Skip to main content

Book Review: The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine.






Book: The Last Mrs. Parrish 

Author: Liv Constantine 

Pages: 405 

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Read On: Kindle 

How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 days 

Plot Summary: Amber Patterson is tired of being a nobody: an invisible woman who melts into the background. She deserves more. She deserves a life of wealth, luxury and leisure.

Daphne Parrish is the golden girl of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut. With her model looks, her picture-perfect mansion and her millionaire husband, Jackson, she has everything Amber wants.
Amber’s envy could eat her alive—if she didn't have a plan. Before long, she has become Daphne’s closest friend, and is catching the eye of Jackson. But a skeleton from her past could destroy everything, and if discovered, Amber’s well-laid plan may end in disaster.

General Thoughts: I have been reading quite a few thrillers this past month but for some reason or the other they were all more or less duds. OK, if not outright duds most of them were just not doing it for me. So when I picked up this book I did so with a lot of trepidation and hoping that this would be a psychological thriller that I ended up loving. 

Luckily for me, this one was just the ticket! 

I had been meaning to read this book for ages but it sounded a lot like The Wife Between Us and I wasn't sure if I wanted to read two such similar books. 

They are slightly, very slightly similar but this one is a whole other ball game. 

Things I Liked: 

1. This book had me hooked! I didn't want to put it down. And it's not like there was constantly things happening that kept me on the edge of the seat, I was just curious to see where this tale was headed. I was pulled into this world from the get go. 

2. This book is primarily told from two perspectives. Amber and Daphne. And I enjoyed both of these voices and seeing the world, sometimes same events from their views. I honestly didn't prefer one voice over another, this rarely happens in books told in this style. So kudos to the writer for managing pull this off. 

3. Amber- oh where do I even begin?! She is horrible. Simply the worst kind of person and so full of hate and loathing. The way she is constantly envious of the rich and how freaking entitled she is just made my blood boil. And not just the rich and affluent, she is horrible to pretty much everyone. She doesn't have a single nice thing to say about anyone in her life. She is one of the worst human beings I've come across (in fiction) in a long, long time and she is someone who will stay with me for a long time to come. She is devious, manipulating and the kind of character you want to reach inside a book and slap silly. YET...she is incredibly interesting to spend time with. I hated her for sure but I still wanted to keep reading her section of the book. The writers (the book is written by two sisters under a pen name) have done a great job crafting a truly memorable character. She is a piece of work! But man she is clever and patient and some part of me wanted to give her a standing ovation! But for most part I just wanted her to fall off a cliff.  

4. Daphne- when the book shifted into her perspective, I was ready for the pace to slow down and frankly for the book to become a little slow. But it didn't. Daphne is an equally strong character, who has endured so much and yet manages to hold on to her humanity and grace. I really liked her and was rooting for her. 

5. Books about abuse and marital violence are hard to read but this one, though gut wrenching in parts and really scary was eye opening at the same time. Abuse is never a binary or simple phenomena. Not all abuse leaves a physical mark. The toll emotional and psychological abuse takes is sometimes staggering. The abuse Daphne undergoes will scare the daylights out of you, it certainly unnerved me. To marry someone you love to have them metamorphosize into something unrecognisable must be terrifying.  Jackson Parrish is a monster and all the things he does to control and torture his spouse will leave you cold. 

6. The book has a few nifty twists and turns. 

7. I really liked the writing and the world building in this book. The world of the extremely wealthy is always fun to read about. 

8. I liked the the kids in this book are not just background characters devoid of any real personality. Both the girls are well etched out and add to the story. 

Things I Didn't Like: 

I really did enjoy this book immensely, but  I will say that the main, big twist is fairly obvious. You see it coming a mile away. 

And there is no real big mystery. Apart from the skeleton in Amber's closet, no other thing was a huge mystery. 

Rating: 4/5 

This was such a engaging and immersive read. Perfect for a rainy afternoon or late night. 
And I absolutely loved the ending, it was very, very satisfying. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The Magic of the Lost Temple by Sudha Murthy.

Book: The Magic of the Lost Temple Author: Sudha Murthy Pages: 163 Read On: Paperback How Long it took Me To Read: 1 day Plot Summary:   City girl Nooni is surprised at the pace of life in her grandparents' village in Karnataka. But she quickly gets used to the gentle routine there and involves herself in a flurry of activities, including papad making, organizing picnics and learning to ride a cycle, with her new-found friends. Things get exciting when Nooni stumbles upon an ancient fabled stepwell right in the middle of a forest.Join the intrepid Nooni on an adventure of a lifetime in this much-awaited book by Sudha Murty that is heart-warming, charming and absolutely unputdownable. General Thoughts: Ah! A happy little Children's Book! I wanted it the minute I spotted it in the bookshop. And I started reading it pretty much immediately. :)  I read it after reading a beyond dull and boring and soulless book. This book just cured my bookish blues. I l

Book Review: The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond.

Some snippets of the stunning art inside the book!  Book: The Room on the Roof Author: Ruskin Bond Illustrator: Ahlawat Gunjan Pages: 171 Read On: Hardback How Long It Took Me To Read: 3 days or so. Plot Summary:   Rusty, a sixteen-year-old Anglo-Indian boy, is orphaned and has to live with his English guardian in the claustrophobic European part in Dehra Dun. Unhappy with the strict ways of his guardian, Rusty runs away from home to live with his Indian friends. Plunging for the first time into the dream-bright world of the bazaar, Hindu festivals and other aspects of Indian life, Rusty is enchanted … and is lost forever to the prim proprieties of the European community.  General Thoughts: This book is super special. Not only this 60th anniversary edition an absolute beauty. This is also a signed copy I picked up from Mussoorie when I was in Landour earlier in the year. This is perhaps one of Ruskin Bond's most well kn

Review: Grandma's Bag of Stories by Sudha Murthy.

Book: Grandma's Bag of Stories Author: Sudha Murthy Pages: 176 Read On: Paperback How Long It Took Me Read: 2 hours Plot Summary:   When Grandma opens her bag of stories, everyone gathers Around. Who can resist a good story, especially when it’s being told by Grandma? From her bag emerges tales of kings and cheats, monkeys and mice, bears and gods. Here comes the bear who ate some really bad dessert and got very angry; a lazy man who would not put out a fire till it reached his beard; a princess who got turned into an onion; a queen who discovered silk, and many more weird and wonderful people and animals. Grandma tells the stories over long summer days and nights, as seven children enjoy life in her little town. The stories entertain, educate and provide hours of enjoyment to them. So come, why don’t you too join in the fun? General Thoughts: I've read quite a few Sudha Murthy books this year and really enjoyed them. I find them soothing, simple a