Head of state : a political entertainment

Two corpses. A country on the edge of a political precipice. A conspiracy so bold it would make Machiavelli wince. Andrew Marr's debut novel imagines what really might be going on behind the door of 10 Downing Street.When a young investigative reporter is found dead on the streets of London few people notice.

But when another body - minus its head and hands - is washed up on the banks of the Thames, its grisly condition arouses a little more interest.There appears to be no connection between the two dead men.

But, unsuspected by the electorate, there is a shocking and dangerous secret at the very heart of government.

While the United Kingdom approaches a crucial and delicately-balanced referendum on Europe, a group of ruthlessly determined individuals will stop at nothing - including murder - to prevent the truth from getting out.Andrew Marr's first novel is a gleefully twisted spin through the corridors of power.

Making full use of his unrivalled inside knowledge of the British political scene, Marr has threaded his wickedly clever thriller with a distinctive strand of pitch-black humour, to offer an irreverent glimpse behind the parliamentary curtain.