C.J. Tudor on Serenity Falls, Creepy Disney Towns & the Smell of Buttered Popcorn

Philippa reviews four books — including two she couldn't wait to tell you about — before a wonderful, wide-ranging conversation with C.J. Tudor about her latest novel Serenity Falls, out 10th September, the book she needed to write after the hardest year of her life.📚 Four Book ReviewsOne of Us is Guilty – Steve CavanaghThe 10th Eddie Flynn case finds con-man-turned-lawyer Eddie investigating a brutal murder with only two suspects — and one of them is guilty. Philippa loves everything Steve Cavanagh writes, and this is no exception.The Silent Appeal – Janice HallettThe Fairway Players are back, rehearsing Agatha Christie's The Hollow, and someone isn't going to make it to opening night. Lawyers Charlotte and Femi must sift through the evidence once again in what Philippa considers one of her favourite Hallett books yet.A Stranger in Corfu – Alex PrestonFormer MI6 operatives, exiled to a Greek island to be forgotten, find their uneasy peace shattered when one of their own washes up dead. Beautifully written, thoughtful, and atmospheric — blurbed as "Le Carré meets the Durrells," which Philippa thinks is entirely fair.Signals: The Inside Story of Our Hormones – Dr. Saira HameedA fascinating nonfiction exploration of how hormones shape everything from our health to our eating habits — told through real patient cases. Philippa went to hear the author speak, bought the book immediately, got it signed, and then went straight out for a double chocolate cookie. Blame the ancestors.C.J. Tudor on Serenity FallsDan and his teenage daughter Sadie arrive at their mysterious inheritance in Serenity Falls — a picture-perfect Disney-style town in Florida — only to find a body in the swimming pool, dressed as a cartoon character, on day one. Things don't get more normal from there.Inspired by Celebration, the real Disney-built town near Orlando, Caz and Philippa discuss:Why the idea of a perfect, theme-park-adjacent town is inherently sinister — and what happens when you actually go and visit oneHow the creepy ice cream van started as a small detail and grew into a major character and the cover imageWriting Serenity Falls — and why she needed a new idea to fall in love with before she could write againWhy this is perhaps her least horror-y book, but also her most uncanny — and what the word "uncanny" really means in a C.J. Tudor contextThe dark humor running through the book, and why Sadie is one of her favourite characters she's ever writtenTV developments, the patience required to wait for news, and why she's learned not to get too excited too earlyHer next book The Last Caretaker — currently being written, out autumn 2027What she's looking forward to reading: The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer, which arrived as a lovely exchange for a quote on Serenity FallsTen years since her publishing deal — and why it's worth stopping to appreciate how far you've comeIf Serenity Falls had a smell: Buttered popcorn. Lovely at first. Overwhelming very quickly. Which is, she immediately agreed, the whole vibe.Biscuit answer: Pick and mix for writing fuel, but biscuit-wise: plain rich tea or digestive for daytime dunking (no timing, pure instinct), and Border biscuits for evenings — too posh to dunk, chocolate gets melty.💬 Get in touchQuick Book Reviews Facebook Group | Instagram | [email protected] Book Reviews: author interviews and book reviews with no spoilers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.