Our Beautiful Mess
'Had me gripped from beginning to end. Masterfully written with gut-punching twists and brimming with tension this is Adele Parks’ best book yet. Absolutely outstanding’ Claire Douglas
*****
Connie is determined to host the perfect Christmas. But as all her family come together, explosive revelations and long-held secrets are set to destroy everything important in her world …
Connie can’t wait to have her daughters back home for the holidays. Fran is bringing a new boyfriend to stay, and the empty nest will once again be full of friends, family and young love.
Yet from the moment she sees Zac, Connie knows trouble is coming. Zac reminds her of the worst mistake she has ever made: a man whose charm and good looks nearly destroyed her marriage. She doesn’t want him in Fran’s world, but then Fran announces she’s pregnant.
Connie is terrified that her past is going to threaten her family’s future, but there’s a greater menace looming. She’s not the only one who has something to hide. Someone in the house has another devastating secret. A deception which will put everyone Connie loves in shocking danger, and one of them will pay the ultimate price.
Number One bestseller Adele Parks returns with an explosive and deeply emotional family drama which explores the lengths a parent will go to protect a child; for there’s nothing stronger than a woman whose family is under threat.
*****
‘Adele Parks has done it again. Grabbed me from page one and kept me there on the edge of my seat. Superb writing as ever. She simply gets better and better and better. You have to read this book!’ Ruth Jones
An Observer Thriller of the Month ‘A great read’
'A barnstorming novel' The Times
‘My favourite Adele Parks novel yet! So brilliant, so compelling, so tense! The suspense builds and builds until the breathless conclusion. Utterly thrilling from start to finish’ Lucy Clarke
‘Our Beautiful Mess leaps straight to the top of my Adele Parks rankings – wise, intelligent, compassionate, with a masterful pulse of menace throughout. Utterly immersive’ Louise Candlish
‘Breathe while you can. Adele Parks is back with a heart-in-mouth thriller that will have you frantically turning the pages’ C L Taylor
‘An addictive tale of family dynamics with layers of tension that grip relentlessly. A superbly crafted, thrilling ride’ K L Slater
‘No-one does ‘family noir’ quite like Adele Parks and Our Beautiful Mess is an absolute masterclass – as one terrible mistake leaves a woman’s perfect life hanging by a thread’ T. M. Logan
'Our Beautiful Mess grabs you from page one and keeps you glued to the edge of your seat until the final sentence. Deliciously dark and addictive' Crime Monthly
'This well-plotted explosive family drama, with superb characterisation, is layered with tension and its pulse-raising dilemmas will have you on the edge of your seat' Sunday Times
Adele Parks MBE was born in North Yorkshire. She is the author of 24 bestselling novels including the Sunday Times bestsellers Just Between Us and One Last Secret. Over five million copies of her work have been sold in English and her books have been translated into 31 languages.
Adele’s Sunday Times Number One bestsellers Lies Lies Lies and Just My Luck were shortlisted for the British Book Awards. She also won two Nielsen Bestseller Awards, the RNA Outstanding Achievement Award, the Capital Crime Fingerprint Award and a Quick Read Learners’ Favourite Award.
Adele has written for many national newspapers and magazines, and was an Executive Producer on Paramount’s feature film adaptation of her novel, The Image of You.
She is an ambassador of the National Literacy Trust and the Reading Agency: two charities that promote literacy in the UK.
In 2022 she was awarded an MBE for services to literature.