The First Mistake/ Sandie Jones/ 290 pgs

This was my first Sandie Jones novel. Alice is an interior designer with her own company. Her current husband, Nathan, runs the company. Alice's first husband disappeared on a skiing trip and was never found. This devastated Alice (so we are told yet she married Nathan within 2 years) and she's a bit of a worrywart who relies on alcohol to make her feel better. When her best friend Beth tells her about the man who fathered her daughter and stole money from her and her mother, Alice is shocked to find this con artist was her first husband. There are many twists in this story, but many of them were predictable and some unbelievable. The story is well-told though and I liked the ending, despite the vagueness of it. I might give Jones another try.

The Last Mrs. Parrish/ Liv Constantine/ 393 pgs

The premise of this story is quite intriguing. Amber is a mid-twenties woman living outside of New York City. She hints that she's on the run from something she did back in Missouri but currently she is focused on becoming the next Mrs. Jackson Parrish. The first obstacle to this goal is that Jackson, a wealthy businessman, is already happily married with two children. Amber has things all planned out though. She does her research and insinuates herself into the life of the current Mrs. Parrish, Daphne, and soon she's manipulating her new friend in all sorts of ways. I found the first half of this book on the boring side, which is surprising considering what I've described above. The problem is that Amber does not meet any other obstacles along the way. Everything is smooth sailing. Even when one of Daphne's friends discovers that Amber isn't her real name, Amber is able to talk her way out of the problem. The second half of the book, told from Daphne's point of view, is much more exciting and the book races to a wild conclusion. I was left feeling a little skeptical about how "happy" this ending would be for the character, but in all in all it was satisfying.