The Last Mrs. Parrish - Liv Constantine

Summary:

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 fairy tale, 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.

Summary and Photo from goodreads.com

My Review:

I could not have picked a better book to take on my Florida vacation!! Not only is it a pretty covered thing, but it is now included in my top ten fiction list; right up there with Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch. This story was so intriguing right from the start. Can’t wait to tell you all about it.

Now, for the broken record, I have a pretty unorthodox method to reading books. Before I purchase them, I do a quick synopsis review to make sure that the story line is something that I am remotely interested in. I put the book on my never ending To Be Purchased book list. Then whenever I happen upon a bookstore (which happens to happen at least weekly) or I browse one of my favorite online book retailers, I pull out my trusty little book list and cross a few out, some $150 later. Once I get home, I unload my loot and add them to my bookshelves. Then, when I am ready to start a new read, I just grab one, never again reading the synopsis, and just dig in. I do this because I want to read with a fresh imagination, free from expectations. Most of the time I have no idea what the book is about until I am 100 or so pages in. I need some excitement in my life guys!

Ok, so on with it.

The first introduction to Ms. Amber was kind of a sad one. I truly felt sorry for her. How she felt so invisible among the rich pretty housewives, with her mousey, clumsy self. And how those entitled little you-know-what’s treated her as if she was beneath them. Poor, poor Amber. But Amber had plans. Big plans. She was a mastermind husband stealer and she had her eyes on Mr. Jackson Parrish. The very rich, handsome, and married, Mr. Jackson Parrish. Her plan was to get close to the Mrs. And that she did. She befriended Mrs. Daphne Parrish, making her believe that, like Daphne, Amber had lost a dear sister to a rare disease. She weaved her way into the Parrish’s seemingly happy lives. She manipulated her position within the Parrish’s little bubble; from Daphne’s dependable helper in the foundation, to Jackson’s irreplaceable assistant at his corporation, to becoming the other woman in his life, to becoming his WIFE! That’s right. He ended up leaving Daphne and his two daughters to shack up with this conniving woman. But it was much too easy for her. Daphne seemed to be placing her husband in this woman’s hands, feeding her tidbits of information about the troubles in their relationship and making it seem almost as though it were a set up. And a set-up it was!!

While Ms. Amber was busy plotting to become the next Mrs. Jackson Parrish, Daphne was desperate to get out of the mentally and physically abusive marriage to him. Throughout the many years she had been married to him, he had become somewhat of a monster, threatening to have her committed and her children taken from her if she ever tried to leave him. Unbeknownst to Amber, Daphne had plans of her own. To find her replacement in the marriage. This is the ultimate story giving center stage to the saying, “the grass ain’t always greener”

This story line was brilliant! The first half of the book was Amber’s account of her slow climb from being the help to the rich man’s wife. The second half of the book tells the story from Daphne’s point of view, details of the on-going abuse, the desperation to escape, and the path to freedom thanks to Amber’s greed.

As the book fittingly declares, “Some women get everything. Some women get everything they deserve.”

Five freakin’ stars for The Last Mrs. Parrish.