Patricia Cornwell on Her Dark Childhood and Best-Selling Novels
8 May - 59 mins“Angel Down,” a grisly novel about World War I told in a single, almost 300-page-long sentence, was awarded this year’s Pulitzer Prize for fiction. In a review for The New York Times, Ben H. Winters described it as a “thunderous gallop” that captures the “cruel and self-perpetuating logic of war.” (It was also one of the Book Review’s Top 10 books of 2025.)
The day after the Pulitzers were awarded, the book’s author, Daniel Kraus — who has written horror, fantasy and young adult novels — spoke to the Book Review’s editor, Gilbert Cruz, about putting together his semi-experimental story.
Cruz also spoke with Patricia Cornwell, a best-selling author who rose to prominence in the 1990s with n...
Series Episodes
‘The Book Review’ Podcast Turns 20
From Oprah to romantasy, we look back at two decades of hit books and literary trends.
1 hour 5 mins
1 May Finished
Book Club: Let's Talk About 'The Renovation,' by Kenan Orhan
Dilara, the heroine of Kenan Orhan’s debut novel, is a Turkish exile living in Italy and undergoing a routine bathroom renovation that turns out to be not so routine: When the contractors leave, she steps in and finds herself somehow transported to an actual cell in Istanbul’s infamous Silivri Prison. On this week's episode, host MJ Franklin discusses “The Renovation” with fellow Book Review editors Joumana Khatib and Dave Kim.
42 mins
24 April Finished
The Time Loop Book Series You Should Be Reading
The Book Review editors discuss Solvej Balle’s seven-book series, “On the Calculation of Volume.” Plus, a selection of translated fiction to put on your reading list.
35 mins
17 April Finished
Patrick Radden Keefe on the Mystery at the Center of ‘London Falling’
The author discusses his newest book, about a 19-year-old’s curious death and the investigation that followed.
34 mins
10 April Finished
23 Books We Are Looking Forward to This Spring
The Book Review editors discuss fiction and nonfiction that caught their eye. Plus, Ada Limón on the power of poetry.
47 mins
3 April Finished
