From the Number One bestselling author of Shrines of Gaiety and Life After Life, a full collection of short stories to delight, intrigue and surprise! One of the world's great storytellers conjures a delightful new book. In this first full collection since Not the End of the World, we meet a queen who makes a bargain she cannot keep; a secretary who watches over the life she has just left; and a lost man who bets on a horse that has spoken to him. Witty and wise, with subtle connections between the stories, Normal Rules Don't Apply is a startling , and funny feast for the imagination. In Kate Atkinson's world nothing is over until ' the talking dog speaks.'