Racing the Moon, by Terry Prone (Coronet, £5.99 in UK)

This story begins with a pair of twins growing up in a conservative Dublin suburb; Sophia the polite one, pretty one, Darcy the overweight one who always does the unexpected. But the unexpected is the norm in this sassy, sharp, smart tale of contemporary Ireland which takes nothing for granted as it sails towards a happy ending - of sorts. Prone knows her stuff when it comes to the ethics - or lack of them - of the public relations business, and some readers will happily peruse the prose for traces of her very public profile of the past (one of the characters here, a not-terribly-pleasant PR magnate, is nicknamed Prostate, a nice touch) but everybody else can just relax and enjoy the fun in an entertaining, fast-paced, often hilarious debut.