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.