Sarah Pinborough on They Say a Girl Died Here, Horror, Secrets & Pick and Mix

Philippa is back with her first author interview in two months — and opens with a confession: she recorded the entire thing without plugging her microphone in. Apologies have been issued. The show goes on.

The guest is the wonderful Sarah Pinborough — author of over 30 books including Behind Her Eyes — talking about her latest novel They Say a Girl Died Here. Plus three book reviews ranging from emotionally devastating to cosy Miss Marple, with a live retraction of a book review opinion somewhere in the middle.

Three Book Reviews:

Saving Noah – Lucinda Berry

Discovered via a Wild & Wordy subscription box swap. A top student, a champion swimmer, a hometown hero — and a confession that changes everything. Philippa was utterly consumed by this book, was stunned by the direction it took, and is now following Lucinda Berry's every move. Very emotional, not for everyone, but extraordinary writing.

The Body in the Library – Agatha Christie

After Saving Noah, Philippa needed something cosy. Miss Marple delivered. A beautiful edition spotted in a bookshop, a body in the library, and the enduring joy of watching Miss Marple quietly observe everyone into a corner. Philippa always thinks she knows who did it. She never does.

Cross My Heart I Hope You Die – Mallory Arnold

Three women discover they've all been dating the same man and hatch a revenge plan at a remote mountain cabin. Philippa wasn't sure how she felt about it while recording — and then issued a live retraction mid-review. On reflection: she liked it. Didn't love it. Would like you to read it and tell her what you think.

Sarah Pinborough on They Say a Girl Died Here

Anna Mayborn arrives in Harper's Creek — a drought-stricken Nebraska town — with her mum, her little sister, and her grandmother, who is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. Two girls have been murdered three years apart. The anniversary is approaching. Anna starts digging. Her grandmother starts having strange nightly episodes. And everyone in town seems to know more than they're saying.

Sarah and Philippa discuss:

• How the book began as a horror novella ten years ago — different ending, younger Anna — and how it was transformed into a crime thriller by her UK editor
• Why Anna is a different kind of unreliable narrator: not hiding something from the reader, but genuinely unable to trust her own judgment after trauma
• The drought as a character in itself — the smell of the book would be dry summer with a slight rot, because nothing washes away when there's no water
• How small towns work: reputations linger, everyone knows everyone, and a town's willingness to look away is as interesting as the murders themselves
• The book is optioned for screen — Sarah is currently writing the first episode
• Why she'll never be a one-lane author and has made peace with that
• Her preference for sofa over desk, dog over coffee machine, and staying home over book festivals
• Living in a small town herself and knowing exactly how reputations work
• Her next book: The Winter Bones, set in West Virginia — a whole town unravelling after a little boy dies. Secrets and snow this time, rather than secrets and sun.

What she's reading: A biography of George Boleyn, and Fitcher's Bird by Angela Slatter — a dark modern fairy tale novella by an author she considers an auto-buy.

Biscuit answer: Doesn't buy biscuits because she'd eat all of them. The book was probably powered by Itsu and Deliveroo. Her true love is pick and mix — particularly after a life-changing visit to a vast pick and mix shop in Boston where a stranger told her to just try one and covered her.

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