Review: The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

A mesmerizing debut psychological thriller full of delicious twists about a coolly manipulative woman who worms her way into the lives of a wealthy “golden couple” from Connecticut to achieve the privileged life she wants.

Amber Patterson is fed up. She’s tired of being a nobody: a plain, invisible woman who blends into the background. She deserves more—a life of money and power like the one blond-haired, blue-eyed goddess Daphne Parrish takes for granted. To everyone in the exclusive town of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut, Daphne and her husband, Jackson—the beautiful philanthropist and the confident real estate mogul—are a golden couple straight out of a fairytale, blessed with two lovely young daughters.

Amber’s envy could eat her alive . . . if she didn't have a plan. Amber uses Daphne’s compassion and caring to insinuate herself into the family’s life—the first step in a meticulous scheme to undermine her. Before long, Amber is Daphne’s closest confidante, traveling to Europe with the Parrish family, and growing closer to Jackson. But a skeleton from her past may undermine everything that Amber has worked towards, and if it is discovered, her well-laid plan may fall to pieces.

With shocking turns and dark secrets that will keep you guessing until the very end, The Last Mrs. Parrish is a fresh, juicy, and utterly addictive thriller from a diabolically imaginative talent. 

Stacey's review 2 of 5 stars

Wow- 2017 ended with a surprising clunker! This book has gotten rave reviews and was on on Reese Witherspoon's December list for her online RW book club but landed on my 'most people loved but I didn't' shelf.
For me it was fluff writing. Okay, not pretty fluff but more like the dark, smelly fluff you may dig out from between an ogre's toes. This is not a psychological 'thriller' but more like a trip down abnormal psychology lane.
The subject matter is tough (there is domestic/emotional abuse- I don't think this should be kept secret since some will be quite uncomfortable while reading it) and you really end up disliking a couple of these people. The writing (in my opinion) was menial, the plot easily foreseen and and the dialogue ridiculous. Was anyone surprised with any of the story line? I like to be surprised! And if you were wondering about any of the background you only have to wait for one character to hint at something and the other one will then spill the entire backstory in one long monologue, just to tidy things up.
The characters were mostly horrible (which is fine to get some emotions stirred up) or completely one dimensional. Like a cut out doll with characteristics written down and checked off.
The ending was as it should be due to the nature of the people involved but again extremely predictable.
I am happy I waited to get this on sale but really surprised with all the hype. It was a mediocre read for me.