The Last Mrs. Parrish

by Liv Constantine

Overview

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER AND A REESE WITHERSPOON HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK

“Will keep you up. In a ‘can’t put it down’ way. It’s ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ with XX chromosomes.” —The Skimm

“Deliciously duplicitous. . . . equally as twisty, spellbinding, and addictive as Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl or Paula Hawkins’s The Girl on the Train.” —Library Journal (starred review)

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. 

With shocking turns and dark secrets that will keep you guessing until the very end, The Last Mrs. Parrish is a fresh, juicy, and utterly addictive thriller from a diabolically imaginative talent.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062667571
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/17/2017
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Liv Constantine is the pen name of sisters Lynne Constantine and Valerie Constantine. Together, they are the bestselling author of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick The Last Mrs. Parrish, The Last Time I Saw You, The Wife Stalker, and The Stranger in the Mirror. Their books have been praised by USA Today, The Sunday Times, People Magazine, and Good Morning America, among many others. Lynne and Valerie are national and international bestselling authors and their books have been translated into 27 languages, are available in 32 countries and are in development for television and film.  Lynne lives in Milford, Connecticut; Valerie in Annapolis, Maryland.

 

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/14/2017
To the pantheon of Gone Girl–type bad girls you can now add Amber Patterson, the heroine of this devilishly ingenious debut thriller. Coming from an impoverished background in Missouri, Amber sets her sights on Daphne and Jackson Parrish, a wealthy couple living with their two young children, Bella and Tallulah, in the tony coastal community of Bishops Harbor on Long Island Sound. With singular focus, Amber moves in on the glamorous couple, befriending Daphne and ultimately seducing Jackson as part of her master plan to become the next Mrs. Parrish. The reader watches with shock and delight as Amber cold-bloodedly manipulates Daphne and Jackson and lays waste to anyone else who stands in her way. Then, about halfway through, the point of view switches from Amber’s to Daphne’s, and we get a surprisingly different take on the story. To say any more would spoil all the twists that Constantine (the pseudonym of sisters Lynne and Valerie Constantine) has in store along the way to a surprising and entirely satisfying ending. Suffice it to say that readers would have to go back to the likes of Ira Levin’s A Kiss Before Dying or Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley to find as entertaining a depiction of a sociopathic monster. Agent: Bernadette Baker-Baughman, Victoria Sanders & Associates. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Liv Constantine’s The Last Mrs. Parrish is a beautifully constructed set piece, an intricate narrative that doubles back and folds in on itself like a Mobius strip, revealing secret upon secret, and layer upon layer, with a seductive ‘just one more chapter’ urgency that will keep readers up all night. Giving new meaning to the adage ‘be careful what you wish for,’ The Last Mrs. Parrish proves that the worst that can happen just might be when you get what you want. Addictive!

Karen Dionne

Wonderfully plausible, hypnotically compelling, and deliciously chilling and creepy—some of the best psychological suspense you’ll read this year.

Lee Child

Gillian Flynn meets Joy Fielding in Liv Constantine’s The Last Mrs. Parrish. In an age of great anti-heroines, comes the most unlikeable one yet, the coldly devilish Amber Patterson. This thriller delivers the most satisfying ending since B.A. Paris’ smash hit Behind Closed Doors—and a victorious romp of revenge.

Jenny Milchman

A bravura performance.

The Sunday Times (UK)

★ 06/15/2017
Daphne Parrish seems to have the perfect life, complete with a handsome devoted husband, two children, luxurious home, designer clothing, expensive jewelry, and all the pampering and material possessions a woman could ever desire. Amber Patterson wants Daphne's life and makes it her goal to achieve it. She befriends Daphne by tugging at her heartstrings and quickly establishes herself in Daphne's inner circle. Soon, every calculated move Amber makes becomes part of her fiendish plot to snag Jackson Parrish for herself. Will Amber's well-planned strategy yield her prize without Daphne suspecting her motives? Will a seduced Jackson agree to part with his idyllic marriage in exchange for a younger replacement? Readers will learn that things are not always as they seem, as they anxiously await the next bombshell. In their captivating debut novel, coauthors Lynne and Valerie Constantine (under the pen name Liv Constantine) have constructed a deliciously duplicitous psychological thriller that will lure readers until the wee hours and beyond. VERDICT With a plot equally as twisty, spellbinding, and addictive as Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl or Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train, this is sure to be a hit with suspense fans. [See Prepub Alert 4/24/17; library marketing.]—Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights

Library Journal

★ 2017-08-03
A wealthy woman with a handsome husband is preyed on by a ruthless con artist.One day at the gym, Amber Patterson drops the magazine she's reading between her exercise bike and that of the woman who happens to be beside her, Daphne Parrish. As she bends to pick it up, Daphne notices that it's the publication of a cystic fibrosis foundation. What a coincidence—Daphne's sister died of cystic fibrosis, and, why, so did Amber's! "Slowing her pace, Amber wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. It took a lot of acting skills to cry about a sister who never existed." Step one complete. "All she needed from Daphne was everything." Everything, in this case, consists of Daphne's outlandishly wealthy and blisteringly hot husband, Jackson, and all the real estate that comes with him; Daphne can definitely keep her two whiny brats. Amber hates children. But once she finds out that Daphne's failure to give Jackson a male heir is the main source of tension in the marriage, she sees exactly how to make this work. Amber's constant, spiteful inner monologue as she plays up to Daphne is the best thing about this book. For example, as Daphne talks about the many miseries her sister Julie went through before her death, Amber is thinking, "At least Julie had grown up in a nice house with money and parents who cared about her. Okay, she was sick and then she died. So what? A lot of people were sick. A lot of people died.…How about Amber and what she'd gone through?" Meanwhile, poor, stupid Daphne is so caught up in the joy of finally having a friend, she seems to be handing Jackson to her on a platter. Constantine's debut novel is the work of two sisters in collaboration, and these ladies definitely know the formula. A Gone Girl-esque confection with villainy and melodrama galore.

Kirkus Reviews

Fabulous. . . . I read this book in a flash, devouring every twisty delicious detail.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Utterly irresistible. . . . The Last Mrs. Parrish pivots on an enormous and satisfying twist. . . . the pages keep flying, flying, flying by.

USA Today

‘The Last Mrs. Parrish’ Should Be the Very Next Book You Read.

Huffington Post

The twists keep coming in this psychological roller coaster from debut author Constantine, the pen name of sisters Lynne and Valerie Constantine…this is a satisfying thriller that offers a window into the darker side of glamorous lives and powerful men.”

Booklist

One compulsive read. . . . It’s a terrific debut, and I look forward to seeing what the Constantine sisters do next!”  

Book Reporter

A wonderfully clever story, filled with suspense and a shocking twist, that kept me turning the pages.”  

Jane Green

The Last Mrs. Parrish is an extraordinary debut and gripping psychological thriller that is full of unexpected twists. Readers will become obsessed with these chilling characters who pull you in and refuse to let go.

Sara Blaedel

Filled with envy, deception, and power, it’s a great reading escape. And there is a thrilling twist at the end!” 

Reese Witherspoon

This deliciously naughty novel of psychological suspense is perfect for fans of Daphne du Maurier, L.S. Hinton and Jessica Knoll.” 

“5 Crime Must-Reads Coming in October” LitHub

[A] haunting psychological thriller. . . . Engrossing.

Real Simple

Think: a female Tom Ripley. . . . sisters Lynne and Valerie Constantine, writing as Liv Constantine, build momentum with short, cliffhanger chapters racing toward a satisfying denouement.

Shelf Awareness

‘The Last Mrs. Parrish’ by Liv Constantine will keep you up. In a ‘can’t put it down’ way. It’s ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ with XX chromosomes.

The Skimm

The Last Mrs. Parrish is an addictive and twisty debut.

Karin Slaughter

[A] wicked debut thriller… you’ll relish every diabolical turn.

People

If you like your thrillers with an unexpected twist, this one’s for you.

New York Post

The twists keep coming in this psychological roller coaster from debut author Constantine, the pen name of sisters Lynne and Valerie Constantine…this is a satisfying thriller that offers a window into the darker side of glamorous lives and powerful men.”

Booklist

Utterly irresistible. . . . The Last Mrs. Parrish pivots on an enormous and satisfying twist. . . . the pages keep flying, flying, flying by.

USA Today

If you like your thrillers with an unexpected twist, this one’s for you.

New York Post

‘The Last Mrs. Parrish’ by Liv Constantine will keep you up. In a ‘can’t put it down’ way. It’s ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ with XX chromosomes.” %COMM_CONTRIB%The Skimm

This terrific, noir-steeped tale written by sisters that go by Liv Constantine actually owes more to Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley than it does to the likes of Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train…The twists, turns and mechanizations are a devilishly delicious delight. Kind of like the brilliant television show ‘Breaking Bad,’ where it’s hard to distinguish Dr. Frankenstein from the monster he created.

Providence Journal