ANTONIA SENIOR chats to Paul about her new history of the Cambridge Five STALIN'S APLOSTLES, Albania, radio games, spy rings, Burgess, Philby, Maclean, Cairncross and Blunt.

STALIN'S APOSTLES is a radical new look at the way five people allowed their obsession with Communist ideology to overshadow any sense of morality or decency - or loyalty to their country. Why did these gilded charming men, blessed with brains, and beauty and opportunities, choose to betray their country?
Using recently declassified files, STALIN'S APOSTLES explores as never before the treachery of Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Kim Philby, John Cairncross and Keeper of the Queen's Pictures Anthony Blunt, all radicalised while at Cambridge University in the 1930s. Their clandestine supply of British and US intelligence material gave Stalin an inside track on US and British decision-making until the implosion of the spy-ring in May 1951. There was barely a secret, barely a decision made, that Stalin did not know about, thanks to his Cambridge spies, and his networks in the United States. The Five became tools in Stalin's imperial scheme, responsible directly and indirectly for the death of thousands of men and women fighting against Soviet domination.

Shielded for so long by the British Establishment, four of the five were never prosecuted for their crimes. As STALIN'S APOSTLES reveals, they were exposed as much by their own incompetence as by forensic investigation by the CIA, MI5 or MI6. And in time another dictator emerged as ruthless as Stalin, but with an even greater desire to establish a Russian Empire that would threaten Western democracy. The legacy of the Cambridge Five is not only in the graveyards of eastern Europe, but at the heart of Putin's Kremlin.

Antonia Senior is a writer, critic and journalist. She has been the historical fiction reviewer at The Times newspaper for the past 14 years. Her columns and journalism have appeared in, among others, The Guardian, The Spectator, The Times.

She launched and hosted The Spymasters Podcast from 2023 to March 2026. She now podcasts as co-host of The History Book Buffs, which reviews history books and interviews authors on a range of topics, including espionage.

Antonia’s first work of non-fiction is Stalin’s Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire. ‘Outstanding.. A darkly fascinating account of an infamous spy ring.’ (Kirkus).

Antonia lives in London, with a dog and two cats. Her children would not let her name any of the pets Dzerzhinsky.

Paul Burke is edito

Produced by Junkyard Dog

Crime Time

Crime Time FM is the official podcast of
Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025
CrimeFest 2023
CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month
& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 2024
2024 Slaughterfest,

HEIDI PERKS chats to Paul Burke about her new Psychological thriller IT ENDS HERE, getting published, rejections and bestsellers,

It Ends Here - You are one of five strangers whose day will start with the worst phone call imaginable.
Your loved one is in danger.
They are part of a group trapped in a café in a sleepy marina town.

• The young barista on the early shift
• The bestselling novelist looking for a writing spot
• The husband on his way back from a work trip
• The influencer mum whose picture-perfect life isn’t the whole truth
• The woman starting her birthday with a quiet coffee

As the hours tick by it will soon become clear that one of them has a secret they would kill to keep.
How well do you know the person closest to you?

HEIDI PERKS My first book published with Century, NOW YOU SEE HER, came out in July 2018. It became a Sunday Times Bestseller and a Richard and Judy book club pick, and in 2021 I received a silver Nielsen bestseller award for selling over 250,000 copies. Since then I have published five more novels: COME BACK FOR ME, THREE PERFECT LIARS, THE WHISPERS, THE OTHER GUEST and THE LAST RESORT. Look out for my next novel, SOMEONE IS LYING which will be out in spring 2024. And I am currently writing my eighth book ready for 2026. Many of my books are set along the south coast of England, you may recognise some of the destinations. I live by the sea in Bournemouth and love this area with its beautiful spots that make perfect inspiration for the crime thrillers I write. I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I do writing them! If you would like to follow me please do on Instagram @Heidiperksauthor or on my Heidi Perks Facebook page.

Recommended: Harlen Coben & Reese Witherspoon Gone Before Goodbye, Karin Slaughter We Are All Guilty Here, Taylor Jenkins Reid Atmosphere.

Paul Burke is editor of Aspects of Crime, Crime Time FM, he is a CWA judge, his first book Spies on Screen: From Silent to Streaming will be published in September.

Produced by Junkyard Dog

Crime Time

Crime Time FM is the official podcast of
Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025
CrimeFest 2023
CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month
& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 2024
2024 Slaughterfest,

Samantha Dooey-Miles chats to Paul Burke about her debut thriller UNDER THE HAMMER, satire, the housing crisis, daytime TV, para-social relationships, marketing, stalkers, rage and humour.

UNDER THE HAMMER Jemma would kill to end the housing crisis – one landlord at a time…

Jemma has lost everything... Well, the very little she had. Her toxic boyfriend has run off with her best friend, leaving Jemma alone in their flat, and she can't afford the extortionate rent on her own. She's aimless, depressed and, above all, furious. Slowly but surely, her fury finds its focus: landlords. If only something could be done about them...

When Jemma's landlord has a fatal accident while carrying out a property repair, she stumbles across her life's mission: to punish as many landlords as possible. She begins targeting landlords who have appeared on her favourite binge-watch, a home-improvement TV show where their greed is laid bare. It's a messy job, but someone's got to do it.

Governed by her own rules, Jemma is convinced her actions are just – but how long before this vigilante turns villain?

Samantha Dooey-Miles - Samantha’s fiction focuses on first-person, female voices. Her work explores rage, shame, embarrassment and the significance seemingly small moments can hold. Her stories have been published in New Writing Scotland, Gutter and Postbox amongst others. In 2021 she won a Scottish Book Trust New Writer Award. She has had monologues performed by Slackline Productions and Coronavirus Theatre Club. Her short plays have been staged by Short Attention Theatre and at Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch.

Recommended - Chris McQueer Hermit. Mentions American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis, Scabby Queen Kirsten Innes.

Paul Burke is the editor of Aspects of Crime, The Crime Time FM podcast, and is a CWA Gold Dagger Judge. His first book Spies on Screen: From Silent to Streaming will be published in September 26.

Produced by Junkyard Dog

Crime Time

Crime Time FM is the official podcast of
Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival 2023 & 2025
CrimeFest 2023
CWA Daggers 2023-2026 & National Crime Reading Month
& Newcastle Noir 2023 and 2024
2024 Slaughterfest,