Adele Parks is no stranger to a gripping domestic drama. As the author of 25 thrillers in as many years, she has built a reputation for twisty, emotionally charged stories about families and their secrets which all but turn the pages for you.
So which domestic thrillers have her hooked? As she releases her latest novel, Our Beautiful Mess, Parks shares the books that have shaped her life and writingâŚ
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
âWhen dedicated wife and mother Joy Delaney suddenly disappears, the entire family are pushed under the microscope. In the process, Moriarty employs a classic trope of presenting a perfect family, only to reveal thereâs no such thing.
âJoy leaves behind her an apparently devoted, newly retired husband (but he has a temper) and her four bewildered adult children; the offspring are a source of frustration because whilst no one ever says it out loud, none of them has ever reached their full potential. Despite their age, they now appear vulnerable and hapless as they re-examine their parentsâ marriage. I love this novel for its playful unexpectedness.â
Penguin, ÂŁ9.99
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
âA familiar pick for many, Gone Girl is a story about a wife who is missing, and the husband who is naturally the main suspect. Statistics show that he ought to be â and heâs certainly no saint.
âBut the truth is far more complex. This novel is magnificently constructed, skilfully paced and ultimately horrifying. The reader is invited to be a voyeur on a hideously dysfunctional marriage; be absorbed in unexpected plot twists and be torn and tantalised by contradictory stories. I loved this when it came out (and since!) because itâs packed with âWhat theâŚ?!â moments.â
W&N, ÂŁ10.99
Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller
âI canât dress it up: the protagonists in this novel are unlikeable. These two teachers are not people Iâd want to be friends with. Barbara is embittered, self-deceiving, manipulative, vengeful and cruel. Sheba is emotionally unstable and whilst charming and eccentric enough to initially beguile, she is at the end of the day, an adulterer who has a relationship with a 16-year-old boy.
âWhilst technically not illegal in the UK, it is for many readers an incredibly uncomfortable thing to digest. Nonetheless, this perceptive, surprising novel resists knee-jerk conventional moral judgements because the unlikeable protagonists are totally convincing â powerful, persuasive and utterly fascinating.â
Penguin, ÂŁ9.99
Remember Me by Charity Norman
âTwenty-five years ago, Leah Parata vanished. She was a bright and beautiful member of a small close-knit community in a New Zealand town and her disappearance left an aching void. Emily was the last person to see her alive and that has haunted her, so much so that to escape the lingering memory of the tragedy Emily moved to England.
âDecades later, Emily returns to New Zealand to care for her father who has dementia. As his memory fades and his guard slips, she begins to glimpse shattering truths about his past. Are secrets best left buried? This is such a sensitive, beautifully written exploration of a father-daughter relationship and the void left by those who vanish.â
Allen Unwin, ÂŁ9.99
Nesting by Roisin OâDonnell
âOn a bright spring afternoon in Dublin, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision to change her life. Grabbing an armful of clothes from the washing line, she straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away from her controlling partner. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe.
âBut escaping from Ryan is not easy. This novel sensitively details the struggle to separate, stay on course and find a new beginning despite the overwhelming odds of homelessness, dwindling savings, isolation from family support and a manipulative ex. A tense, beautiful exploration of love, courage and resilience, this is a stunning debut. I canât recommend highly enough.
Scribner, ÂŁ16.99
âOur Beautiful Messâ by Adele Parks is published by HQ, ÂŁ16.99
