(Simon & Schuster)

He only turned thirty in February, yet stand-up comic, radio and TV star Mark Watson is already onto his third novel. Fortunately, such prolific outpourings haven’t dimmed his ideas. With this latest narrative, Watson explores the concept of embracing your own destiny and how your actions, or more significantly inaction, can affect the world around you.

In a neatly plotted series of events, eleven characters tumble domino-like towards the conclusion, a result initially sparked by a single happening one snowy winter’s day. Watson’s prose displays a delicate touch and, unsurprising given his stand-up roots, there are plenty of perceptive observations. In addition, he peppers the narrative with occasional tantalising glimpses into a future that waits for certain characters way beyond the close of the novel reminding us of the all-knowing godlike presence of the narrator.