1 00:00:07,133 --> 00:00:10,453 Speaker 1: You're listening to this Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast 2 00:00:10,573 --> 00:00:11,733 Speaker 1: from News Talks at be. 3 00:00:12,733 --> 00:00:15,573 Speaker 2: Catherine Rains is here with her book pick for this weekend. 4 00:00:15,613 --> 00:00:19,373 Speaker 2: Hey Catherine, Morning Jack. Let's begin with a novel by 5 00:00:19,413 --> 00:00:21,533 Speaker 2: Lisa Jule tell Us about Don't Let Him In. 6 00:00:22,493 --> 00:00:25,373 Speaker 3: But this is a really twisty mystery, and it begins 7 00:00:25,413 --> 00:00:28,853 Speaker 3: with the death of Paddy Swan, who's this very successful 8 00:00:29,693 --> 00:00:33,173 Speaker 3: restauranteur who's pushed in the path of an oncoming train 9 00:00:33,253 --> 00:00:35,613 Speaker 3: by a man in his thirties, and it leaves behind 10 00:00:35,653 --> 00:00:38,333 Speaker 3: his wife, Nina, and his daughter Ash, who's in her 11 00:00:38,333 --> 00:00:41,693 Speaker 3: mid twenties and has just returned home after a psychological breakdown, 12 00:00:42,093 --> 00:00:45,293 Speaker 3: and his son Arlo, who's in his early twenties. And 13 00:00:45,333 --> 00:00:48,933 Speaker 3: sometime after the funeral, this beautifully wrapped gift arrives for 14 00:00:49,613 --> 00:00:52,133 Speaker 3: Nina from a man named Nick Radcliffe, who says that 15 00:00:52,173 --> 00:00:54,533 Speaker 3: he used to work with Paddy, and Anna thinks he's 16 00:00:54,573 --> 00:00:57,333 Speaker 3: lovely and handsome and charming and very kind to her, 17 00:00:57,733 --> 00:00:59,653 Speaker 3: even though his job takes him away a lot, but 18 00:00:59,733 --> 00:01:03,933 Speaker 3: Ash isn't quite so convinced. There's also a second storyline 19 00:01:03,933 --> 00:01:06,373 Speaker 3: that follows this woman, Martha, who's in her early fifty 20 00:01:06,733 --> 00:01:09,173 Speaker 3: and she's a florist, and she's got two teenage sons 21 00:01:09,213 --> 00:01:11,893 Speaker 3: from her previous marriage and a baby girl. And she's 22 00:01:11,933 --> 00:01:14,533 Speaker 3: also struggling in her marriage to Alistair, and he's this 23 00:01:14,733 --> 00:01:17,973 Speaker 3: very demanding job which keeps him constantly traveling and unreachable, 24 00:01:18,413 --> 00:01:22,653 Speaker 3: and their relationship is falling apart. And the book is 25 00:01:22,693 --> 00:01:26,453 Speaker 3: told through the third person narration of Ash and her 26 00:01:26,453 --> 00:01:29,133 Speaker 3: search for answers about Nick. And then there's Martha and 27 00:01:29,213 --> 00:01:31,973 Speaker 3: Nina stories that are interspersed in there that reveal all 28 00:01:31,973 --> 00:01:35,413 Speaker 3: these past events. And as the storylines begin to intertwain, 29 00:01:35,493 --> 00:01:39,213 Speaker 3: the revelations are really revealing and unpredictable in this very 30 00:01:39,253 --> 00:01:41,693 Speaker 3: tangled web, and there's lots of secrets and lies and 31 00:01:41,733 --> 00:01:46,413 Speaker 3: manipulations and it's quite riveting. It's shocking. It's really well written. 32 00:01:46,853 --> 00:01:49,333 Speaker 3: And this book has everything you could want in a thriller. 33 00:01:49,453 --> 00:01:51,333 Speaker 3: And I promise you you will need to stay awake 34 00:01:51,373 --> 00:01:51,933 Speaker 3: to finnish it. 35 00:01:52,013 --> 00:01:54,973 Speaker 2: Oh really, it sounds great? Okay, cool? So that's by 36 00:01:55,013 --> 00:01:57,613 Speaker 2: Lisa Juwel the books called Don't Let Him In. You've 37 00:01:57,613 --> 00:02:01,133 Speaker 2: also read The Phoenix Pencil Company by Alison King. 38 00:02:01,933 --> 00:02:04,893 Speaker 3: And this is a dabut novel from Alison King and 39 00:02:04,933 --> 00:02:08,053 Speaker 3: it's got family secrets, a bit of magical realism, and 40 00:02:08,173 --> 00:02:11,053 Speaker 3: a dose of espionage in the story, and it begins 41 00:02:11,093 --> 00:02:15,053 Speaker 3: with this reclusive student called Monica Sai who's stuck almost 42 00:02:15,093 --> 00:02:18,213 Speaker 3: between two worlds. She's trying to decide whether she should 43 00:02:18,293 --> 00:02:20,893 Speaker 3: stay with her computer science degree or pause it for 44 00:02:20,933 --> 00:02:23,893 Speaker 3: a moment to care for her beloved grandmother, Yun, who's 45 00:02:23,933 --> 00:02:27,653 Speaker 3: been diagnosed with Alzheimer's And then she thinks that life 46 00:02:27,693 --> 00:02:30,533 Speaker 3: can't get any more complicated for her, and she discovers 47 00:02:30,613 --> 00:02:34,413 Speaker 3: her grandmother's very intriguing secret that the woman and their 48 00:02:34,453 --> 00:02:37,373 Speaker 3: family have the special power where they can reforge the 49 00:02:37,413 --> 00:02:41,133 Speaker 3: pencils that their business, the Phoenix Pencil Company, has created 50 00:02:41,253 --> 00:02:45,013 Speaker 3: and uncover all the memories from the user of this pencil, 51 00:02:45,173 --> 00:02:48,053 Speaker 3: and it leads Monica on this real voyage of discovery 52 00:02:48,133 --> 00:02:51,373 Speaker 3: about her grandmother's life, and it flips between two timelines, 53 00:02:51,413 --> 00:02:55,253 Speaker 3: Monica's struggle in the modern day and her grandmother's past 54 00:02:55,333 --> 00:02:58,573 Speaker 3: life in Wartaorn, Shanghai and as a young girl, Yun 55 00:02:58,613 --> 00:03:01,853 Speaker 3: and her cousin men survive by selling these handmade pencils 56 00:03:01,853 --> 00:03:04,933 Speaker 3: and using their mysterious power that helps them navigate this 57 00:03:05,053 --> 00:03:09,453 Speaker 3: life of espionage and as her grandmother's facing her final days, 58 00:03:09,453 --> 00:03:12,333 Speaker 3: Monica wants to reconcile her relationship with her cousin men 59 00:03:12,693 --> 00:03:14,693 Speaker 3: because she left after the Chinese Civil War and she 60 00:03:14,773 --> 00:03:18,053 Speaker 3: moved to California, leaving her cousin behind. And it's a 61 00:03:18,093 --> 00:03:21,613 Speaker 3: really interesting story about how they kind of their lives 62 00:03:21,613 --> 00:03:25,333 Speaker 3: intertwine and people going in different directions, and it's about 63 00:03:25,373 --> 00:03:27,813 Speaker 3: the bonds within a family and the stories that create 64 00:03:28,373 --> 00:03:31,573 Speaker 3: and that power of shared memories and lessons, and yeah, 65 00:03:31,773 --> 00:03:34,253 Speaker 3: a story kind of has these concepts of storytelling and 66 00:03:34,293 --> 00:03:36,733 Speaker 3: memory and family history and with a bit of spy 67 00:03:36,933 --> 00:03:39,533 Speaker 3: and stories thrown in, you know, it's really really well told. 68 00:03:39,573 --> 00:03:42,333 Speaker 3: It's quite intriguing. I'm not a massive magical realism faci. 69 00:03:43,933 --> 00:03:45,813 Speaker 3: This actually worked and I don't really quite know. I mean, 70 00:03:45,853 --> 00:03:48,453 Speaker 3: obviously you have to suspend reality, but it really worked. 71 00:03:48,573 --> 00:03:51,973 Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, well it sounds interesting. The Phoenix Pencil Company 72 00:03:52,013 --> 00:03:55,053 Speaker 2: by Alison King, that's her first book. Hey, Catherine, are 73 00:03:55,093 --> 00:03:56,173 Speaker 2: you a Jane Austen fan? 74 00:03:56,973 --> 00:03:58,013 Speaker 3: I am a Jane Austen fan. 75 00:03:58,053 --> 00:04:00,053 Speaker 2: Have you ever been to the Jane Austen was it 76 00:04:00,133 --> 00:04:03,173 Speaker 2: Jane Alston Festival in Bar No? I haven't, No, Okay, 77 00:04:03,253 --> 00:04:06,453 Speaker 2: we've just been discussing bath and in the UK and 78 00:04:06,493 --> 00:04:08,493 Speaker 2: our travel segment this morning, and I see you I've 79 00:04:08,493 --> 00:04:10,493 Speaker 2: been and has flipped me a note to say the 80 00:04:10,573 --> 00:04:12,693 Speaker 2: Jane Austen Festival is on from the twelfth to the 81 00:04:12,693 --> 00:04:14,973 Speaker 2: twenty first of September, so I'm sure for Jane Austin 82 00:04:15,013 --> 00:04:17,253 Speaker 2: fans that might be a bit of a special event 83 00:04:17,293 --> 00:04:19,653 Speaker 2: to get too. Thank you very much for that, and 84 00:04:19,653 --> 00:04:21,933 Speaker 2: and thank you Catherine for your recommendations this week. So 85 00:04:21,973 --> 00:04:24,573 Speaker 2: Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewel was Catherine's first book, 86 00:04:24,933 --> 00:04:27,253 Speaker 2: The Phoenix Pencil Company. The One with a bit of 87 00:04:27,293 --> 00:04:30,533 Speaker 2: Magical Realism was her second. That's by Allison King, and 88 00:04:30,693 --> 00:04:32,973 Speaker 2: all of the details for those books is on the 89 00:04:33,013 --> 00:04:33,493 Speaker 2: News Talks. 90 00:04:33,493 --> 00:04:37,853 Speaker 1: He'd be website for more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame. 91 00:04:38,053 --> 00:04:41,253 Speaker 1: Listen live to News Talks He'd be from nine am Saturday, 92 00:04:41,493 --> 00:04:43,533 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.