The 12 short stories that make up American Housewife feature a range of eccentric characters: two combative residents of an apartment block who communicate only in increasingly volatile emails; a struggling author participating in a reality TV show; an anxious wife who fears a customer may attempt to seduce her husband; an expert bra fitter; a woman who helps child beauty pageant queens escape from pushy parents.

What each of the stories share is a darkly comic sensibility underpinned by a heartbeat of female frustration, anger and even madness. Some stories are more successful than others – Dumpster Driving With the Stars is undoubtedly the comedy highlight – but overall this is a collection of funny, sharply observed and often disturbing tales about the psyche of the American housewife pulsing just below the surface of social respectability.

American Housewife is published by Simon & Schuster (£12.99). Click here to buy it for £10.39