The Bee Sting

WINNER OF THE NERO BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION 2023 WINNER OF AN POST IRISH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WRITERS' PRIZE FOR FICTION 2024 ONE OF SARAH JESSICA PARKER'S BEST BOOKS OF 2023 Book of the Year 2023 according to New York Times, New Yorker, The Sunday Times, The Economist, Observer, Guardian, Washington Post, Lit Hub, TIME magazine, Irish Times, The Oldie, Daily Mail, i Paper, Independent, The Standard, The Times, Kirkus, Daily Express, City A.M. The Barnes family is in trouble. Dickie's once-lucrative car business is going under - but rather than face the music, he's 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?