Our Beautiful Mess
Published on 28. August 2025
Book
Hardback
448 pages
978-0-00-858637-9 (ISBN)
Description
'Adele Parks consistently writes banger after banger, and Our Beautiful Mess might just be her best yet. Addictive and brilliant' Lisa Jewell
'What a ride ... Jaw-dropping, masterful, incredible' Five Star Reader Review
'Wow. An absolute rollercoaster. I could not put it down' Five Star Reader Review
* * * * *
Connie is determined to bring her family together, but 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.
* * * * *
'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
'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
'What a ride ... Jaw-dropping, masterful, incredible' Five Star Reader Review
'Wow. An absolute rollercoaster. I could not put it down' Five Star Reader Review
* * * * *
Connie is determined to bring her family together, but 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.
* * * * *
'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
'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
Reviews / Votes
Praise for Our Beautiful Mess'This is Adele's most epic book yet. Such a thrilling and emotional read' Georgina Moore
'Brilliantly observed, action packed, intriguing mystery where small mistakes turn into life threatening situations on the flip of a coin' Liz Nugent
'Few writers leave us stunned by the brightest twists and darkest turns of life quite like Adele Parks. Through the shocks of this tale runs, as ever, a rich seam of human frailty and love. Irresistible' Rachel Edwards
'Thrillingly tense and kept me guessing...addictive, beautifully written family drama' Carmel Harrington
'This book has it all: an engrossing and emotional plot and characters you truly believe exist beyond its pages. Unforgettable' Gillian McAllister
'A wild ride with a huge heart. Nobody combines domestic dilemmas with edge-of-your-seat plotting like Adele Parks' Abigail Dean
'Thrilling, riveting and engrossing' Milly Johnson
'A wickedly twisty story about dangerous family secrets and lies. A fire-cracker.' Louise Minchin
'A truly brilliant and shocking family drama, tense, explosive and tender. I think this might be Adele's best yet' Elly Griffiths
'25 years of this and Adele is still as brilliant, skilled and warm as ever. Her work has inspired me so much - as a young woman trying to make sense of the world, a woman trying to escape it and then one who wants to celebrate life and all of its complexities' Giovanna Fletcher
'Parks' 25th book in as many years reminds us why she is the reigning queen of domestic suspense' iPaper
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 41 mm
Weight
676 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-858637-9 (9780008586379)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Adele Parks MBE was born in North Yorkshire. She is the author of 25 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.
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.