Only Twelve Times

Max Hughes has a wife he adores, three children who drive him mad, and a household in which somebody is invariably losing something, arguing about homework or demanding another biscuit. At forty-nine, he's reasonably happy with his lot. He has no idea he's about to die.

When an ordinary trip to the shops ends in a fatal collision, Max leaves behind Kerri, sixteen-year-old Olivia, fourteen-year-old Erin and eight-year-old Jack. Their lives have been torn apart, and there's nothing he can do about it.

Or so he thinks.

A strange presence offers Max something extraordinary. He can remain close to his family as their lives unfold, watching one of them at a time. More importantly, he can return to them twelve times. For a precious hour or less, they will be able to see him, speak to him and hold him as though he never left.

There are no second chances once a visit has been spent. No saving the unused minutes. And twelve visits must last for the rest of their lives.

At first, the decisions seem obvious. His children are grieving, his wife is struggling, and his youngest son desperately needs his dad. But as the years pass, choosing becomes increasingly difficult. Should Max appear when somebody is frightened or unhappy? When they have wonderful news to share? Or simply because he misses them?

Meanwhile, life refuses to stand still. His children make friends, fall in love, argue, grow up and become people Max could never have imagined. Kerri must discover what happiness looks like without him. There are celebrations he longs to join, mistakes he cannot prevent, and ordinary afternoons he would give anything to experience again.

Through it all, Max remains their father: loving, impatient, frequently wrong, occasionally ridiculous, and painfully aware of everything he is missing.

**Only Twelve Times** is a moving, warm and often funny supernatural family novel about love, grief, parenthood and the extraordinary importance of ordinary days.

Because when you only have twelve chances to see the people you love, how can you possibly know which twelve to choose?