I Invited Her In

by Adele Parks

Overview

Imagine the worst thing a friend could ever do.

This is worse.

When Mel receives an unexpected email from her eldest friend Abi, it brings back memories she thought she’d buried forever. Their friendship belonged in the past. To those carefree days at university.

But Abi is in trouble and needs Mel’s help, and she wants a place to stay. Just for a few days while she sorts things out. It’s the least Mel can do.

After all, friends look out for one another, don’t they?

I Invited Her In is a blistering tale of wanting what you can’t have, jealousy and revenge.

Don't miss Woman Last Seen from #1 Sunday Times bestseller Adele Parks.

Looking for more? Check out these other thrilling reads from Adele Parks:
Lies, Lies, Lies
Just My Luck

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780778389262
Publisher:	MIRA Books
Publication date:	03/31/2020
Edition description:	First Time Paperback
Pages:	544
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 7.40(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Adele Parks was born in Teesside, North East England. Her first novel, Playing Away, was published in 2000, and since then she's had seventeen international bestsellers, translated into twenty-six languages. She's been an ambassador for The Reading Agency and a judge for the Costa Book Awards, and is a keen supporter of The National Literary Trust. She's lived in Italy, Botswana and London and is now settled in Guildford, Surrey, with her husband, son and cat.

Editorial Reviews

11/19/2018
In 1999, when Melanie Harrison, the heroine of this underwhelming psychological thriller from British author Parks (Playing Away), dropped out of university after becoming pregnant after a one-night stand, she lost touch with her best friend, Abigail Curtiz. Seventeen years later, Mel is living comfortably in Wolvney, England, with her doting husband, Ben, and their three kids. Out of nowhere, she receives an email from Abi, who explains that she’s getting a divorce from her cheating husband and moving back to the U.K. from America. Mel invites Abi to stay in her home indefinitely, and Abi eagerly accepts. After spending years in suburbia, Mel can’t help becoming infatuated with the glamorous Abi, who interviews celebrities for a living and loves sharing the details of her sex life. Soon, however, Mel gets the impression that Abi wants more than just a place to stay and time to reconnect. Parks generates some tension by switching among the perspectives of Mel, Abi, and Ben, but stock characters and predictable plot developments make this a lesser effort. Agent: Jonny Geller, Curtis Brown. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

2018-11-14

A middle-aged British woman invites an old friend for an open-ended visit, wreaking chaos in her own family, in this twisty domestic thriller.

Melanie Harrison is startled to receive an email from Abigail Curtiz, a woman she lost touch with nearly two decades earlier. Abi's email explains that she is in the midst of an ugly divorce, and she would like to reconnect. Melanie and Abi have led very different lives in the years since they lost touch. Melanie quit school to raise the baby she had at age 19, while Abi found professional success and moved to California with her handsome, wealthy husband. Abi's Hollywood life was enviable until she caught her husband cheating with a younger woman. When Melanie learns the circumstances of the divorce, she feels compelled to provide sanctuary for Abi and invites her for a visit. Melanie is proud of the turns her own life has taken and looks forward to showing off her good luck to her friend. She's married to a wonderful man named Ben, with whom she's had two adorable children. Unfortunately, once Abi moves her suitcase into the Harrisons' spare room, Melanie's picture-perfect life begins to disintegrate. Ben is suddenly irritable all the time, and Melanie finds herself falling under Abi's indescribable spell, drinking, gossiping, and shirking her responsibilities. As Abi's stay draws on, secrets begin to emerge in the Harrison house and tensions rise until so much of Melanie's life begins to feel precarious. Melanie's attempts to impress her old friend could end up destroying the life she has worked so hard to create. Told from multiple perspectives in witty and often conversational prose, the story starts jauntily enough but becomes increasingly ominous. The author builds suspense by exposing the holes in ostensibly strong character relationships, creating an addictive page-turner as readers wait for the other shoe to drop over and again. Although many plot points could be deemed predictable, there are enough surprises to keep readers aggressively engaged. Full of details about life in the suburbs of London, the story is full of emotional insights about parenting, marriage, and personal legacies.

A smart, suspenseful tale about love, betrayal, and the illusion of happiness.

Kirkus Reviews