Marked for life Paul Magrs

Mark is covered from head to toe in tattoos, his wife, whom he met when the taxi he was riding in knocked her best friend over, is having an affair with a policeman. Her mother lives with her lesbian lover - a naturist who claims to be over three hundred years old.

Mark's ex-boyfriend writes to him from prison, on lilac paper, jealous of Mark's relationship and family life and vowing revenge. When it becomes obvious that all is not quite as it seems, events begin to spiral out of control, leading to a confrontation which no-one could see coming, quite literally.

Imagine the League of Gentlemen rewritten by Alan Bennet. An entoxicating glance of the magic that can hide in even the sleepiest geordie Council Estate.

Despite the brevity of this review, I enjoyed this book immensely. This is Magrs' first novel and it shines. There's a wonderful quirky magical edge to his writing that is quite unique. He's written two more novels based in and around the same estate and they too are filled with the same quirky sense of normality with just that trace of magic.

Definitely a recommended read.