‘I Invited Her In’ Is Diabolically Clever [REVIEW]

When Abigail Curtiz reached out from the distant past, I made a mistake. I invited her in. (Photo by John Fraissinet, Flickr)

Seventeen years ago, they were inseparable. But then an unexpected pregnancy sent their lives in two different directions. One found domestic bliss at home while the other reveled in a life of glitz and glamour abroad, until the ultimate betrayal reunites the two women once more. All too quickly, they each find that life has a way of changing people… and not for the better. Brace yourself for a new foray into psychological terror and discover why some friendships should never be rekindled in Adele Parks’ I Invited Her In.

Mira

When Mel first reads her email, she thinks she’s being pranked. After all, she hasn’t heard from her old uni friend, Abigail Curtiz in ages. Once upon a time, they’d been fast friends, sharing everything with one another. Of course, that all changed when her son Liam came along after a one night stand and she was forced to leave school to raise a child as a single mom.

Abi, on the other hand, went on to become a successful television presenter in the States. By all accounts, she has an enviable life:  she has a sexy husband who keeps her in the lap of luxury and she can frequently be found schmoozing with the rich and famous. But when she finds her husband in bed with another woman, she reaches across the divide of time to the one friend she knows she can rely on.

These days, Mel has a comfortable life as a wife to a very doting husband, Ben. Not only has he adopted Liam on as his own, but together Mel and Ben have two beautiful daughters of their own. Life is good, and Mel feels compelled to invite Abi into their lives to help her heal from such an unexpected and crushing revelation. After all, that’s what good friends do for one another, no matter how much time has passed, right? As I Invited Her In unfolds, Mel will live to regret her hospitality in more ways than one, and will wish she kept the door to her happy life locked tight. Because sometimes the old adage is true: the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Adele Parks is widely known across the pond and is one of the bestselling female novelists in the UK. Although she isn’t a household name in the States yet, I Invited Her In is sure to do much to secure her a place on the American bestseller lists too. While this is a story that has obviously been done before in one manner or another (films like Single White Female and All About Eve come to mind), it pits an unsuspecting woman against one who is both devious and malicious. Still, this doesn’t mean Parks’ story isn’t fresh.

Here, she captures our imaginations with characters we would love to know and spend time with and others we’d simply like to throw the book at… literally. This is the mark of a gifted wordsmith though, because she effectively manipulates our emotions and makes us care, even as we see the train wreck inevitably coming and are powerless to stop it. In short, it is the kind of story I could easily have seen Hitchcock enamored by because it is rich in atmospheric detail (even if Parks does admittedly get a bit wordy at times), where darkness lurks behind every corner and the sweetest face is merely a facade to hide encroaching evil.

Fans of J.T. Ellison, Joy Fielding and Anna Snoekstra will relish this latest addition to the genre of women’s suspense fiction. I Invited Her In is taut, vibrant, terrifying and diabolically clever. It’s a story that will haunt you long after the last page is turned and will have you wondering just how well you know the people you trust most.

Adele Parks

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 17 international bestsellers, translated into 26 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.

Readers may visit Adele at her home on the Web at AdeleParks.com. You may also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

I INVITED HER IN
By Adele Parks
448 pp. Mira. $16.99

Purchase I Invited Her In at one of these fine online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Harlequin, and IndieBound.

I Invited Her In is brought to you in association with TLC Book Tours.