The Fussy Stuff

Title: The Last Mrs. Parrish

Author: Liv Constantine

Narrator: Meghan Wolfe, Suzanne Elise Freeman

Format: Audiobook

Genre: Fiction, Thriller

Quick Take: A satisfying thriller that’s fun to listen to and easy to finish, just don’t expect it to break new ground in the genre.

Spoiler Note: This post has spoilers

My Take

The Last Mrs. Parrish is an easy-to-listen-to thriller that follows Amber’s quest to elevate her life through connections to others. The book follows her increasingly unscrupulous techniques for getting what she wants from the people around her.

I enjoyed listening to this book. You do need to pay attention – the tone can change on a dime and if you zoned out for a minute, you may need to occasionally rewind to figure out how the heck the story got from point A to point B. I wanted to keep listening and was excited to figure out where it was going and what was going to happen next. The ending was satisfying and unexpected, ultimately a solid read overall, but not something I will be advocating for my friends to pick up.

SPOILERS (skip if you want to go in fresh)

One aspect of this book to be aware of is that most of the story is presented from Amber’s perspective. I know this can be something that readers struggle with – it is sometimes hard to be absorbed into a story that is being told by someone so unlikeable. However, it doesn’t veer into the territory of an unreliable narrator (one of my ultimate pet peeves). She is telling the truth about what she is doing, she just doesn’t see how gross it is.

My main problem with this book is that I have just recently finished The Housemaid, and it felt basically identical. From the tone of voice switching from the young ingenue to the spurned ex-wife, to the special twist of the not-so-brainless-after-all wife, this felt like the exact same story. Is this a cliché of the genre I am not familiar with? Did I just have bad luck to pick these two up around the same time? I am aware that this book came out before The Housemaid.

On the other hand, I really like that Amber wasn’t redeemed at the end. Not gonna lie – even though it may not make for the most compelling story, there is something positively gleeful about simply seeing the bad guy suffer, and leaving it at that.

End of spoilers.

Unfussed Verdict

If you enjoy dark domestic thrillers and want something engaging but not life-changing, this will absolutely do the job. The audiobook is a solid choice.

Unfussed Homework (Optional, Obviously)

Think of the last two thrillers you read — did they feel oddly similar? What is one trope you’re either loving lately or officially tired of?

– Read what you love, The Unfussed Reader