Everything is Ruined - Nathan Stone

Larry Cummings' entire life is a greasy disappointment. His dreams of becoming a world-famous P.I. are burning in the deep-fat fryer while he spends long days serving chicken of questionable origin to an ungrateful public.

Then, a chance encounter with provocative local artist Maxine Glover, a ghost from his distant past, and recent winner of the Turner Prize, changes everything.

The police see an open-and-shut case...

...Larry sees a chance at redemption.

But digging beneath the polished, perfect lives of his old school friends, he finds more than he imagined. Now, to clear his name, he must navigate a world of suburban secrets and festering grudges, where the only thing more toxic than the chicken is the truth.