This month, bestselling author and MBE Adele Parks shares the books she’s reading, with more than one that will transport you to a holiday destination. Enjoy a Victoria-era romance mystery, a dark debut about a patriarchy-free existence, and a suspenseful hotel whodunnit.
PLATINUM EXPERT Adele Parks MBE
AGREATREAD
Adele Parks MBE is the author of 23 bestselling novels including her latest release Just Between Us, which is now out in paperback. She is expecting a very exciting month as one of her novels, The Image Of You, has been adapted into a movie. She is dedicated to spreading the love of reading and is proud ambassador of The National Literacy Trust and The Reading Agency. She loves hearing from readers so keep in touch with her via X @adeleparks, or at instagram.com/adele_parks.
THE MIDNIGHT FEASTby Lucy Foley (£18.99, HarperCollins)
This book is set around midsummer, on the Dorset coast. The uber-wealthy and elite guests gather for the opening of The Manor hotel. It’s a beautiful, aspirational, new-age sort of place. I totally believed I was mooching around the spa and bars, sunlight on my shoulders, Champagne running through my veins, such is Foley’s ability to write transportive descriptions. However, it soon becomes apparent that the hotel is built on a foundation of secrets and suffering. As a result, not all the guests are there to have a good time. Somebody must be held accountable for a crime committed long ago and that inevitably leads to fresh horror and violence. I’m treading very carefully here as I try to avoid giving anything away about this tightly structured mystery. Told from multiple viewpoints, The Midnight Feast delivers Foley’s now signature tension and suspense but is also a little bit creepy as something chilling and not quite tangible is at play. I greedily turned the pages of this marvellous exploration of exploitative friendships and the mistakes of youth. Tense, different and chilling.
OUR HOLIDAYby Louise Candlish (£9.99, HarperCollins)
Affluent Londoners Charlotte and Perry always enjoy long summers at Cliff View, their gorgeous holiday home overlooking the turquoise waters of Pine Ridge. Now their friends Amy and Linus have bought a property nearby too. The two women (if not their husbands) are looking forward to idyllic, lazy weeks of sun, sea and sipping rosé together. But out-of-towners who can afford these seaside properties are pushing up the prices for locals, who are becoming increasingly desperate. A rising tide of resentment towards
