'The Compound' by Aisling Rawle

Debut novelist Aisling Rawle joins Sara for a chat about her brilliant new page-turner, 'The Compound'.

It has been described as Lord Of The Flies meets Love Island - and will be a great book to keep you entertained on your holiday.

Aisling is a former Bookseller and English teacher and her debut novel is a pacy, binge-able tale with twists and turns aplenty.

Sara discusses what inspired the book, the pros and cons of reality TV - and - how the heck Aisling wrote The Compound in just six weeks!

Here's the blurb:

Lily--a bored, beautiful twenty-something--wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.

Cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to leave: why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the unseen producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she'll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams--but what will she have to do to win?

Addictive and prescient, The Compound is an explosive debut from a major new voice in fiction and will linger in your mind long after the game ends.

The Radio 2 Book Club

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