Irish writer Paul Murray catapults us right into the centre of a family drama in this novel. The Barnes family are on the cusp of their demise. Dickie Barnes is still grieving the death of his younger brother while facing the closure of the family business; his striking wife Imelda is furious to be the topic of the town’s gossip; their son PJ is finding comfort in anonymous online friends; and their daughter Cass is balancing complex friendships with getting accepted into university in Dublin. ‘The Bee Sting’ traces the painful scars that secrets, desire and shame can have on a family. Chapters are written from the perspective of each family member, which makes you fall in love with them equally (and curse them for their lack of communication with each other). It’s a pressure cooker of a novel that, at over 600 pages, you can really sink your teeth into. IM

Penguin