Thirteen short and intriguing stories of our time - some dark, some challenging, others light and quirky …

The title story tells the tale of a young piano salesman in Harrods department store in London. Whilst rummaging around in the store room one day, he comes across a Bechstein grand that has been in there for years, paid for and awaiting delivery instructions, and seemingly forgotten about. Would anyone miss it if it were to disappear, he wonders? There's only one way to find out.

Other stories chronicle - amongst other things - the trials and tribulations of online dating, swashbuckling pirates invading a placid Derbyshire town in a quest for hidden treasure, an old lady's curious fascination with the history of the rudest word in the English language, a would be killer with bad breath … and the love life of a vicar.

Then there's Zulu the police dog. In his own words he tells the story of the one time in his otherwise unblemished career that his professional etiquette lapsed, and he bit off more than he could chew. It's a tricky read as Zulu is self-taught in reading and writing and uses his own very canine spelling and grammar. But worth the struggle.

The stories in the collection are mostly pure fiction, though a few do contain an autobiographical flavour to some degree or another. The reader is welcome to speculate which ones fit into each category. The only exception I would make is that of Zulu, naturally. I have yet to meet a talking police dog.