The Coincidence Authority

(Paperback)

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For fans of THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, Mark Watson and Mark Haddon, here is a cleverly written mystery about fate, circumstance, destiny and coincidence from COSTA AWARD-shortlisted author, John Ironmonger. This quirky read is hard to put down and spans philosophy, conflict, relationships and romance.

Thomas Post is an expert on coincidences. He's an authority. People come to see him, to ask him if he can explain strange events that have befallen them, and he can always explain these things away. We poor humans, he would say, have a tendency to make patterns out of random shapes, or to construct meaning from the random behaviour of the universe.

But one day Thomas gets a visit from Azalea Lewis, and his world will never be the same again. For Azalea's coincidences seem to go off the scale. The lives of Thomas and Azalea become entwined, their destinies entangled. And now, with Azalea apparently dead in a foreign land, Thomas must reassemble the pieces of her life in search for the patterns that drove it. And that means he must try to unravel the coincidences that so afflicted her.

Reviews

One of the most touching books I've read all year - GUARDIAN

A love story that is also a story of ideas ... The love story between Thomas and Azalea is touching and gently written - METRO

Ultimately it's an uplifting and rather poignant romance - BOOKSELLERS' CHOICE, SEPTEMBER

This story twists like a pretzel, the author teases and tantalises the reader, and it's delightfully unexpected - THE TIMES

This is an absorbing and unusual novel suffused with intelligence, charm and humanity and I highly recommend it - BOOKSELLER

Author Bio

J. W. Ironmonger was born and grew up in East Africa. He has a doctorate in Zoology, and was once an expert on freshwater leeches. He is the author of The Good Zoo Guide and The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder, was part of a world record team for speed-reading Shakespeare, and once drove across the Sahara in a 100 banger. He lives in rural Shropshire with his wife, Sue, and has two grown-up children.