Left at Number 17

From the bestselling author of “Do They Know It’s Christmas Yet?” comes a sharply funny, big-hearted festive novella about neighbours, second chances, and one very expensive Jiffy bag.

If anyone on Laurel Drive dared to feel festive on the first Monday in December, a small red card through the letterbox reminded them there were new Christmas rules.

Dennis at Number 17 — facing his first Christmas as a widower — has “seasonalised” the street’s deliveries into a nightly Parcel Hub: tickets, passwords, tea, order. For Dennis, turning Laurel Drive into a system isn’t just efficient; it’s his way of keeping the neighbours looking out for each other.

It almost works — until Christmas Eve, when Michael jumps the queue with a panicked lie about a proposal and discovers the parcel he’s desperate for… isn’t there.

A chancer courier has pocketed a tiny Jiffy.

Dennis (who just wants the world to line up with the doorframe) and Michael (who definitely isn’t proposing) head out to retrieve it.

They find a faltering Mini, a wonky market stall, and a woman who made one bad choice — roughly the size of Dennis’s own, once upon a time.

Back on Laurel Drive, the neighbours keep the Hub moving, Davina the Labrador keeps the peace, and everyone keeps proving that Christmas chaos is easiest survived together.

Perfect for fans of:

• Richard Curtis

• Nick Hornby

• Beth O’Leary

• Warm, witty British comedy with real heart

Inside you’ll find:

• A street running Christmas like a system (passwords, queue tickets, tea).

• A missing-parcel road trip.

• A twenty-second voice note that lands exactly where it should.

• Festive chaos, found family, and laughter with a lump in the throat.

• Zero schmaltz. Maximum heart.

James Crookes is a bestselling comedy author, known for twenty years of making people laugh on breakfast radio.