Michael Waterhouse 
Ladder 

Can there ever be a clear-cut, unambiguous moment when life is so unbearable that helping someone to die is not only right, but an act of loving kindness? 'The Ladder’ begins on a remote Scottish island where Gary, a recent widower, is living under an assumed name. Wracked with doubts and fears, and a grief that often overwhelms him, he decides to design a lasting tribute to his lost wife, a celebration of her life and her love of colour. But will the memorial he creates arouse suspicions amongst the islanders and make them ask questions Gary would rather not answer? Michael Waterhouse’s first novel, 'Prodigal’, was recommended in 'The Times’ by Joan Bakewell as 'a first novel of enormous power. Inspirational.’