The Last Mrs Parrish

 
Amber is a con-artist, a crook, a woman from the wrong sides of the track with reasons to hide her past and true identity. She has big ambitions to get herself into the exclusive and privileged community of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut. To this end, she enrols in a gym and deliberately sets out to cultivate Daphne, the beautiful trophy wife of billionaire, Jackson Parrish. She has discovered Daphne had lost a sister to cystic fibrosis, so pretends she also had a sister with the disease. Once hooked, Daphne comes to rely on Amber and her friendship.
 
As time goes by and Amber almost becomes part of this golden couple’s seemingly perfect family, she starts to make a play for Jackson, slowly altering her image to be more attractive. Eventually, she even becomes his personal assistant and there’s no guessing what happens. Meanwhile, Daphne appears none the wiser, still relying on Amber as confidante.
 
The second half of the story is told from Daphne’s perspective and we discover the true state of affairs behind the glitter and glamour and how Amber gets to be the last Mrs Parrish.
 
I seriously debated putting any energy into writing a review for this book, but decided it does have a strangely compelling quality. Needless to say, Amber and Jackson are abominable characters and deserve everything they get. One of Daphne’s two daughters, the ghastly spoilt Bella, is an extra irritation. But this is mainly a story about control and psychological abuse. The ending was fine and should have been left at that and there is no way I’m going to invest any more time with these horrible people in the sequel.

For its pace and inventiveness, however, I’ll give it three stars.
 
 (Editorial comment: why is it that this is second novel that I’ve read recently in which people are unprepared when whisked away as a surprise, flying off on private jets across international borders without anyone remembering they need passports or visas?)
 

 
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Dymocks

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