Bonnie, has given up her life as a musician to become a stay-at-home mum. She tells herself she has no regrets, but sometimes the isolation and the relentless demands of three small children threaten to swamp the love between Bonnie and her partner, Pete.

Then an old mate Pete's arrives. Doug is eccentric and intrusive, and his unsettling presence disrupts Bonnie's world further. Yet as the cracks really start to show in the life Bonnie and Pete have built together, it seems the dangers might also come frin within.

House of Sticks is a revealing portrait of contemporary family life, its joys and compromises, and how quickly things can unravel. It's about trying to stay connected in out disconnected society; a story of identity and community, loyalty and love.

'Brilliant. Peggy Frew is a superb writer, and this is a remarkably confident debut.' CLARE BOWDITCH