Bob The Drag Queen You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

Debut novelist Aisling Rawle joins Sara for a chat about her brilliant new page-turner, 'The Compound'.

It has been described as Lord Of The Flies meets Love Island - and will be a great book to keep you entertained on your holiday.

Aisling is a former Bookseller and English teacher and her debut novel is a pacy, binge-able tale with twists and turns aplenty.

Sara discusses what inspired the book, the pros and cons of reality TV - and - how the heck Aisling wrote The Compound in just six weeks!

Here's the blurb:

Lily--a bored, beautiful twenty-something--wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.

Cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to leave: why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the unseen producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she'll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams--but what will she have to do to win?

Addictive and prescient, The Compound is an explosive debut from a major new voice in fiction and will linger in your mind long after the game ends.

In this bumper episode of the Radio 2 Book Club, crime author and Agatha Christie fan, Jeremy Vines, takes a trip to the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival.

He chats to Lee and Andrew Child about their latest Reacher collaboration, debut novelist Kelly Mullen, the creator of Broadchurch Chris Chibnall, bestselling author Kate Mosse and the winner of the Crime Novel Of The Year, Abir Mukherjee.

The annual celebration of crime fiction takes place at The Old Swan Hotel, which is where Agatha Christie famously disappeared to in 1926. Hear Jeremy's tour of the hotel, with General Manager David Ritson, as he learns more about her story - and takes in some of the places she would have stayed.

Sara chats to Rose Kooper Johnson about her own book group, living in Bristol and how she discovered the Radio 2 Book Club through 'Ordinary Saints'.

Rose's Top Five Reads of the year (so far) are:

'Disappoint Me' by Nicola Dinan 'Agatha of Little Neon' by Claire Luchette 'Some Strange Music Draws Me In' by Griffin Hansbury 'The Original' by Nell Stevens 'The Safekeep' by Yael Van Der Wouden

Laura Shepherd Robinson is the author of four crime novels, set in the Georgian era.

In this episode, she tells Sara all about her latest book, 'The Art Of A Lie', a cat-n-mouse thriller that follows a widowed confectioner, drawn into a web of love, betrayal, intrigue and a battle of wits.

They chat about her fascination with the 18th Century, the crime-writing community and how to make ice cream (the Georgian way!)

Sara also shares a short clip from the audiobook - and - finds out more about the longest-running crime writing festival in the UK (which takes place in Harrogate each year)

More on the book...

London, 1749. Following the murder of her husband in a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. The Punchbowl and Pineapple, her confectionary shop on Piccadilly, is barely turning a profit, and her suppliers are conspiring to put her out of business. So when she learns that her husband had a large sum of money in his bank account that she knew nothing about, the surprise is extremely welcome. And when William Devereux, a friend of her late husband, tells her about a new Italian delicacy called “iced cream”, Hannah believes it might transform the fortunes of her shop.

But her husband’s unexpected windfall attracts the attention of author-turned-magistrate Henry Fielding, who suspects the money was illicitly acquired. Unless Hannah can prove otherwise, her inheritance will be confiscated. As she and Devereux work to uncover the secrets of her husband’s double life, their friendship opens Hannah to speculation and gossip, locking her into a battle of wits more devastating than anything, even her husband’s murder.