Cover Image: The Last Mrs Parrish

The Last Mrs Parrish

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The Last Mrs. Parrish is described as a psychological thriller with a shocking twist and it more than lives up to that! It would be so easy to tell all as my head is buzzing with everything which happened between the pages - but I don't do spoilers!

Daphne Parrish has the life of luxury. A loving, attentive and extremely rich husband who showers her with only the best things in life. Designer wardrobe, the very best accessories, jewellery of the highest calibre, a most beautiful home with staff to keep it in perfect tip-top condition and two wonderful daughters. From the outside it is the perfect marriage - but what about from the inside?

Amber Patterson only just makes enough to cover her rent on an apartment which is one up from a hovel - at least in her eyes. She wants what Daphne has and sets out to befriend her in an effort to become her 'bestie' and an indispensable friend. But is she what she really seems?

This is a striking and sensational novel. With superb characters and a highly-crafted plot, it is so easy to read, drawing you in and immersing you in the lives of the two women. The pace is relentless and the story moves along at quite a clip. The final chapters are mind-blowing.

My first thought was 'I wish I was only just beginning this'. It is a breathtaking read. And, as with all good stories, justice is served - and on a silver platter at that. I wouldn't have missed this read for anything. It is one astounding novel and I really cannot recommend it highly enough - it's THAT good!

My grateful thanks to publisher Harper Collins for letting me access an arc via NetGalley in exchange for my honest, original and unbiased review.

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Amber has her sights set on marrying Jackson Parrish and finally getting the life she thinks she deserves. The only problem is that he is married and completely devoted to his wife Daphne - but Amber's not going to let a little detail like that get in the way of her happiness.

I appreciate the fact that the novel didn't dillydally and jumped right in with Amber's deception as she infiltrated the Parrish's lives. The novel plods along through Amber's mind and her inwardly brewing jealousy and duplicity and though you start to feel bad for Daphne who is being scammed right under her nose - you also feel annoyed that she is missing the signs that are so clear to the reader.

However, all the things that you slowly start to find grating and unbelievable add to the overall authenticity of the story which I found so clever. It's like the authors are saying "Don't worry, we know you're not stupid - we got you."

Throughout the first half of the novel, where we are Amber on the outside looking in, we begin to suspect something is amiss but nothing prepares us for what's really happening in the Parrish household - and that surprise and the psychology behind it all is the real crème de la crème.

I could talk all day about the psychology of Jackson Parrish, Daphne and Amber - but all I will say is that their characteristics played off of each really well and the topics were well researched.

The reason I want to bump my rating up to a 3.5 is because the juxtaposition between Amber's viewpoint and Daphne's is so stark it's like you're reading a completely different novel. The language and tone changes so distinctively that you are pulled in again with renewed interest just as the novel was starting to wane.

Would definitely recommend as a quick and interesting read for psychological thriller veterans and newbies.

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Amber lies her way into the Parrish family intent on stealing the husband for herself. She seems to succeed but is it really all it appears. Meanwhile the wife Daphne is oblivious or is she?

This book is told in parts, it begins with Amber then switches to Daphne. The end intertwined both of them. It's so cleverly done.

This was really good. Right from the start I was hooked. It's a different concept to have the mistress be the focus of the story and it's easy to hate her. I loved the switch then to the wife and to realize how amazing she is and what she's capable of.

The ending wow that was clever and so utterly perfect. I loved how each character is written and how easily we believe one thing only for it to twist the whole book and leave you going wow.

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I started reading The Last Mrs Parrish on my train journey to London and I could not put it down.

It’s billed as a mesmerising psychological thriller full of delicious twists and it certainly lives up to its promise.

Amber Patterson is fed up. She’s a nobody, plain and uninteresting. She believes she deserves a life of wealth and power - like Daphne Parrish who doesn’t even appreciate what she has. Everyone in the small town of Bishops Harbor believes Daphne and he’s husband Jackson are the perfect couple with two lovely daughters. Amber is green with envy, but she has a plan, and slowly worms her way into Daphne’s life and becomes her ‘best friend’ and confidante.
But Amber has a secret, if anyone finds out it could ruin everything for her.

This book is full of twists and turns, addictive, compelling and a guaranteed page turner. It’s a debut novel written by two sisters and more than impressed. I can’t wait to read more from these authors.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK and the author for the chance to review.

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I always feel books like this one are a bit of a guilty pleasure, well written page turners featuring enviable lifestyles. From the beginning you know the good characters will win in the end and the bad ones get their come uppance but it's fun to go along for the ride!
I have great admiration for the authors as I imagine an easy to read book is very hard to write particularly when two people are working together

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How far would you go to make all your dreams come true?

Amber has come to the town of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut with the express purpose of seducing Jackson Parrish, an obscenely rich man. Amber’s first order of business is to get into the good graces of his wife Daphne, pretending to be her friend. Once she accomplishes this, she thinks it will be short shrift to Jackson’s bed and then becoming his wife. Amber has worked out her plan of action from A to Z and the first part of the book is told from her point of view. But WHY is she doing this – why does she wants Mrs Parrish’s life and why will she go to any lengths to get it?

There are hints from the beginning of the book that Amber has had problems in the past and is running away from something. Could her efforts to destroy a marriage and make herself the new reigning Mrs. Parrish be as easy as it seems?

Daphne and Jackson Parrish have it all. Jackson is a successful business man making millions and showers his wife Daphne and their two daughters with everything and anything they could want. Jackson and Daphne appear to be very much in love. Daphne is beautiful and kind, welcoming Amber into her friendship circle easily and has everything, including Jackson that Amber wants and believes she is entitled too. She has always dreamed of living the pampered life of an elite, upper class New York society wife, Daphne’s life, and she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

The first half of the book is told from the perspective of Amber who manipulation and lying are second nature to her. She was evil, calculating and is not a character that you will like, but knowing Amber’s true thoughts of envy and ambitions is really interesting and unsettling at times.

The second part of the book is told from Daphne Parrish’s point of view, seen through her eyes it gives you things from a completely different perspective. It quickly becomes apparent that her “golden” life is anything but, and that she is living a nightmare with her abusive husband. Once we hear Daphne’s side of story she is not naive and clueless as she seemed!

Although I had guessed the twisted plot early on it did not take away any of my satisfaction watching it play out. The manipulation and planning from both women is excellent and the final twist in the book was a brilliant comeuppance for the vile Amber and Jackson.

If you enjoyed Hand That Rocks The Cradle and Single White Female then you will love this book! This will give Gone Girl a run for its money!

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I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
From page one, I was hooked. The pace of the book was steady but it held my interest throughout because it was cleverly constructed and well written.
The character of Amber was brilliantly created. She was evil, calculating and trouble with a capital T from the very start. In contrast Daphne annoyed me. I felt she was a weak person who could not see what was happening around her. However in the second half of the book, which is told through her eyes, a different perspective is seen. *No spoilers **
Recommended

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I loved that this book is different... Firstly there is the other women who sets her sights on another womrn''s life... and oh what a life...... This is where it gets interesting... and the plot thickens, twists, comes about and keeps you entralled... The tale is of opulence and wealth... I almost felt jealous, then....
A great tale of intrigue and dishonesty that kept me hooked, the last half of the book I read in one go. A thoroughly good read... more please!

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A clever story about manipulation and underestimating others at your peril and a reminder that the grass really isn't always greener on the other side.

The first half of the book is told from the perspective of Amber. She is a hideous character, manipulation and lying are second nature to her and she will do and say anything to get what she wants. Her target is Jackson Parrish and she sets about inveigling her way into the lives of the Parrish family in order to woo the wealthy business man away from his wife and entrap him so that she can live the life of luxury she feels she deserves.

The second part of the book is told from Daphne Parrish's point of view. It quickly becomes apparent that her "golden" life is anything but, and that she is living a nightmare with her abusive husband. Viewing Amber's actions from another perspective is a clever twist, as Amber's machinations are not as clever as she thinks they are, and Jackson is not the God-like man he assumes himself to be. I really found myself cheering Daphne on to escape her marriage and the final twist in the book was a delicious comeuppance for the vile Amber and Jackson.

I think that the book would have benefitted from a little more suspense, but overall I really enjoyed it and look forward to seeing what the sisters write about next.

Thanks to net galley and the publishers for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

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This was an easy and quick read and a real page-turner. I would not call it a psychological thriller. It is more a dark and twisted domestic drama and a romance gone wrong. There are a lot of psychological manipulations going on which made the read so entertaining.

I think I should not say too much about the story. I jumped into the book with not much of an idea of it and I that was good. At first I thought everything was going too smoothly for Amber and her aim to get between the married couple. But soon I sensed there was something else going on.

Envy, greed, betrayal, abuse, psychopaths - name it, you have it here in this book. It is a dark, twisted and disturbing story. I enjoyed reading it.

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'The Last Mrs Parrish' is marketed as a psychological thriller, but first and foremost I would say that this is certainly not a thriller, although there is a large degree of psychological manipulation underpinning the entire plot.

The plot here I found really interesting; Amber is an individual who sets her sights on Mr and Mrs Parrish, and befriends Mrs Parrish, gradually infiltrating their lives and taking up residence in their family outings and celebrations, and always present. This is all part of Amber's plan. Now I found this all very fascinating to read, and found myself inwardly cringing at all the lies Amber was prepared to tell in order to become Mrs Parrish's closest confidante. I was desperate to know WHY she was doing this - why she wanted Mrs Parrish's life and why she would go to any lengths to do so.

What I wasn't prepared for, was to read at least 2/3 of the book and find that the plot then changed tack and wasn't really centred around WHY Amber was doing this and wanted to be part of the Parrish family, but became more focused on Daphne and her life. It felt that Amber's past and her motives had been what we had been waiting to find out for the majority of the book, only to find that these weren't really that important. It almost felt like we'd had all this build-up and it had been wasted. I was a little confused by the whole thing - the author(s) had set the plot up for some very major skeletons in the closet, but the plot took a completely different turn. It is very difficult to explain what I mean without posting spoilers, which I am not going to do! All I will say is that do not expect this book to go the way you think it will. I'll admit I was a little disappointed with the direction it went in, which is why I only went for four stars. Otherwise, I found the writing to be brilliant, leaving me with countless questions, albeit questions that didn't really aid the plot in the end.

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Wow where do I start without giving too much away? I absolute LOVED this book. This book is fast, gripping, and dark psychological thriller with a twist. It has nothing on Gone Girl because its better but I can see why people say if you like Gone Girl you will love this book, I will keep my fingers crossed for a movie.
It’s based around three people, wife, husband and Amber, the new friend.
Amber would do anything to get the life her new friend Daphne has, and to bag her husband all for herself at any cost.
A well written book for me needs to have a character I either really love or really hate, and this ticked all the boxes, Amber truly is a unlikeable, She is calculated and hard and is out to get whatever she wants.
The is book is written in the narrative of Amber and Daphne, its so cleverly done, the authors, two sisters, clearly have this kind of writing completely in their control.
The first few pages I thought I had this book sussed, how wrong was I. The twist towards this end was brilliant. I lost a lot of sleep with this one because I kept finishing a chapter and needing to read the next.

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This was an amazing book, exciting seeing what lives people live, and also sick minds of people who do not live those lives. It was a clever thought out book and certainly recommend this book.
The wife was very clever, good for her. Thumbs up, and thanks for allowing me to read this book.

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Really liked this book. Very good storyline. Read it over 2 days and was hooked from the start.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it.

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I absolutely loved this book , stayed up far too late as I couldn't put it down !! The first part of the book is told from Megan's point of view , she befriends Daphne who is rich and privileged and they bond over both loosing their sisters to Cystic Fibrosis, Amber quickly makes herself invaluable to Daphne in the running of her foundation and soon ingratiates herself with Daphnes family , we know quite early that the object of this is to have Jackson , Daphnes husband for herself and she will stop at nothing to achieve this . The second part of the book is from Daphnes perspective and we learn how ugly her life really is and that Amber has no idea what she's getting herself into! I won't say anymore to spoil this but it was brilliant , really entertaining and fast paced ! I really recommend this and would love to see it made into a film ! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this!

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This was an excellent book. I loved the storyline. It had me hooked right to the end. It was a real page turner. I read it in one sitting, I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Liv Constantine for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

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Well this was a bit of a punch in the face! Creepy as it could well be true and Amber seems to have much of what we see on social media and in the world in general everyday - envy of what other people have, what money can buy etc. Getting into that world of wealth and power is all she wants. She even goes to hotels just to walk on the carpets, walks past the posh shops etc. Then tries to weadle her way into a rich family.
But bamalam there is a lot going on behind closed posh curtains isn't there?

I can see where the novel is coming from but I just couldn't get on board with Amber. Ok, she wasn't ever going to be popular but she even creeped me out. There were too many explicit scenes in the book that didn't take the story forward either and that did put me off. It reminded me of The Hand That rocks the cradle but between adults. Why did Amber get so bitter? Why did Daphne act as she did? If you suspend your disbelief then it's a novel to read on the beach whilst keeping an eye on who is wearing designer labels and who isn't - and who is watching whom through those fake or not sunglasses

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What a totally brilliant book, The plot is fantastic, the characters excellent. I would highly recommend this book.

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