Published in September by Little, Brown
Garry Patter rubbed concealer on to his forehead scar and put in his contact lenses. This had been his morning ritual ever since he'd changed his name and moved to Pagford 15 years previously to escape the fans after his Hogwarts adventures. In the beginning he had rather enjoyed the anonymity; he had more cash than he could possibly spend after he transferred all his assets from Gringotts to an off-shore high interest account and he had never tired of watching the Jeremy Kyle Show.
But now ... He wasn't like Hermione who had happily given up her childhood notoriety for a comfortable life in the Cotswolds, where the highlight of the year was making jam for the school fete. Garry wanted excitement. Above all, he wanted to prove he wasn't just a child prodigy who had got a bit lucky with his magic wand.
"Where are you going?" asked Ginny, who was becoming increasingly concerned about her husband's mood swings.
"Out," Garry snapped, snatching his coat before heading off to the Tea Shop in the idyllic market square. He needed a plan. At first he had rather fancied reinventing himself as a hard-boiled urban sleuth: Garry Noir. But recently he had begun to entertain the idea of becoming a comic action hero. After all, the bank manager always laughed at his jokes, so he surely had the talent.
"Avada Kedavra," he said to himself, slapping his thigh with pleasure. "Why don't I do both? Why don't I open the Number 1 Wizard's Detective Agency and investigate non-events over a cup of tea?"
A commotion from the other side of the square interrupted his reverie. Perhaps someone had parked illegally in a resident's bay. Garry crossed the cobbles to discover Barry Fairweather, the head of the town's parish council, had dropped dead on the pavement. "Oh dear," said Garry, "I had no idea the Unforgivable Curse still worked. But at least Barry's death has given me my first non-investigation."
"You're looking very happy," said Ginny, delighted to see Garry had emerged from his Black Three-Headed Dog.
"And so I am. I have this curious feeling I'm about to embark on a series of dull adventures that are going to shake Pagford to the core and finally rid me of my childhood curse."
"That's nice, dear. But you will be home in time for supper, won't you?"
"Of course. But given the marketing spend, I wouldn't rule out a sequel."