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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A surprisingly enjoyable read - perfect for travel / vacation.
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I was expecting to. A lot of characters showed personal growth, the characters that were not so nice got what they deserved. It was not suspenseful but a good study of how different people react to situations, a novel about how much we really know our neighbours...
TW: Scenes of graphic domestic violence, one scene of rape.
This book was fast paced, but very forgettable. We learn at the very beginning that a murder has occurred on a hot July night in Florida. The rest of the book introduces us to the five families living on the cul de sac, and all of their various issues. It becomes clear that quite a few of them have motives for murder. I think this would’ve worked better had it focused on 2 or 3 families instead of 5 families and their myriad children and in-laws. It was a bit confusing to remember all the names and families. Overall, a fast paced & good but not great book.
This book was fast paced, but very forgettable. We learn at the very beginning that a murder has occurred on a hot July night in Florida. The rest of the book introduces us to the five families living on the cul de sac, and all of their various issues. It becomes clear that quite a few of them have motives for murder. I think this would’ve worked better had it focused on 2 or 3 families instead of 5 families and their myriad children and in-laws. It was a bit confusing to remember all the names and families. Overall, a fast paced & good but not great book.
There are five identical two-story homes on Carlyle Terrace, a small tree-lined cul-de-sac in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Nothing too noteworthy about the street. It isn’t part of one of the many luxurious gated communities located throughout the area. But on a July evening in this quiet place, someone is going to be shot and killed. The specter of death looms throughout Joy Fielding’s latest domestic thriller, Cul-de-sac.
No one would ever suspect that this small street is brimming with family problems. Maggie, with husband Craig and their children, moved to the area to escape a threatening situation in LA. She now carries a gun everywhere she goes. Her husband can no longer handle her paranoia and has left the house. Sean has lost his job while wife Olivia’s career is thriving. He turns to alcohol to drown his frustrations. Nick is a highly respected doctor married to Dani, a successful dentist. The seemingly perfect couple has their own secrets. Eighty-four year old Julia’s son wants to put her in assisted living. When her troubled grandson comes to live with her, he is more interested in stealing from her than anything else. And Heidi is unable to enjoy married life with Aiden as she tries to deal with his meddlesome mother and his PTSD. Each household is troubled. Each household has a gun inside it. Fielding does a fine job telling the stories behind each locked door keeping you guessing as to who will be the one carried off in a stretcher in the end.
This is Joy Fielding’s 29th book. She may be one of those author’s you recall your mother reading. (My mother introduced me to her books quite a while ago.) But Fielding has kept current and has written what might just be her best book in years.
Many thanks to Ballantine Books / Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this enjoyably suspenseful book in advance of its August 10, 2021 publication.
Rated 4.5 stars.
Review posted on MicheleReader.com.
No one would ever suspect that this small street is brimming with family problems. Maggie, with husband Craig and their children, moved to the area to escape a threatening situation in LA. She now carries a gun everywhere she goes. Her husband can no longer handle her paranoia and has left the house. Sean has lost his job while wife Olivia’s career is thriving. He turns to alcohol to drown his frustrations. Nick is a highly respected doctor married to Dani, a successful dentist. The seemingly perfect couple has their own secrets. Eighty-four year old Julia’s son wants to put her in assisted living. When her troubled grandson comes to live with her, he is more interested in stealing from her than anything else. And Heidi is unable to enjoy married life with Aiden as she tries to deal with his meddlesome mother and his PTSD. Each household is troubled. Each household has a gun inside it. Fielding does a fine job telling the stories behind each locked door keeping you guessing as to who will be the one carried off in a stretcher in the end.
This is Joy Fielding’s 29th book. She may be one of those author’s you recall your mother reading. (My mother introduced me to her books quite a while ago.) But Fielding has kept current and has written what might just be her best book in years.
Many thanks to Ballantine Books / Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this enjoyably suspenseful book in advance of its August 10, 2021 publication.
Rated 4.5 stars.
Review posted on MicheleReader.com.
I read this nook in one day on a car trip so it kept my attention. But afterwards I realized that it was predictable and not exactly great writing. There are several descriptions of domestic and sexual abuse.
what a hot mess. there was virtually nothing i liked about this. the writing was cliché ridden. all but two of the characters were impossible to like. they ranged from the obnoxious to the odious. it's an absolutely thrill-less, even monotonous thriller. and my worst pet peeve, the storytelling was blotted with recaps and repetitions. does the author think her audience is too stupid to notice, or just too stupid to care?
This was so cool how she introduced all the neighbours. Ending was a bit too on the nose