Midnight in a Perfect LifeKarl is a troubled writer standing on the precipice of forty. After a degree of success in his early career he is now battling with what he terms his 'opus', his legacy to the world. But his partner Lori, the main breadwinner, is also thinking about her destiny and wants a child. As they embark on fertility treatment, Karl is forced to confront his deepest fear that he will turn out to be like his father, a travelling salesman who was found dead after

juggling otters

is disconcerted to find his masked target has already been assassinated

a mythical icegull appears at his bedroom window

she had every prospect of a successful operation by a distinguished surgeon

And then he finds the corpse of a child beside an ancient river

There's no way Ryan is about to let Jake walk off with the prize again

not least the possibility of the family estate ending up in the hands of his ghastly

They give Henry a new name

Nineteen-year-old Private Pete 'Skippy' Lyons is abducted and the patrol sent out to locate him is ambushed

Alice realises she's set in motion a terrifying sequence of events that she cannot control and that her destiny is inextricably tied up with the fate of the Cathars 800 years before

When it is announced that Consul Scaeva and Cardinal Duomo will be making a rare public appearance at the conclusion of the grand games in Godsgrave

and possessed