Parlabane sat back on the settee, having wandered around the room for fully five minutes in a second vain attempt to locate the VCR’s remote control before admitting defeat and making the gruelling six-foot journey to the telly to start the tape recording. Pulling his legs up on the settee, an indulgent luxury of Sarah’s absence, he felt a lump under one thigh and proceeded to fish the errant electronic device out from between two of the cushions.

Christopher Brookmyre – Country of the Blind