Rating: 
Summary: A pleasant diversion from serious reading
Review: Missing Pieces is a light and predictable suspense novel. The characters are mostly stereotypes. We have Kate, the family therapist, whose own family is falling apart and who is considering an affair with an old high school flame. She has two teenage daughters, one rebellious and one "perfect", and a withdrawn husband. Add her wayward sister, Jo Lynn, and her aging mother, and you have one of the typical prototypes of a book family.The novel starts as Jo Lynn, who's been married several times to abusive men, decides she wants to marry a man on trial for the murder of thirteen women. She decides to marry him after seeing his picture in the paper and deciding he was good-looking. To Kate's dismay, Jo Lynn also manages to drag Kate's rebellious daughter into the situation. At the same time, Kate's mother starts showing signs of Alzheimer's disease and Kate has to deal with that with no help from Jo Lynn and little help from her distant husband. Kate's old boyfriend also shows up in town and starts making advances. There are several little character interactions that keep the book going. Kate's got a lot on her mind, so the book doesn't spend a lot of time on one problem before looking at a different problem. The characters, though stereotypical, are three-dimensional and interesting. The plot line isn't outstanding but it isn't bad either. Everything leads up to a predictable (and satisfying) conclusion. I would recommend this book to someone who didn't want to read anything heavy, just something light that they wouldn't have to think about after finishing it.
Rating:
Summary: A pleasant diversion from serious reading
Review: Missing Pieces is a light and predictable suspense novel. The characters are mostly stereotypes. We have Kate, the family therapist, whose own family is falling apart and who is considering an affair with an old high school flame. She has two teenage daughters, one rebellious and one "perfect", and a withdrawn husband. Add her wayward sister, Jo Lynn, and her aging mother, and you have one of the typical prototypes of a book family. The novel starts as Jo Lynn, who's been married several times to abusive men, decides she wants to marry a man on trial for the murder of thirteen women. She decides to marry him after seeing his picture in the paper and deciding he was good-looking. To Kate's dismay, Jo Lynn also manages to drag Kate's rebellious daughter into the situation. At the same time, Kate's mother starts showing signs of Alzheimer's disease and Kate has to deal with that with no help from Jo Lynn and little help from her distant husband. Kate's old boyfriend also shows up in town and starts making advances. There are several little character interactions that keep the book going. Kate's got a lot on her mind, so the book doesn't spend a lot of time on one problem before looking at a different problem. The characters, though stereotypical, are three-dimensional and interesting. The plot line isn't outstanding but it isn't bad either. Everything leads up to a predictable (and satisfying) conclusion. I would recommend this book to someone who didn't want to read anything heavy, just something light that they wouldn't have to think about after finishing it.
Rating: 
Summary: Synopsis
Review: Missing Pieces is Joy Fielding's most perfect accomplishment so far. Every bit of narrative and dialogue is skillfully crafted--nothing brings the reader up short. The narrator has a true voice, one with which woman can easily empathize. All the charactres are believable. Even though the author carefully plants the appropriate clues, the ending still comes as a surprise. M.B. McArdle
Rating:
Summary: Missing Plot
Review: Missing Pieces Joy Fielding
(pg 420 Florida Mystery) I recently rediscovered this author after bypassing her on the shelves. In the past I read "See Jane Run" and highly recommend it to all I talk books to. I then read her latest `
Whispers and Lies" another mind tingling read. This book leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The main character is a family therapist and it seems Fielding has given her the most dysfunctional family in the world. Kate has a mother who is either losing her mind
or plotting to kill her neighbors in the senior citizen complex. Her sister Jo Lynn who has airhead down to an art, opens the morning paper and decides her true love is the serial
killer on trail for killing nine woman. While we are at it, throw in a perfect daughter who worships her mother like an idol, the out of control teenager who has no feelings for anyone but herself and the husband who hovers on the sidelines. With all this going on, the plot is lame and the ending did nothing to support the story. Every great author has a bad day and I hope this is Fielding's. I have her many great things about this author and will give her another chance. Rating 7
Rating:
Summary: Missing Plot
Review: Missing Pieces Joy Fielding
(pg 420 Florida Mystery) I recently rediscovered this author after bypassing her on the shelves. In the past I read "See Jane Run" and highly recommend it to all I talk books to. I then read her latest '
Whispers and Lies" another mind tingling read. This book leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The main character is a family therapist and it seems Fielding has given her the most dysfunctional family in the world. Kate has a mother who is either losing her mind
or plotting to kill her neighbors in the senior citizen complex. Her sister Jo Lynn who has airhead down to an art, opens the morning paper and decides her true love is the serial
killer on trail for killing nine woman. While we are at it, throw in a perfect daughter who worships her mother like an idol, the out of control teenager who has no feelings for anyone but herself and the husband who hovers on the sidelines. With all this going on, the plot is lame and the ending did nothing to support the story. Every great author has a bad day and I hope this is Fielding's. I have her many great things about this author and will give her another chance. Rating 7
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: My very first book of Joy Fielding and I truly loved it. Her characters were very real, very human. Contrary to another review, I did not find Kate Sinclair stupid, she was guilty of something human beings are guilty of doing, not wanting to see the reality of her family's faults. The fact that Kate knew and did not admit it to herself just made her more human, being a therapist does not mean that one does not have their own personal demons to deal with. This book was not only a suspense novel but it was also about real human beings dealing with real family relationships.
Rating: 
Summary: Not one of Fielding's best works
Review: Normally, I look forward to anything Joy Fielding writes and expect that once I start one of her books I don't put it down until it's done. This book was weak, completely unbelievable and definitely a disappointment compared to her other tomes and proves that you can't buy a novel simply because of the author's name. The protagonist was a wimp and should have her license revoked. Maybe I listen to Dr. Laura Schlessinger too much, but I would hope that someone who is trained in human behavior would have a much less dysfunctional family than Kate Sinclair was stuck with (or enabled). I found myself muttering, "Yeah, right" or "what an idiot" frequently. I was relieved to finish the book and instantly relegated it to the garage sale pile (which is saying a lot considering that I NEVER throw books away). Please, Ms. Fielding, spend a little more time on your next work so that I can once more recommend you to my friends.
Rating:
Summary: i thought it never got anywhere, not enough suspense
Review: the book started out very slow, i really waited for a huge out come at the end of the book and it lacked everything, i love joy fieldings books, but this one really didn't have me at the end of my seat like her other books do. sorry...
Rating: 
Summary: Love and the serial killer.
Review: The premise for this book is so absurd I can hardly believe there was a story to go with it. After reading Fielding's 5 star GRAND AVENUE, I wanted to read everything she has written. Kate's sister JoLynn opens the paper one morning and decides she will fall in love and marry the serial killer who's handsome picture is plastered all over the front page. His trial is moving along and JoLynn decides to meet with him to give him her support. The rest is totally absurd with little merit. I find it hard to believe the same author wrote both of these books. The one redeeming aspect is that this author excels at creating living, breathing, characters, even the ones that behave in the most unbelievable manner. Kelsana 4/23/02
Rating:
Summary: What ARE the "missing pieces?"
Review: The story itself wasn't as interesting as its title was. It is mainly about a family therapist, Kate Sinclair, who struggles with her defiant teenage daughter, her stepsister who falls in love with a man who killed thirteen women, and her former high school sweetheart who still attracts her very much. The story is written from Kate's point of view. It has unnecessary repetitions that don't have anything to do with the main theme, which is finding the missing pieces. For example, Kate and her sister goes to the criminal's trial every time. But nothing happens. It is only written about how Kate Sinclair feels about everything from her point of view. For example, there is a part when Kate complains about how she cannot have a normal sister like everyone else. Also, I didn't understand the ending because the author clearly didn't state what the missing pieces were. It was boring because there weren't any exciting parts where you didn't want to put the book down. Every chapter seemed the same to me except for the parts when some killings occured.
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