A few from his contacts are given a jolt - like his busy estranged sister, his out of touch mom, his repentent ex and his friend who cheated him.

Contacts by Mark Watson is going to be hard to review because though I enjoyed it – to an extent – my main issue with it is the content (underlining premise) itself. It’s a terrifying thought at its core but the regular flashbacks to revisit happier moments in James’ life means we get respite from the horror of what’s unfolding. Contacts by Mark Watson has such a unique premise and I was intrigued on how it was going to play out.

After it leaves Euston station he sends a message to all his phone contacts, telling them he is going to end his life. I found that the story just wasn't strong enough to support the theme it was trying to address, which in itself was interesting. I have to admit, I wasn’t completely satisfied with one particular part of the ending – it seemed a bit sudden and the person in question’s character seemed devastatingly brief, considering their part in it all.

I can’t decide whether I think it’s ill-conceived, irresponsible and totally inappropriate or perhaps cathartic or helpful. His Taskmaster appearance was wonderfully shambolic, and I’ve seen him doing stand up which was effortlessly brilliant. James Chiltern gets on the sleeper train from London to Edinburgh with the sole intention of ending his life in the city where he scattered his father’s ashes four years before.And I was surprised that despite my anger at the main character, the further I got into the book the more it managed to also make me feel sympathetic towards him and put aside my anger. The novel then focuses on James’ journey and the reactions, and actions, of five people on the list, namely his sister, mother, ex-GF, ex-boss, and flatmate. And I’m not implying that’s insufficient cause because I definitely know things impact us and affect us differently. The irony is that in this storyline mobile phone technology can be instrumental and invaluable in connecting both loved ones and strangers, across continents, uniting them in a common cause, whilst James himself feels disconnected from his fellow human beings.

I can’t really say much more without *spoilers* but obviously the storyline follows the desperate quest to stop James from doing what he’s about to do, whilst he obliviously sits on a train moving further away from everyone who loves him. Having reached the age of forty, he's an eeny bit overweight and feeling more than a little disillusioned. In Australia, his sister cancels her meetings, unable to get home and support her brother, taunted by unpleasant memories of their last meeting.

As a kid my family spent summers at the Edinburgh Fringe and I remember discovering Watson for the first time sometime in my teens. Back in London, his flatmate worries what she’s about to come home and find, but is determined to find and save him.