Review - I Invited Her In

Title:   I Invited Her In

Author:  Adele Parks

Genre:   Psychological Thriller

Publisher:   Mira Books

Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:  432

Date of Publication:  February 5, 2019

My Rating:  4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

Imagine the worst thing a friend could ever do.

This is worse. 

When Mel receives an unexpected email from her oldest friend Abi, it brings back memories she thought she had 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 each other, don’t they?

I Invited Her In is a blistering tale of wanting what you can’t have, jealousy, and revenge from Sunday Times best-seller Adele Parks. 

Link to purchase the book

MY THOUGHTS:

Melanie Field gets a surprising email from her oldest friend, Abigail Curtiz. It had been a lot of years, seventeen years in fact, but when Abi asks Mel for help, she simply cannot say no. When Mel finds out that Abi would like to stay with her for a few days, she is only glad to open her home. As a mother of three, and a husband, Mel is kept quite busy, but what else would you do for a friend?

Things certainly do not go as planned, as Mel soon finds out. At a girls' night, it is revealed that Abi is actually seeing someone - a much younger someone. This will ultimately affect Mel in a way that she never could have imagined.

What starts off as one thing quickly morphs into something far sinister in I Invited Her In. Abi finagles herself into a situation with such deceit that it literally rocks Mel to her very core. Mel and Abi were not on the same wave length back in college, and Mel had really hoped that their friendship could achieve a better balance. Unfortunately, as the story unfolds, that was never bound to happen. 

Mel seemed at a loss, as well as her husband Ben, to control things around them. So, the story took a rather unpleasant turn. I kept on pushing through the pages because I just had to know how things would turn out. Needless to say, I was indeed a bit surprised. Oh, there were some things that I sorted out, but there were others that I did not. 

I rather enjoyed this book by Adele Parks. Yes, as a mother, I watched the byplay closely, as who wouldn't briefly wonder what they might do in a similar situation. As a reader, I just had to see how the author would bring a resolution about. I kept at this book, pretty much in one sitting, because Ms. Parks had some fixing to do! I look forward to her next book.

Many thanks to Mira Books and to Edelweiss for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I was born in Teesside, NE England. Since graduating from Leicester University, where I studied English Language and Literature, I’ve worked in advertising and as a management consultant. In 2010 I was proud to be awarded an honorary doctorate of Letters from Teesside University.

I’ve always dreamed of being a writer and my first novel - Playing Away - was published in 2000; that year the Evening Standard identified me as one of London’s ‘Twenty Faces to Watch’, which was very nice of them!

I like to keep busy and am pretty flattered when I'm described as one of the most-loved and biggest-selling women’s fiction writers in the UK, (who wouldn’t like that?!) Three million copies of my UK editions have been sold and I’m translated into 26 different languages. I’ve published eighteen novels in eighteen years, and I'm lucky that they've all hit the bestseller lists. I have written 16 contemporary novels and two historical ones, Spare Brides and If You Go Away, set during and after WW1. All my novels examines issues that are important to us all. I like to scrutinize our concepts of family, our theories on love, parenting and fidelity with (I hope) honesty and humour. Whatever period I set my novels I’m known for examining the thorny issues of the lives people lead with my trademark, up-front, tell-it-as-it-is style.

I write numerous articles and short stories for national magazines and newspapers and often appear on radio and TV talking about my work and related matters. You know, basically a talking head. This works well for me as I'm very chatty and fairly opinionated. I think it's true to say once I get going, it’s quite hard to shut me up.

I passionately believe that reading is a basic right. I'm a proud Ambassador of The Reading Agency's Six Book Challenge, a scheme that encourages emerging adult readers who are becoming passionate about books. In 2008 I wrote a Quick Read, Happy Families as part of the celebrations of World Book Day, which went on to win Quick Read Learners’ Favourite Award, as voted for by the public.

I am a judge for the Costa Book Awards and The British Book Awards which is a great privilege and an amazing experience. During my career I've lived in Italy, Botswana and London. Now I live happily in Guildford, Surrey with my husband, teenage son and cat. I guess, that's it, so far...

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