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.”

Filled with envy, deception, and power, it’s a great reading escape. And there is a thrilling twist at the end!”— Reese WitherspoonThis was a 5 star read for me for the first half of the book in terms of sheer entertainment. But then the book veers into some disturbing territory that just didn't make the book as fun to read anymore. That's not to say the story failed to hold my interest, just I liked it more when it was more of a love to hate feeling towards a character rather than flat out hatred. I absolutely loved The Last Mrs. Parrish, so when I saw that this short story was a prequel to that book, I knew I had to read this!

The writing and clever plot had echoes of Liane Moriarty but didn’t quite have the knowing, razor like wit. 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 characters were not overly developed, as we only see them in certain contexts, with was key to the story, nor did they evoke deep feelings or emotions, other than disdain or dislike, but by the time all is said and done, I had an enormous amount of respect for some of them. I know I am being hard on this book and maybe unfairly so since many readers loved it, but after all the attention it received, I had hoped for something more exciting and more inventive than I got. All that being said, it's probably a decent vacation read, or even a book club read, because I imagine people could have a lot to say about this book. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me.I devoured this entire book over a lazy Sunday. It is extremely addictive. The writing flows beautifully, and the story grabs you and won't let go. I was dying to know exactly how this craziness would end, but now I'm kind of disappointed that it's over! I'm already planning on encouraging friends to give it a read so we can discuss it. It's pure scandalous fun. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.