TV Wine Expert Olly Smith: Death by Noir & the Birth of Wine Crime Fiction

Philippa reviews four very different books — from Tintin to Elizabeth Strout — before sitting down with TV wine expert and debut crime novelist Olly Smith to talk about his joyful new book Death by Noir, and the sub-genre he's invented: wine crime.

📚 Book Reviews

The Adventures of Tintin and the Picaros – Hergé A revolutionary adventure featuring Bianca Castafiore and a mysterious plot around carnival time. Fun, but Philippa wasn't left desperate for more Tintin.

The Things We Never Say – Elizabeth Strout ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Philippa's first Strout — and now she wants them all. A quietly devastating 200-page novel about a man keeping a secret from the world, and from himself. Exquisite, beautiful writing that made Philippa sob unexpectedly. Unmissable.

The Ballad of Small Hope and Penny Royal – Jodi Taylor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Time-travelling bounty hunters, sharp humour, and perfect audiobook narration. Brilliant as a standalone even if you've never read Jodi Taylor before — and book two is coming this summer.

The Inheritance – Mark Dawson Book five in the Atticus Priest series. Enjoyable enough, but Philippa felt the magic of the earlier books wasn't quite there this time.

🎙️ Author Interview: Olly Smith on Death by Noir

Set in the rolling hills of East Sussex around the town of Lewes, Death by Noir follows Barclay Flint, eccentric proprietor of the Bottle Bank wine shop, who must use his wine-detecting skills to solve a crime and clear his own name — all before the explosive Lewes Bonfire Night finale.

Olly and Philippa discuss:

• How four characters arrived fully-formed in Olly's mind while flying over the Himalayas
• Why he wrote every word himself (no ghostwriter)
• Inventing "wine crime" as a new sub-genre
• The late Peter Hall of Breaky Bottom vineyard, who read his chapters just before he died
• Writing through a gallbladder operation, missing deadlines (never), and the advice of a biodynamic economist
• Why teetotallers love the book just as much as wine lovers
• A rainbow moment that changed how he thinks about writing
• What he's reading right now: London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe, The Traitor's Circle by Jonathan Freedland, and more
• The writing fuel that isn't a biscuit: crunchy peanut butter with a drop of soy sauce

Death by Noir is out 18th June.

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