BOOK REVIEW: "The Last Mrs. Parrish" Nods to and Subverts the Classics with Aplomb [Preview]

It's hard to describe anything about The Last Mrs. Parrish without veering into spoiler territory. If I look for literary and filmic antecedents, I'd have to say that The Last Mrs. Parrish is a wicked combination of All About Eve, Rebecca, and Gone Girl, with a bit of Gaslight thrown in there for good measure. But perhaps that also gives too much away. In any case, The Last Mrs. Parrish fits well within the mold of Gone Girl-esque thrillers: it has the requisite unsympathetic female protagonist, features endless double-crossing and conniving and plotting, and is threaded throughout with cutting commentary on the roles and expectations of marriage.

https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062667571/the-last-mrs-parrish

While The Last Mrs. Parrish is not as fresh and daring as Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, which really was utterly shocking, ruthless, and iconic enough to have basically started its own subgenre, it's far better than Paula Hawkins' The Girl on the Train: author Liv Constantine is much more aware of her novel's precedents and influences, and expects the reader to have enough knowledge of Rebecca and All About Eve, et al, that she can subvert the anticipated tropes and plot threads with ease and aplomb.

You can read this piece at PopMatters!