This popular 2017 domestic suspense is getting a sequel, so of course I had to re-read it. Here’s my Review of The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine. This review will include spoilers in case you need a refresher for the 2024 sequel, The Next Mrs. Parrish!
Jen’s Quick Take on The Last Mrs. Parrish
- A very early (2017) Reese’s Book Club pick
- A classic mid-2010s domestic suspense
- Not the most plausible story
- Has a lot of set-up, then a big twist
- Good frothy fun!
Review of The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
Published on October 17, 2017 by Harper Collins. Library book that I re-read in February 2024.
I will be honest: I tried The Last Mrs. Parrish when it came out (on audio) and found it slow-moving. Yes, there is a lot of set-up.
Then I learned that The Last Mrs. Parrish is going to get a sequel in 2024, The Next Mrs. Parrish.So I decided to re-visit this book seven years later and see what I thought.
The best thing about The Last Mrs. Parrish is that you think you know where it’s going, and then it goes somewhere completely different.
The “sleight of hand book” was a big trend at the time, in domestic thrillers like The Wife Between Us and another Liv Constantine book, The Wife Stalker, (which I think is a better book). My Spoiler Post on The Wife Stalker is here.
Most of the Liv Constantine books I’ve read have similar elements:
- Domestic Suspense trendsetter!
- a glamorous woman facing off agains a dowdy woman
- a setting in an upscale community
- an air of something sinister
- a surprising twist at the end. It’s a formula that has worked all in books like The Wife Stalker and The Senator’s Wife.
What is The Last Mrs. Parrish About? Click to see my short plot summary
Amber Patterson is plain and poor and tired of blending into the background. But she’s a woman with a plan. She moves to exclusive Bishops Harbor, Connecticut, and insinuates herself into the lives of Daphne Parrish and her real-estate mogul husband, Jackson. Will Amber be successful in her husband-stealing, or will the rug get pulled out from under her.
I did enjoy reading The Last Mrs. Parrish
Yes, it had some pretty unlikely things happening, but I think the point of the domestic suspense subgenre: people who aren’t who they seem to be, and women shouldn’t be underestimated.
Okay, let’s get to the spoilers. Since this book has been out since 2017, I am NOT protecting them.
Spoilers for The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
Here’s the twist: the reader assumes that Amber is scheming to steal poor Daphne’s husband. Well, YES.
BUT also …. NO. Daphne wants to ditch her rich, controlling, abusive husband and thinks that naive Amber is just the ticket. So yes, like in The Housemaid, Amber gets her man (and in this book, a new baby). Daphne gets the divorce settlement she’s always dreamed of.
In addition, Daphne drops a bit of a bombshell on Jackson: Amber is a fugitive living under an assumed name. Daphne uses this information as blackmail to get Jackson to relinquish his parental rights to their young daughter.
Daphne then goes to visit Amber and delivers her final blow: Daphne helped the FBI charge Jackson for tax evasion. He’s off to prison .
Game. Set. Match.
Have you read this? Did Daphne’s turtle collection remind anyone of this book?
Will you read The Next Mrs. Parrish, book two in the series? Tell me what you thought in comments!