Sarah Hilary and Sabine Durrant

Sarah Hilary and Sabine Durrant

From Book Off! by Book Off!

May 22, 2026 · 54 min

About this episode

Sarah Hilary and Sabine Durrant discuss their new novels and the themes of their stories.

Sarah Hilary and Sabine Durrant join Joe Haddow for a Book Off! They chat about their new novels, choosing their settings, 'chalk n cheese' detective duos and balancing darkness and light. Sarah's book ('The Drowning Place') has ghostly elements to it, so they discuss ghosts and whether the authors believe in them... THE BOOK OFF 'The Mahe Circle' by George Simenon VS 'Your Blue-Eyed Boy' by Helen Dunmore If you're enjoying the podcast - please do like and subscribe - and maybe even leave us a review! It helps to spread the word. Here's a little more info on our guests' books: 'The Drowning Place' by Sarah Hilary Every place has its ghosts. Edenscar, a town in the Peak District, has more than most. 17 years ago, its inhabitants were hit by tragedy when a school bus veered off the road and everyone on board drowned. Everyone, that is, except Joseph Ashe. His miraculous survival has haunted him and the town ever since. Now a Detective Sergeant in the local police, Joe is called to the scene of a brutal and apparently inexplicable crime. The whole town is spooked, but Joe’s new boss, DI Laurie Bower, more used to inner-city police work, has no time for superstition. She just wants…

People in this episode

Host: Joe Haddow

Guests: Sarah Hilary, Sabine Durrant

Topics covered

  • new novels
  • detective duos
  • ghosts
  • darkness and light
  • book discussion

Keywords

  • Sarah Hilary
  • Sabine Durrant
  • The Drowning Place
  • Dead Heat
  • detective fiction
  • ghost stories
  • book discussion

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Drowning Place, Dead Heat, The Mahe Circle, Your Blue-Eyed Boy

Places: Edenscar, Peak District

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