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Four Terrible Parents

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Four Terrible Parents

By: Calla Henkel
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About this listen

They thought with four parents, nothing could go wrong.

Once famous, indie-sleaze rock stars Valentine and Raul are now in their forties and their priorities are shifting. Valentine wants a family with her on-and-off partner Linh. Raul wants to marry his boyfriend Banner. They both know it's time to get out of Berlin, but Valentine, who wants it all - doesn't want to let their band go.

When Valentine's father dies, she inherits a Southern gothic hotel and it feels like fate. Val convinces Raul and Banner, and her partner Linh, to move to South Carolina to renovate the crumbling and possibly haunted hotel. There they will build an alternative family and raise a child together. With four parents, no one would have to compromise their entire identity. They could all still be artists. All able to live fully.

But as the four of them navigate their new home and welcome their daughter, August, into the world, their relationships start to tilt. On the night of the hotel's grand opening, what's meant to be an evening of celebration turns into a nightmare as August goes missing.

Soon the parents turn on each other. And then the world turns on them.

Stylish, twisty and laced with dark humour, Four Terrible Parents is a story of power, love, and starting again.©2026 Calla Henkel (P)2026 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction

Critic Reviews

Incredibly charming, fun and relentlessly whipsmart . . . Brilliant (Kim Gordon, singer of Sonic Youth and author of)
Praise for Calla Henkel
Blackly humorous and enjoyably twisted (Paula Hawkins, author of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN)
A sparkling debut . . . a very good plot-driven thriller dressed in a glittery jumpsuit
Brutal, glamorous and genuinely unpredictable, it will blow your mind until the very last page
Hugely entertaining
Other People's Clothes is a gritty take on toxic female friendships . . . Expect a slow burn that's deliciously dark
Thrilling
Calla Henkel's Other People's Clothes is darkly funny, psychologically rich and utterly addictive. I couldn't stop turning the pages as this witty, harrowing tale of twisty female friendships, slippery identity and furtive secrets unfolded. This is a debut you won't want to miss (Megan Abbott, author of THE TURNOUT)
A knotted mystery too intriguing to leave unpicked (Alice Slater, author of DEATH OF A BOOKSELLER)
Binge-worthy . . . a brilliantly immersive and almost cinematic experience (Jenny Mustard, author of OKAY DAYS)
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