Rating: 
Summary: Almost 5 stars, but oooooops! The ending. (NO SPOILERS)
Review: I love Joy Fielding's books. I've read them all and love them. Or I did, until I read her last book, "Whispers and Lies". I felt very manipulated and just plain angry at the ending. But I give all of my favorite authors a second chance, so I bought "Lost". Until the very last couple of chapters, this book had me, hands down. Absorbing, can't put it down, stay up all night, what have you. And not only is the plot "something different", being about a missing girl instead of the usual suspense storylines, which are normally about, I admit it, a woman being stalked, (and by the way, Joy even comments on that demeaning term "women in jeopardy" in this book -- way to go, girl!), but it is also a study in characters. They might not be characters you want to be best friends with, or live with, but they are "real" people --flaws and all. Sometimes very BIG flaws. Until near the very end of this 350+ page book, all I cared about was, where is the daughter that's missing? What the heck happened to her? Is she kidnapped? Dead? When was she taken? Who has her? Over and over, the book asked me and I asked it back, until I just wanted to know where she was!!!! I had to know! Flipping the pages in a panic to find out, I was astonished that over 300 pages had gone by with no answer! Then 350 pages and no answer! By then, I was sweating it out. And then, I finally read the answer . . . And the ending killed me. No spoilers here, you have to read for yourself, but . . . I wanted something more. I craved a better resolution. And that kept the book from getting 5 stars. Oh, for a different ending. I hope I never meet people like the ones written about in this book. Unfortunately, I think I already have. I have relatives just like these people. I know of divorce stories just like this couple have in the book. Joy Fielding was probably only writing about people she knew. Sad, but true.
Rating:
Summary: Almost 5 stars, but oooooops! The ending. (NO SPOILERS)
Review: I love Joy Fielding's books. I've read them all and love them. Or I did, until I read her last book, "Whispers and Lies". I felt very manipulated and just plain angry at the ending. But I give all of my favorite authors a second chance, so I bought "Lost". Until the very last couple of chapters, this book had me, hands down. Absorbing, can't put it down, stay up all night, what have you. And not only is the plot "something different", being about a missing girl instead of the usual suspense storylines, which are normally about, I admit it, a woman being stalked, (and by the way, Joy even comments on that demeaning term "women in jeopardy" in this book -- way to go, girl!), but it is also a study in characters. They might not be characters you want to be best friends with, or live with, but they are "real" people --flaws and all. Sometimes very BIG flaws. Until near the very end of this 350+ page book, all I cared about was, where is the daughter that's missing? What the heck happened to her? Is she kidnapped? Dead? When was she taken? Who has her? Over and over, the book asked me and I asked it back, until I just wanted to know where she was!!!! I had to know! Flipping the pages in a panic to find out, I was astonished that over 300 pages had gone by with no answer! Then 350 pages and no answer! By then, I was sweating it out. And then, I finally read the answer . . . And the ending killed me. No spoilers here, you have to read for yourself, but . . . I wanted something more. I craved a better resolution. And that kept the book from getting 5 stars. Oh, for a different ending. I hope I never meet people like the ones written about in this book. Unfortunately, I think I already have. I have relatives just like these people. I know of divorce stories just like this couple have in the book. Joy Fielding was probably only writing about people she knew. Sad, but true.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I really liked this book. One of her best. Constantly made you wonder where in the world this girl was all along. Suprising ending too. Great work Joy! Keep them coming.
Rating: 
Summary: This book should have gotten lost....
Review: I too read this book in less than a day. This is the story of a missing 21 year old and her mother's quest to find her daugther no matter the consequences. Her daughter is a willful, spoiled and selfish would be actress who disappears after an audition. Her mother becomes a frantic neurotic in her search for her missing daughter. In the process, she ignores her other daugther, at one point even forgetting that she has one. Of course, it was easy to hate her missing daughter by page 10. But, by the end I found myself thinking I don't like the mother much either. I have never wished that a character was in my living room so that I could shake her as much as I did in this book. The bottom line is that this book is extremely forgettable. If you are a true fan of Joy Fielding pick it up from the library if you must. But, this book would never make it onto anyone's must have list.
Rating: 
Summary: LOSE THIS BOOK! YOU WISH THIS BOOK WERE LOST!
Review: I was highly displeased by this book and didn't like most of the characters.The story opens in the late summer of 2002 with divorced mother Cindy Carver. Cindy is a strident screamer who has an argument with her prima donna daughter Julia. At 21 Julia is an aspiring actress and is at sword's points with Cindy, her 19-year-old sister Heather and Heather's live-in boyfriend, Duncan. (How many parents would permit their daughter to install her live-in lover in their homes?) Prima Donna manages to get everybody's juices flowing and even refuses to walk her wheaten terrier, Elvis. She leaves in a huff for an audition with a well known director. When Julia fails to turn up for a fitting for her cousin's wedding, her equally strident aunt Leigh and her strident, domineering grandmother Norma all have the collective hissy fit. Finally she is declared a missing person and Cindy, a foul-mouthed shrew will leave no stone unturned to find her. Julia left her to move in with Tom in 1995 and only just returned to Cindy, Cindy vows she will never lose her again. The list of possible suspects is longer than one would expect. Julia's father Tom, an entertainment lawyer might have some insight. He is also a cruel, boorish oaf. An unstable neighbor and her husband are also possible suspects. The director for whom Julia auditioned is yet another. Cindy's silly, twittering movie pals are not to be crossed off the suspect list as well. Cindy's domineering mother and strident, bossy younger sister barge their way into her home during Julia's absence. There are times when one wants to smack Leigh because she is such a whiner and cries about childhood slights. She came across as bossy and abrasive. The ending was a bust and a dismal disappointment. The only character that was likable was Cindy's new boyfriend, a gentle accountant named Neil. He should be called Saint Neil for putting up with her. I didn't like the way egregious cruelty was covered up and unpunished. Cindy does some remarkably stupid things. Like idiot Gail Walton of "Life Sentence" infamy before her, Cindy takes police investigative matters into her own hands and actually attacks somebody she suspects of abducting her daughter. It is also interesting to note that Gail Walton lost a daughter named Cindy and in this book, the role is reversed - a Cindy is a parent of a missing child. Whereas Cindy Walton was murdered, Cindy Carver is a raving ninny. I also didn't like the way she nearly agreed to having an affair with Tom while Julia was missing. This is not a book that I would ever recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed...
Review: I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book but after reading it all I felt was disappointment. The story follows a divorced mother who has recently "lost" her oldest daughter. The plot weaves around her anguish, which was really the only selling point in this novel, and the unraveling mystery. Unfortunately it isn't much of a mystery, certainly not one worth solving. The father's cavalier attitude throughout the book helped me to figure out the ending about mid way through. Don't waste money on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed...
Review: I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book but after reading it all I felt was disappointment. The story follows a divorced mother who has recently "lost" her oldest daughter. The plot weaves around her anguish, which was really the only selling point in this novel, and the unraveling mystery. Unfortunately it isn't much of a mystery, certainly not one worth solving. The father's cavalier attitude throughout the book helped me to figure out the ending about mid way through. Don't waste money on this one.
Rating:
Summary: A complete waste of time
Review: I've never written a review of book on Amazon, but this novel was so awful that I felt duty bound, as an avid reader, to warn my fellow readers to stay away. I have read some novels that I have been less than thrilled with, but this takes the cake. It is almost laughable how horrible this book was, by far the worst book I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed and Bored!!
Review: It was hard to get into this book. The characters were whiny and weak. Needy too! It was hard to feel sorry for the Lost in this book because she was not a good person. I found myself wishing we wouldnt see her again. The main character of the book was willing to risk her relationship with her mother, her youngest daughter, and her best friends all for this selfish, self serving, nasty daughter that went missing. Dont waste your money on this one!
Rating: 
Summary: Lost
Review: Joy Fielding at her best. A very timely book on a woman looking for her beautiful 21 year old daughter who just disappeared.
This is one of those books, that you say you are only going to read for a few minutes before you go to sleep and then stay up into the wee hours of the night!
Joy Fieldings book have a certain familiarity, usually there is an ex-husband, who is made to look like the biggest ego maniac in the world, but as a woman I myself have met quite a few myself, so I secretly tee-hee at her wonderful expressive anger at the ex, as its so honest! And then there is usually a Mister Right waiting in the wings for her to trust again, and in this book, this is all there.
The thing that I just love about Joy's Fieldings book is you feel like your reading a book about your own family, and her
angst, guilt and insecurities are so familiar you just have to chuckle at the very common dysfunctional that I think exists in most families to a certain degress, and yet you still fill the love (and exasperation) she feels towards her well meaning family.
I highly recommend this book, its just simply a wonderful read of pure entertainment.
One of those books that is a treat waiting for you to read later. The only thing I wish is that editors would allow her to write longer books to let some characters have bigger roles. It seems that every book has to be 400 pages, and I would
LOVE to have had about 200 more pages to learn more about her new boyfriend, more about her youngest daughter, just as much as I could because her writing has almost an addictive quality about it. When it ended, I actually thought, aw darn! Not because it wasn't an interesting ending and there were many twists in the books, but she is one of those writers who make you feel like you've acquired a friend and you just want her to keep writing to know how things are going.
A GOOD read, keep writing Joy, your stuff is just wonderful, and I relate so much and feel like I have a partner in crime.
I recommmend reading alot of her other books, like Kiss Mommy Goodbye, The Other Woman, etc., etc. Those are just a couple of favorites, but almost every book I like. Your never sorry your bought her book and I've read every one and I'm a BIG fan, if only she could write a book a month, Joy, I'd be happy!
Thanks for another great read! This one is up there in the top three as far as favorites go, if not the best!
Sincerely,
Jill C. Guenther
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