A brilliant collection of short stories from the double Man Booker Prize-winning author of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies.Hilary Mantel is one of Britain’s most accomplished and acclaimed writers. In these ten bracingly subversive tales all her gifts of characterisation and observation are fully engaged summoning forth the horrors so often concealed behind everyday façades. Childhood cruelty is played out behind the bushes in ‘Comma’; nurses clash in ‘Harley Street’ over something more than professional differences; and in the title story staying in for the plumber turns into an ambiguous and potentially deadly waiting game.Whether set in a claustrophobic Saudi Arabian flat or on a precarious mountain road in Greece these stories share an insight into the darkest recesses of the spirit. Displaying all of Mantel’s unmistakable style and wit they reveal a great writer at the peak of her powers.Hilary Mantel the Sunday Times bestselling author has been long-listed and short-listed for her literary works. Her alternative storytelling often set in Europe has made her one of the best authors of the 21st century.For fans of Lauren Mackay (Wolf Hall Companion) Ian Mcewan (Lessons) Maggie O'Farrell (Hamnet) Kate Atkinson (Normal Rules Don't Apply) and Robert Harris (The Cicero Trilogy).