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theliterateleprechaun 's review for:
Cul-De-Sac
by Joy Fielding
Did you go to a 4th of July BBQ this weekend? So did the characters in Joy Fielding’s newest book, ‘Cul-de-sac.”
There are 5 homes on Carlyle Terrace, a cul-de-sac in a sleepy upscale neighbourhood in Palm Gardens, Florida. Five families who are trying to beat the Florida heat on a long weekend. A block party is a perfect idea. In theory. The thing with block parties is that they are supposed to be a great way to build connections with neighbours. However, the fireworks at this party weren’t the only things popping and banging….someone was shot.
Fielding sets it up so that you know this going into the book, then she backtracks and introduces you to each character so that you have an opportunity to guess along the way….who is the victim? Who is the gunman? Is the recently widowed grandma or her grandson a victim? Are one of the newlyweds involved? Perhaps it’s the abusive doctor and his submissive wife? Could the perfectionist couple who’ve just separated taken it to the next level? It can’t possibly be the wife or her husband who pretends to go to work each day, could it? Know this, they all have buried secrets and they all have access to guns.
Florida works so well for suspense novels and Fielding takes advantage of this fact. A quick glance in any Florida neighbourhood and you’ll see perfection. However, because she lives in Florida part-time, Fielding knows that if you look closer there’ll be an alligator in a bush, a snake by the shore and an ever-constant threat of hurricanes. Florida has an underlying current of menace, and she makes it work for this story. Five beautiful homes. Five seemingly perfect families. In the lead up to the BBQ, you’ll be privy to the secrets they hide and the stresses they’re under keeping up the appearances.
Told in the past tense with alternating points of view, the tone becomes darker as the plot progresses. I love multiple points of view because I get more details which add to my understanding and I feel it helps add intrigue and mystery. This domestic psychological suspense plays upon the foreboding atmosphere and culminates in an explosive ending. Fielding has tapped into our basic human emotions of love, hate and fear, and has penned a tale we can all relate to. Seeing ourselves in the story is the goal of most authors and Fielding most certainly accomplishes this fact.
Publishes August 10, 2021.
I was gifted this advance copy by Joy Fielding, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
There are 5 homes on Carlyle Terrace, a cul-de-sac in a sleepy upscale neighbourhood in Palm Gardens, Florida. Five families who are trying to beat the Florida heat on a long weekend. A block party is a perfect idea. In theory. The thing with block parties is that they are supposed to be a great way to build connections with neighbours. However, the fireworks at this party weren’t the only things popping and banging….someone was shot.
Fielding sets it up so that you know this going into the book, then she backtracks and introduces you to each character so that you have an opportunity to guess along the way….who is the victim? Who is the gunman? Is the recently widowed grandma or her grandson a victim? Are one of the newlyweds involved? Perhaps it’s the abusive doctor and his submissive wife? Could the perfectionist couple who’ve just separated taken it to the next level? It can’t possibly be the wife or her husband who pretends to go to work each day, could it? Know this, they all have buried secrets and they all have access to guns.
Florida works so well for suspense novels and Fielding takes advantage of this fact. A quick glance in any Florida neighbourhood and you’ll see perfection. However, because she lives in Florida part-time, Fielding knows that if you look closer there’ll be an alligator in a bush, a snake by the shore and an ever-constant threat of hurricanes. Florida has an underlying current of menace, and she makes it work for this story. Five beautiful homes. Five seemingly perfect families. In the lead up to the BBQ, you’ll be privy to the secrets they hide and the stresses they’re under keeping up the appearances.
Told in the past tense with alternating points of view, the tone becomes darker as the plot progresses. I love multiple points of view because I get more details which add to my understanding and I feel it helps add intrigue and mystery. This domestic psychological suspense plays upon the foreboding atmosphere and culminates in an explosive ending. Fielding has tapped into our basic human emotions of love, hate and fear, and has penned a tale we can all relate to. Seeing ourselves in the story is the goal of most authors and Fielding most certainly accomplishes this fact.
Publishes August 10, 2021.
I was gifted this advance copy by Joy Fielding, Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.