Both of You: The stunning psychological domestic crime thriller from the Sunday Times Number One bestselling author of Just Between Us

I don’t usually write reviews but was so disappointed with this book I felt I should save people wasting their money & time!!!Read a few by this author and always enjoyed them so was looking forward to this! Such a shame! It was terrible!!!! Very repetitive!!! HowMany times do you need to mention the bucket of poo (ha ha…. Tedious) the ending was the worst ending to a story!!! Like the writerGot bored and just gave up!!! Really really poor!!! Worst book of the year for me!!!

I have been reading books for more than eighty years, and I can confidently say that the first work of fiction I ever read, “Mr. Bunnykins Builds a Bung’lo”, towers in literary accomplishment, and in many more aspects, over the most recent, “Both of You”, by Adele Parks. I can give her novel two awards: It has the most ludicrously unlikely plot I have ever come across, and the worst ending. It concludes with the words “The End”, and I turned the page in the expectation that this was one of the “twists of plot” made so much of by admirers of the book – but it wasn’t. As other reviewers have commented, it is as if Adele Parks just got fed up with the book (which one can well understand) and decided to cut and run. A waste of money, and, at my time of life, of two or three hours that could have been better spent.

I have read a lot of Adele Parks books and usually enjoy them. But this latest one was a real let down. I didn't like the main character, Leigh, at all. I found her shallow and unbelievable. It is hard to write a review without spoilers, so I will just say that Leigh is married to Mark and has two step sons. But nothing in her life is as it seems. The truth about her starts unfolding when she disappears, but I really didn't care about her. I read the book to the end but sadly it didn't improve.

This is the fifth novel I have read by Adele Parks, but it is her 21st novel in as many years and how she keeps coming up with new ideas is beyond me!Both of You is the story of two missing married women, Leigh Fletcher and Kai Janssen, and a female police officer, DS Clements, who gets a gut feeling that there might be a link between the two disappearances.As usual, Parks’s writing style is fluid and addictive, and her characters, especially the female ones, are brilliantly fleshed out and depicted. There’s a fantastic twist early on that had me reeling in shock and admiration!I guessed who the villain was, but this in no way spoilt my enjoyment of the novel, and there were a few serious contenders for the role of the baddie, so I could just as easily have got it wrong! I found the ending a little sudden, but this might have been because I didn’t want the story to end! The title fits the book perfectly.I would definitely recommend this psychological thriller! An easy 5 stars from me.

Rating: 3.4/5Adele Parks' previous novel, "Just My Luck" was one of my favourite reads of 2020, so I was very much looking forward to getting my hands on her latest offering. "Both of You" is an enjoyable, (mostly) well-paced and, at times, ludicrously amusing read, but it doesn't hit the high notes in the way that "Just My Luck" managed to do.It is difficult to touch directly on much of the plot without disclosing spoilers, so I will refer you to the official synopsis as an outline rather than risking further details here. Suffice to say that the very premise of the story does require the reader to buy into an unlikely, but just about plausible scenario. I was quite happy to grant the author the necessary artistic licence and allow myself to be carried along with the entertaining storyline that she was creating.The cast of characters are almost exclusively either dislikeable or unlikeable, but that is very much the essence of what makes this fun to read ... they deserve their comeuppance and there is a crude joy in watching it unfold. There is a mystery element underpinning the plotline too. Adele Parks throws in some red herrings and deliberate misdirection, but seasoned readers of the genre will have pieced together most of the puzzle by the time the solution is officially revealed.Although I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of the novel (I do find Adele Parks' writing style quite engaging), I was a touch disappointed by the final 10-15% of the book. Developments had been so carefully constructed prior to that point, but then it suddenly all seemed a bit rushed. It was a little reminiscent of long-running serial dramas on television, when the scriptwriters have clearly been informed that there will be no subsequent series, so they need to swiftly tie up any loose ends in the final two episodes.Overall, this was an enjoyable romp and I will no doubt be back for the author's next piece of work.

I usually enjoy Adele Parks' books as an easy bedtime read. As such I had high hopes for 'Both of You'. The plot was somewhat unlikely; I guessed quite early who the 'aggressor' was - but it was still OK, until the last couple of chapters. The end was very abrupt. I couldn't believe that there were no more pages to read on my Kindle! Very annoying and a literary let down.

Well hello...after reading this juicy delight I’m in need of a cocktail stat!🍹Adele Parks never ceases to amaze with her writing! Thank you for providing us with another number one best seller! I won’t give away anything but once you start you WILL NOT be able to walk away from this beautifully, cleverly twisty novel!