I Invited Her In

In my opinion...

I’ve had a bumper crop of psychological thrillers to review recently, and it’s been great! Some with similar titles, and, bizarrely, a similar concept of someone coming into your home/invading your space, but there the similarities end. This novel heads into the region of domestic noir, and as Adele Parks says, her style is to 'tell-it-as-it-is', and she certainly does that.

Parks is an experienced story teller, and it shows. Her characters are credible, the story line is very contemporary. Who hasn’t been excited to reconnect whether through Facebook or some school reunion link with friends from the past? Mel’s kindness and tolerance towards Abi are believable, even a touch of hero worship is thrown in.

As time goes on though, without wanting to give any of the plot away, I did find myself telling Mel to listen to the lovely Ben and toughen up.

I found my credulity was tested a little towards the end of the novel, but it is a story after all, and the ending tied up loose ends and satisfied me.

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When Mel hears from a long-lost friend in need of help, she doesn’t hesitate to invite her to stay. Mel and Abi were best friends back in the day, sharing the highs and lows of student life, until Mel’s unplanned pregnancy made her drop out of her studies.

Now, seventeen years later, Mel and Abi’s lives couldn’t be more different. Mel is happily married, having raised her son on her own before meeting her husband, Ben. Now they share gorgeous girls and have a chaotic but happy family home, with three children.

Abi, meanwhile, followed her lover to LA for a glamorous life of parties, celebrity and indulgence. Everything was perfect, until she discovered her partner had been cheating on her. Seventeen years wasted, and nothing to show for it. So what Abi needs now is a true friend to lean on, to share her grief over a glass of wine, and to have some time to heal. And what better place than Mel’s house, with her lovely kids, and supportive husband…

This dark, unsettling tale of the reunion of long-lost friends is thoroughly gripping exploration of wanting what you can’t have, jealousy and revenge from Sunday Times bestseller Adele Parks.

I was drinking...

A glass of French red, surrounded by dogs, in front of a log fire as I read this book- a great way to spend an autumnal Sunday afternoon.

My rating...

A pleasing 4 glasses of bubbles

Thank you to Harper Collins & HQ Stories for my ARC

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