Following a famous classical pianist and former child prodigy on an American tour after a personal tragedy, THE GHOST VARIATIONS is a beautiful, exquisitely crafted and funny novel exploring the possibilities and limitations of music, how we come to terms with grief, and asks whether we can ever really start our lives afresh.

Declan O''Day was one of the world''s finest classical pianists. A child prodigy from working class Manchester, by the age of 18 he was touring the world and feted as a great virtuoso. Ten years later, on a walking holiday in the Lake District, his wife dies in a terrible accident, he stops performing, and his life descends into loneliness and obscurity. Now, five years on, he is persuaded to re-start his career and sets out on a short American tour. But the circumstances of wife''s death continue to haunt him - and he discovers that even the greatest music cannot save him from his past.