A coincidence-plagued layabout who wants nothing more than to be left alone is handed a missing Mondrian, an oddly irresistible ex, and a mystery that keeps dragging him exactly where he least wants to be. Jim Riven has made a career of avoidance. He avoids work, responsibility, emotional growth, his front door, most phone calls, and anything that might require trousers before noon. His only real talent, if it can be called that, is attracting bizarre coincidences with the grim regularity of the disappointing British weather. He calls these intrusions unlikely happenstances, a phrase that explains everything to Jim Riven and very little to anyone else. So when Landa, his over-privileged, impossible-to-ignore ex-girlfriend, turns up demanding his help with a stolen Mondrian, Riven knows the universe has once again resumed hostilities. The priceless painting has vanished from an exclusive London gallery, and Landa’s father, ruthless media baron Roo Osbourne, wants it back. And unfortunately for Jim Riven, Roo treats other people’s lives as disposable office stationery. But the missing painting is only the start. Dragged from bed, recruited against his better judgment, and propelled by a talent he never asked for, Jim finds himself at the centre of a mystery involving stolen art, old secrets, dangerous people, and coincidences so persistent they appear to have formed a committee. For once, Jim Riven may have to do something… God help everyone. A Jim Riven Mystery, Book 1