The Last Stop Video Shop

Synopsis

Kevin Kershaw is on the achy side of fifty, divorced, and spends his days processing insurance claims. It’s a far cry from the wondrous future he imagined as a teenager.

Then, one random day, as Kevin drifts through his joyless existence, he stumbles upon a shop that defies belief — possibly the last remaining video shop in England. He eventually ventures in and meets the enigmatic shopkeeper, who presents Kevin with a VHS tape.

Curious, Kevin agrees to watch the tape, and then sits in disbelief as the static clears to reveal a bittersweet childhood memory featuring his late mother — one he knows with absolute certainty was never recorded.

That miracle, as Kevin learns, is a membership perk of The Last Stop Video Shop, but it comes with a caveat — watch one tape, and another will appear.

Faced with the impossible, Kevin must decide whether he’s willing to replay more haunting moments from his life… or press eject on it altogether.

The Last Stop Video Shop is a poignant, darkly humorous novel about faltering relationships, abandoned dreams, and a man quietly running out of road.

About This Book

The Last Stop Video Shop is a departure from Keith’s usual territory. It’s darker, quieter, and more introspective than his time travel comedies — though it shares their fascination with memory, regret, and the roads not taken. At its heart, it’s a novel about a man confronting the gap between the life he imagined and the one he ended up with.

The premise is deceptively simple: a mysterious video shop that plays back moments from your life on VHS tapes — moments that were never filmed. What unfolds is a story about grief, family, wasted potential, and whether it’s ever too late to change direction. It’s the kind of book that sneaks up on you emotionally.

Readers have described it as magical realism in the truest sense — the impossible treated as matter-of-fact, in service of something deeply human. The VHS conceit gives it a layer of analogue nostalgia that sits perfectly alongside the themes of a man looking backwards when he should be looking forwards.

Who Is This Book For?

The Last Stop Video Shop will appeal to readers who enjoy emotionally resonant fiction with a speculative twist — books that make you feel something and stay with you after the last page. It’s a natural fit for fans of magical realism, midlife fiction, and stories about grief, memory, and second chances.

If you’ve enjoyed novels by Matt Haig, Fredrik Backman, or Rachel Joyce — stories where something quietly impossible happens to an ordinary person and changes everything — this book is in that tradition. It also appeals to readers who loved Keith’s earlier work but want something with more emotional weight and fewer laughs (though the dark humour is still very much present).

It’s a standalone novel with no connection to any of Keith’s other books or series.

What Makes This Book Different?

Long-time readers of Keith’s work will notice a shift in tone. This isn’t a romp through the 1980s with a wisecracking narrator. Kevin Kershaw is a more complex, more troubled protagonist than Craig Pelling or Danny Monk — a man who has boxed himself into a cheerless middle age and isn’t entirely sure he deserves a way out. The humour is still there, but it’s darker, drier, and earned.

The concept — a video shop that plays back your memories on VHS — is one of Keith’s most original ideas. It taps into something universal: the desire to revisit the past, and the danger of doing so when the present needs your attention.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is The Last Stop Video Shop a time travel novel?
No, not in any conventional sense. Nobody physically travels through time. The book uses a magical realism premise — VHS tapes that play back unrecorded memories — to explore themes of grief, nostalgia, and regret. If you’re looking for a label, magical realism or speculative literary fiction fits best.

Is this book connected to The ’86 Fix, Clement, or any of Keith’s other series?
No. The Last Stop Video Shop is a completely standalone novel.

Is it funny?
It has Keith’s characteristic dark humour, but this is a more emotionally driven book than his earlier work. Early readers have described it as poignant and life-affirming, with moments of genuine sadness. If you’re expecting the same tone as The ’86 Fix, be aware this is a different beast — though no less rewarding.

Is The Last Stop Video Shop available as an audiobook?
The audiobook is expected in late April 2026. The ebook is available now, with the paperback due before 20th February 2026.

Who would enjoy this book most?
Anyone who has ever looked back on their life and wondered where the time went. It particularly resonates with readers in their forties and fifties — people who recognise the quiet creep of unfulfilled potential. But its themes of grief, family, and the courage to change are universal.