1--What is the title of your latest release?
THE BUSYBODY BOOK CLUB
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A dysfunctional book club must become amateur detectives when one of their members goes missing and a dead body turns up at his house. But when they can’t even agree on what to read, how are they going to solve the crime?
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I’ve always wanted to write a book set in Cornwall, a gorgeous coastal county in the South-West of England. The village I set the story in, St. Tredock, is fictional, but it’s based on Port Isaac, a picturesque fishing village built isnto the rugged Cornish coastline. Think pretty whitewashed stone cottages, crashing waves and excellent ice cream!
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
I’d love to hang out with the members of the St Tredock community book club. They’d initially drive me mad with their bickering, but there are some really fun, eccentric characters with kind hearts, so life would never be boring.
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Nova is quirky, generous and insecure.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Agatha Christie is a genius! I know this is something many people know already, and I’ve always enjoyed her books, but it wasn’t until I started writing The Busybody Book Club, in which one of my characters is an Agatha Christie superfan, that I realised just how incredible Christie was. Not only was she prolific, but her mysteries are so cleverly crafted and deftly executed, and often so funny! Like my character, Phyllis, I learnt a lot from reading Christie’s mysteries.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I always intend to wait until I’m totally done, but I often find myself editing as I go. I try not to allow myself to spend too much time re-writing mid-draft, as inevitably I know I’m going to have to change things once I get to the end, but sometimes I can’t help myself.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Anything involving cheese
9--Describe your writing space/office!
I have a desk in my family lounge, tucked into a bookcase in the corner. It works brilliantly while my kids are at school, although I do often have to share my writing space with their books, toys and the occasional cat. Things become more challenging when they’re off school, at which point I usually take myself off to the library or a local café.
10--Who is an author you admire?
Aside from my new-found admiration for Agatha Christie, I’d say Fredrik Backman. He writes with such humor and humanity and is one of the few authors who can make me laugh and cry on the same page.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
I’d wanted to write a novel since as I was teenager, but I never had the confidence to actually sit down and try it. While I was on maternity leave with my second child, I read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. The book blew me away, and I remember finishing it and thinking,“OK, enough finding excuses; it’s time to give this a go!” The following day, I signed myself up to do an evening class in writing, and it was on that course that I wrote my debut novel, The Last Chance Library. So I’m very grateful to Gail Honeyman’s incredible book for finally giving me the kick I needed to try out my writing dream!
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
I remember it so vividly. I was in a café having lunch, and my agent sent me an email with the heading “ARE YOU SITTING DOWN?” I wanted to scream when I read it, but I was on my own and halfway through a bowl of soup, so I had to wait until I left the café to let my joy out!
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I read across lots of different genres, but if I had no pick one it would probably be romance.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Anything written by Nora Ephron
15--What is your favorite season?
Fall. For me that’s always been the season of new beginnings, plus I’m a big fan of cozy socks and hot chocolate.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
A lie-in followed by breakfast in bed, a long walk on Hampstead Heath with my family, rounded off by cake and fizz!
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
I love the “How to Fail” Podcast by Elizabeth Day. I find it so inspiring listening to successful people talk about their own personal “failures” and what they learnt from them.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Japanese
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I have to do a lot of reading for work (which is hardly a chore, I know!) but when I have free time I love to read for pleasure. I also love going out for dinner with my family.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’m writing a romcom with a very famous love interest.
They can’t even agree on what to read, so how are they going to solve a murder?
Having recently moved from London to a small Cornish seaside village, Nova Davies started a book club at the local community center, but so far it’s a disaster. The five members disagree on everything, and to make matters worse, a significant sum of money is stolen during one of the meetings, putting the much-loved community center at risk.
Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when he disappears and a dead body turns up at his house. But the book club has their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove Michael’s been framed, while romance reader Arthur believes there’s a mystery woman involved, and teenage sci-fi fan Ash thinks dark forces are at play.
While trying to locate Michael, solve the murder and recover the stolen money, each of them has their own secrets to protect. But despite the danger closing in, they won’t rest until they’ve cracked the case and gotten everyone safe at home with a book, where they belong.
Women's Fiction Friendship | Mystery Amateur Sleuth [Berkley, On Sale: May 27, 2025, Trade Paperback / e-Book , ISBN: 9780593550557 / eISBN: 9780593550564]
Freya Sampson works in television as a creator and Executive Producer. Her credits include two documentary series for the BBC about the British Royal Family, and a number of factual and entertainment series. She studied History at Cambridge University and in 2018 was shortlisted for the Exeter Novel Prize. She lives in London with her husband, two young children and an antisocial cat.
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