REVIEW: THE LAST MRS. PARRISH, BY LIV CONSTANTINE

 

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—a socialite and philanthropist—and her real-estate mogul husband, Jackson, are a couple straight out of a fairy tale.

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 Parrishes and their lovely young daughters, 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.

My Thoughts: The first half of The Last Mrs. Parrish is told from Amber’s perspective, and while we know that she is manipulative and has a big plan, one that will take her to the life she wants, there are also hints of a life she left behind. A life full of secrets.

Just when it looks like she is right where she wants to be, the story turns around and we see life from the perspective of Daphne, who is not quite the happy woman she appears to be. Her secrets and what she has done to keep them hidden make everything about this story surreal.

Who is the unreliable narrator? What are Amber’s secrets? And how will the two so-called best friends resolve these issues? I couldn’t stop turning the pages, waiting for the final twist that would bring the future that they each deserved. Would justice finally prevail? A tale that had me smiling at the end. 4.5 stars.***