This was my first Adele Parks book (a Goldsboro Books Crime Collective pick for me), and it definitely won’t be my last.
Our Beautiful Mess centres on Connie and her family over Christmas – a time that should feel warm and familiar, but very quickly spirals into something far more complicated. Her daughter Fran returns home from university with a new boyfriend, and the news that she’s pregnant. From there, things unravel in a way that’s equal parts domestic drama and dark thriller.
What I Loved:
- The Pacing Really Builds
This is one of those books where the tension creeps up on you. The first half leans more into family dynamics and relationships, but it’s quietly setting everything in motion. Then the second half properly picks up pace and I found it hard to put down. Everything starts to collide in a way that feels intentional rather than chaotic. - Multiple Perspectives That Actually Add Something
We move between Connie, Fran, Zac, and others, and it works so well. You get a fuller picture of what’s actually going on, especially as different secrets start to surface. It also makes the characters feel more rounded, even when they’re making questionable decisions (which they often are). - How Neatly Everything Comes Together
For a plot with quite a very moving parts and different perspectives, I thought it was handled really well. By the end, all the threads are tied up in a way that feels satisfying and thought-through, rather than rushed or overly convenient.
My Thoughts
This sits somewhere between domestic drama and thriller. It’s less about constant twists and more about the slow unravelling of a family under pressure. There’s a strong focus on secrets, consequences, and how the past has a habit of resurfacing at the worst possible time.
The characters are definitely messy (true to the title), and make stupid decisions that are quite unlikeable, but that felt intentional. It adds to the tension, especially as their choices start to have bigger and bigger consequences.
There’s also an underlying theme around whether we repeat patterns from our past, and whether it’s actually possible to break out of them, which added some more depth to the story.
Overall, I’d give it 4.5 stars. It was a really engaging, well-paced domestic thriller, and provided me with a great first introduction to Adele Parks.
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