A day in the life of Alex Verus:

Run shop in Camden
Train apprentice
Avoid Council
Dodge assassins

A spate of mysterious attacks calls for Alex's expertise - someone is dabbling with the forbidden. Fine, until Alex's friends are threatened. That makes it personal.

It's still damn inconvenient though - especially when seductive distractions are thrown into the mix. But is walking away really an option? And just how dangerous is the curse of the monkey's paw?

Sure, it pays to be able to see the future. Literally. But some days are just better spent in bed.

Benedict Jacka became a writer almost by accident, when at 19 he sat in his school library and began writing in the back of an exercise book. Since then he has worked for the civil service, studied philosophy at Cambridge and been a bouncer, but has always found the time to keep writing.