Cul-de-sac

A Novel

By: Joy Fielding

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

A shooting lays bare the secrets harbored by five families in a sleepy suburban cul-de-sac in this riveting psychological thriller from the New York Times best-selling author of All the Wrong Places.

“Cul-de-sac proves once again that Joy Fielding is an ingenious master of domestic suspense.” (Samantha M. Bailey, USA Today and number one national best-selling author of Woman on the Edge)

Someone on this quiet, unassuming cul-de-sac will be shot dead in the middle of a sultry July night.

Will it be Maggie, the perfectionist wife, or Craig, the husband who can’t quite live up to her expectations? They’ve packed up their two children and fled their life in California, hoping for a fresh start in Florida, only to find the demons of the past hovering on their doorstep.

Maybe it will be Nick, a highly respected oncologist, or his wife, Dani, a successful dentist, both with well-kept secrets of their own.

Or perhaps the victim will be Julia, an elderly widow, whose troubled grandson has recently moved in with her, introducing unsavory habits and even more unsavory acquaintances into her formerly quiet existence.

Then there’s Olivia and her husband, Sean. Having lost his job at a prestigious advertising agency, Sean is depressed, resentful of his working wife, and drinking heavily. He is also prone to increasingly violent fantasies.

And what of the newlyweds, Aiden and Heidi, whose marriage is already on the rocks, due to Aiden’s reluctance to stand up to his intrusive mother? Matters aren’t helped when Heidi befriends Julia’s grandson, setting the stage for a major blowup.

A diverse group of neighbors, to be sure. Yet all harbor secrets. All bear scars. And all have access to guns.

Not all will survive the night.

©2021 Joy Fielding (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Set within an upscale neighborhood brimming with dark secrets, this captivating thriller thrums with delicious foreboding on every page. I was entranced by the gifted storytelling and magnetic characters, whose twisted paths converge in a shocking, explosive climax. Cul-de-sac proves once again that Joy Fielding is an ingenious master of domestic suspense.” (Samantha M. Bailey, USA Today and number one national best-selling author of Woman on the Edge)

“In the residents of an ordinary-looking cul-de-sac, [Joy] Fielding has created some of her strongest, most compelling characters.... An outstanding thriller and a perfect beach read.” (Booklist, starred review)

Simply entertaining

Everything I want from a book. I listen to be entertained and I was. Characters were developed adequately and there was a moral which is sometimes lost with today’s ever political authors. Every last one of us have good and bad in us but it is how weak or how strong we are within as to how we cope. Some overcome and sometimes try as we might we can’t always overcome. The characters grew and found themselves and in some cases weakness was overcome and others it was not and that is life but a good storyline. Totally enjoyable

Perfect! Reminded me of Desperate Housewives!

This book is great and has easily become one of my favorites to binge read! The story is a bit dark, but the tone is nurturing and the narrator’s voice is kind. Perfect balance!!!!

Job well done!

One of the best narrations on Audible ✅

This book had me from the start. Outstanding book. Methodically written and an equally outstanding narration by Lauren Fortgang.

Highly recommend!

Excellent

One of the best books I’ve read this year.
And the best narrator I’ve ever listened to. By far

I loved this book!

This is storytelling at it's finest. Excellent character development. Interesting & unexpected twists & turns. A very satisfying ending.

excellent!!

loved this listen. the narrator was perfect. story kept my attention Great twist of events.

The Colorful of Cul-de-sac Living

This was was full real family dramas. Things that are probably happening in your neighbors house, who knows? Good book with multiple story lines.

I rarely give a book 5 stars...

, but this was an incredibly engaging read. The plot was good, I was able to distinguish between each character and they had proper motivations. I get tired of many books that seem to drag on and are in need of a good editor.

I have read a lot of Joy Fielding's books and plan on reading some of her earlier works. I only hope that she will come out with another book sooner that the wait between this one and "All the Wrong Places."

I especially loved how she brought all her characters together in the "baseball" scene. She also writes older people very well. I noticed lately that younger people don't know how to write senior citizens

Audio version was superb with a very good narrator

I give it a good solid meh

I'm about four hours in to this book and I'm thinking I'll be able to finish it...hopefully some of the female characters in it will develop some backbone. As a women I get so, so tired of reading about women who tolerate bad behavior from their partners ranging from lying to financial manipulation to physical abuse to straight-up rape. So far every woman in this story is a good little doormat for her man, hiding bruises, making excuses, blaming themselves for their man's shortcomings. The narration is OK, but all read in a sweet, June Cleaver-esque way, which is appropriate, I guess, since the children treat their mothers about as badly as the men, the only maternal discipline being a slightly harsh "Honey!" I'll come back and edit this review if any of the women decide to stand up for themselves. If not, I'll just leave this here and skip anything else by this author in the future.

Not suspenseful

Did enjoy book but wanted more myStery. Really just lives of people who might live anywhere. Lots of gun references.