Jamie Fletcher loves his job as an embalmer at a busy funeral home in working-class Manchester. Taking responsibility for how mourners remember their loved ones is not something he takes lightly, but Jamie has big enough problems in his own life to dwell too much on the gruesome realities he encounters daily.
His adoring yet impatient girlfriend, Rebecca, is pushing to save up for a house, but she hasn’t a clue that Jamie has been living with a gambling addiction since his early teens. Wrestling with debts and dishonesty and all the while keeping a handle on life at the funeral home, Jamie journeys through the pubs, bookmakers, casinos, and racetracks of Manchester, scrambling to erase his debts before the truth is laid bare. How far will he go to get his life back on track, and what can he take from the dead to help him get there? Fortunately, he finds plenty a sympathetic ear in those he works with, who won’t be sharing his secrets any time soon.
The day arrives when Jamie decides to risk it all and he places every penny he owns onto a high stakes bet.
Will everything come crashing down, or will his life be remade?
Read this exclusive extract now, as chosen by library staff across the UK for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club.
