Puppet

Rating:
Summary: nail biting suspense thriller
Review: Amanda Travis has spent the last decade running from her memories including the father who neglected her and the mother who either ignored or verbally abused her. She drowns her emotional pain in mindless sex, leaving two ex-husbands when they threatened to get too close. Now a lawyer in southeast Florida, she has organized her life just the way she wants it, not letting anyone get too close. Her calm is suddenly fractured one night when her ex-husband calls her from Toronto to tell her that her mother in jail on a murder charge.

Despite the fact that she tells herself she doesn't care, she flies to Toronto where Ben represents her mother Gwen. Ben tells her that Gwen isn't talking, insisting only that she killed an unknown man in a hotel lobby because she felt like it and she is perfectly sane. Gwen's stonewalling is infuriating Amanda who believes there is a reason for what she did; for once in her life she isn't going to run away from adversity but plunge into it and expose the secret her mother is so desperate to hide.

Joy Fielding once again delivers an exciting crime thriller that will keep readers' interest from page one as they wonder why the protagonist's mother committed cold blooded murder. It is a question that will haunt the audience as the protagonist seeks to find out her mom's secrets that were responsible for her traumatized childhood. As Amanda gets close to the truth she finally comes to terms with her own feelings and turns more sympathetic in the minds of the audience. PUPPET is a nail biting suspense thriller taking readers to the ultimate level.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Always expect the unexpected with Joy Fielding
Review: Amanda Travis is determined to have a normal, successful life as a criminal lawyer, in Palm Beach, Florida. As far away from Toronto and her mother as possible. She gets a call from Ben Travis, her first ex-husband that turns her life upside-down. Her mother is in jail for shooting at point-blank range a supposedly complete stranger in the upscale Four Seasons hotel. Her mother is the last person in the world Amanda would want to help. However she does fly to Toronto to find out what happened. Her mother, much to her dismay is not the evil monster she remembers from her childhood. Many memories are created by us as adults, and lack the truth. Amanda is perplexed by her mother's determination to plead guilty. She battles her own past demons and stays at her childhood home. Amanda, the determined lawyer, pursues the case details further and finds out the unsettling truth. The action moves quickly in Puppet, you have to hang on for the ride.

Rating:
Summary: A psychological crime thriller
Review: Amanda Travis, a lawyer in Florida, has quite a sexual past. She is emotionaly distant. Her life She feels is well under control. Then she receives a phone call from her first husband. It seems that her mother has murdered a man in a hotel lobby.Her relationship with her mother being estranged. She reluctantly returns to Toronto, Canda, land of her roots. There she becomes absorbed with the case.


Rating:
Summary: well-plotted novel
Review: Attorney Amanda Travis receives a phone call from her ex-husband telling her that her mother shot and killed a man in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in her hometown of Toronto. Amanda does not have fond memories of her mother, so she is loathe to get involved in this latest crisis. After some soul-searching, she knows she must face the demons of her childhood and her ex-husband, who she left abruptly ten years ago and for whom she still has strong feelings. Amanda arrives in Toronto and confronts her mother about the man she killed. Her mother just wants to plead guilty and be done with it. Amanda cannot let it go without answers to who the man was and his connection to her mother.

PUPPET was an intricately plotted novel. It was suspenseful and hard to put down. The weakness of the book was with the unsympathetic protagonist. It is hard to fully care about a story when you do not like the main character.


Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Intrigue!
Review: I have to admit that this book started out a little slow, but the minute the pace picked up, it never slowed down until the shocking, surprising ending. If you enjoy suspense, you'll love this well-plotted tale of a dysfunctional family full of hidden secrets!

Rating:
Summary: What Great Reading!!!!
Review: I usually find Joy Fielding's writing to be exceptional. This book did not disappoint! I loved the mix of suspense, sorrow and romance and really liked the chemistry between Ben and Amanda. Joy....keep up the good work and look forward to your next novel!

Rating:
Summary: A good fast read
Review: Joy Fielding has written many popular books in the past years such as Grand Avenue and Whispers and Lies and I think Lost is sure to be another hit.

Puppet opens with us meeting Amanda Travis, a main character you certainly are not going to love. She is an up and coming attorney living in Florida who is twice divorced, does not like losing cases, and thinks it is ok to sleep with married men.

Out of the blue, her first ex husband Ben calls from Toronto to tell her that her estranged mother has been arrested for shooting a stranger in the Four Season Hotel and he would like her to come home to help. After much deliberation and some extra heat from past relationships knocking at her door, Amanda decided to take a quick trip home. Ben takes Amanda to see her mother the day after she arrives only to be told that her mom, Gwen does not want any kind of defense. She just wants to plead guilty and take her sentence. Being the attorney that she is, Amanda can't take that as an option so she starts digging around to find out the truth behind the shooting. What Amanda gets is a whole lot more than she bargained for when the truth about her past starts catching up to her and life will never be the same.

Puppet was a very quick read with a lot of dialog so be forewarned if you do not like that format in a book. For those of you who have read many of Joy Fieldings past books you will not be surprised to know that she once again throughs in a zinger that you would not have originally guessed and thats all I am saying.


Rating:
Summary: Keeps you guessing
Review: Puppet is a fast-paced read with twists to the plot. Just sit back and prepare for just about anything.