The Gift & The Curse (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781913438760)

September, 2001. As the world watches agape at the traumatic scenes coming out of the United States, it's no different for Verity Hunter and Keith Malcolm in the tranquil surroundings of their new life in Cornwall. A call from Max Zeall soon has them summoned back to Oxford, however; it seems fate would not allow them to be away for long.

Galvanised by clues collected by the socially-awkward young genius Danielle, Zeall believes a plot is underway for Oxford to receive its very own terrible event, launched in the wake of 9/11 while anti-Muslim paranoia is at its most extreme.

Unbeknown to them, The Order, Oxford's all-pervasive secret-society, has regrouped more powerfully than ever, and intends to use the event to secure its stranglehold irreversibly. Verity's cousin Drew and old friend May complete the team who must combine their disparate skills - while battling plenty of personal demons and ghosts from the past - and work to prevent the disaster.

*

Mark Devlin's second allegorical novel catches up with the central characters of 'The Cause & The Cure' a decade on. The zeitgeist has shifted, and the cast has had to adapt to changing times with varying degrees of ease.

This story will evoke powerful memories of the epoch-shaping days of September 2001 and everything that followed in their wake.

Once again, the lines between truth and fiction become blurred.