Nothing is at is seems. Childhood cruelty is played out behind bushes. Both the living and the dead commute to Waterloo station. Staying in for the plumber turns into a potentially fatal waiting game. And in "The School of English", panic grips a household behind the stucco facade of a Nothing Hill mansion. All that is clear and constant in these bracingly subersive stories is Hilary Mantel's distinctive style and wit.