A posh Irish family falls apart in this piognant novel by Paul Murray. Dickie Barnes has run the family car dealership business for years, but when it falls on tough times his life begins to malfunction. His wife Imelda sinks into memories for her youthful love for Dickie’s deceased brother. Cass their daughter, wants more than anything to escape to university.

 Dickie is spending his days in the woods, building an apocalypse-proof bunker with a renegade handyman. His wife Imelda is selling off her jewellery on eBay while their teenage daughter Cass, formerly top of her class, seems determined to binge-drink her way to her final exams. And twelve-year-old PJ is putting the final touches to his grand plan to run away from home.

Where did it all go wrong? A patch of ice on the tarmac, a casual favour to a charming stranger, a bee caught beneath a bridal veil?

Can a single moment of bad luck change the direction of a life? And if the story has already been written – is there still time to find a happy ending?

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, Penguin, £9.99