Joy Fielding
Author of See Jane Run
About the Author
Author and actress Joy Fielding was born in Canada in 1945. She received a BA in English literature from the University of Toronto in 1966. While a student, she focused on acting and was one of four stars in a student movie, Winter Kept Us Warm. After graduation, she moved to Los Angeles and show more appeared on Gunsmoke. Her first book, The Best of Friends, was published without an agent. She has written numerous novels since then including Don't Cry Now, The Deep End, The Other Woman, Missing Pieces and Now You See Her. The Periodical Distributors of Canada named her book, Kiss Mommy Goodbye, Book of the Year for 1982. She has contributed book reviews to the Toronto Globe and Mail, CBC's The Radio Show, and CBC-TV's The Journal's Friday Night. Her books, See Jane Run and Tell Me No Secrets, have been adapted into films. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Copyright Eye On Books.
Works by Joy Fielding
Don't Cry Now | Grand Avenue 1 copy
More Than Friends 1 copy
Associated Works
Mothers & Daughters: Celebrating the Gift of Love in 12 New Stories (1998) — Contributor — 87 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books 1986 v03: Lie Down with Lions / Tree of Gold / The Deep End / Cry Wild (1986) — Author — 39 copies
Reader's Digest Select Editions 2009 v05 #305: Still Life / Grace / Hell Bent / Prayers for Sale (2009) 20 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books 1993 v06: The Cat Who Went Into the Closet / Homeland / Tell Me No Secrets (1993) — Author — 20 copies
Reader's Digest Select Editions 2011 v05 #317: Now You See Her / The Peach Keeper / Buried Secrets / The Oracle of Stamboul (2011) 15 copies
Reader's Digest Auswahlbücher 201 : Die Pfeiler der Macht/ Schau Dich nicht um/ Wolfstage/ Virusjagd (1995) 4 copies
Het Beste Boek 131: De Commodore / Vrije Vlucht / Eindspel / Stap voor Stap (1988) — Author — 3 copies, 1 review
Reader's Digest Select Editions 2018 v06 #360: The Bad Daughter / The Recipe Box / The First Family / Collared (2018) 2 copies
Det Bästas Bokval (1995) vol 184 : Ingen återvändo; Sommarspel; Klart för tagning; Farliga vägar 2 copies
Livros Condensados: Não me Contes Segredos | O Senhor da Morte | O Deus do Rio | Pânico no Voo 19 (1995) 2 copies
Reader's Digest: De getuige; Lieve John; Het Venetiaanse masker; Roerloos — Author, some editions — 2 copies, 1 review
Australian Reader's Digest Condensed Books: By My Own Authority / The Deep End / A Walk in the Dark / Running Blind (1977) — Author — 2 copies
In eigen kring — Contributor — 2 copies
Reader's Digest Select Editions: XO / The Man Who Forgot His Wife / A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder / Now You See Her (2012) — Author — 1 copy
Il settimo segreto - Richiamo selvaggio - Una voce al telefono - La signora Pollifax e il Budda di Hong Kog — Contributor — 1 copy
Reader's Digest : libros selectos : Mi hija vive : Carmín en Afganistán : El centinela : La lista de navidad (2011) — Author — 1 copy
Kirjavaliot - Varkaiden kunnia, Tammenterhojen talvi, Älä kerro salaisuuksia, Eloonjäänyt (1995) 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Tepperman, Joy (birth)
- Birthdate
- 1945-03-18
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of Toronto (BA|English Literature|1966)
- Occupations
- novelist
actress - Short biography
- Joy Fielding was born and in Toronto, Canada in 1945 and went to the University of Toronto, where she received her B.A. after majoring in English, and appearing in the well-received student movie, "Winter Kept Us Warm." Acting ambitions subsequently took her to Hollywood where she got a part in an episode of "Gunsmoke" and worked in a lot of banks before leaving L.A. and returning to Toronto and her first love—writing. She has been married to her lawyer husband for almost 25 years, and they have 2 daughters, Shannon, age 22, and Annie, age 19.
- Nationality
- Canada
- Birthplace
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Places of residence
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada (birth)
Palm Beach, Florida, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- Canada
Members
Reviews
Alfred Hitchcock once said "there is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it" and Joy Fielding is a master at using this concept to build suspense and tension in her writing. This is nowhere more evident in her book, Cul-de-sac. The novel is set in what seems like a quiet upper-middle-class neighbourhood on the surface, an idyllic peaceful cul-de-sac, hidden away from all the violence and chaos of city life, There are five houses occupied by five different families, all show more apparently well-off and happy. But behind closed doors, well, that's another story and a sense of imminent violence permeates the tale as secrets start rising to the surface.
Cul-de-sac is compelling, suspenseful, and engaging.Through the use of short paragraphs and dialogue and her use of what should be a safe haven that most readers can relate to, Fielding builds a real visceral feeling of impending disaster. Cul-de-sac begins introducing us to the characters in each house but, right from the start, there are hints that things are not what they seem and violence is only barely kept in check, As the story progresses so does the tension and it's clear it will take only a spark, like that of a firecracker on July 4th, to start a conflagration - the only question is which house will explode first.
This is the kind of book that immerses the reader from the first page and never lets go until the final explosion and I can’t recommend it highly enough. One word of caution though -once started, it’s completely unputdownable so best to start it when you know there will be no distractions like, oh, need to get some sleep.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less
Cul-de-sac is compelling, suspenseful, and engaging.Through the use of short paragraphs and dialogue and her use of what should be a safe haven that most readers can relate to, Fielding builds a real visceral feeling of impending disaster. Cul-de-sac begins introducing us to the characters in each house but, right from the start, there are hints that things are not what they seem and violence is only barely kept in check, As the story progresses so does the tension and it's clear it will take only a spark, like that of a firecracker on July 4th, to start a conflagration - the only question is which house will explode first.
This is the kind of book that immerses the reader from the first page and never lets go until the final explosion and I can’t recommend it highly enough. One word of caution though -once started, it’s completely unputdownable so best to start it when you know there will be no distractions like, oh, need to get some sleep.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less
Linda Davidson is seventy-six years old, recently widowed, and living in Jupiter, Florida — which sounds nicer than it is. Her best friend Carol has just been diagnosed with dementia and moved into Legacy Place, an upscale oceanfront memory care facility that refers to itself, with no apparent irony, as a "memory care facility." Linda visits regularly even though Carol barely recognises her anymore. Her daughter Kleo and Kleo's insufferable, chauvinist husband Mick have moved into Linda's show more house to "keep her company," which mostly means Linda has a front row seat to their incessant bickering. To escape, Linda goes to Legacy Place. And that's where she meets Jenny Cooper — ninety-two years old, tiny, sweet, eccentric, prone to blurting out swear words and accusing people of working for the CIA. Jenny pulls Linda aside and whispers her secret: "I kill people." Linda dismisses it. Obviously. Then a fellow patient at Legacy Place dies — everyone else sees it as a natural death — and Linda notices that Jenny had gone missing just beforehand. To the drug store. And Jenny used to be a pharmacist. Described as darkly funny, warm, and genuinely suspenseful, an Oprah Daily Best Books of the Fall pick.
[May contain spoilers]
Jenny's confessions are real. She's been killing men who hurt women — abusers, rapists, the type who walk away unpunished — for decades, and her dementia has made her both more honest and more dangerous. The ending is the thing: Linda, who started this journey as a passive grieving widow, ends up committing murder herself — specifically dealing with Mick, her daughter's abusive husband, the situation finally demanding action. The novel doesn't frame this as heroic or evil — it simply exists in a moral grey zone, with the final image of Linda hearing Jenny's voice telling her not to think about it. Linda has inherited Jenny's legacy. The twist is not a structural surprise so much as a moral culmination — by the end you've been rooting for it and it still makes you sit with something complicated.
What I think: This is genuinely charming in premise and execution — the dark humour around aging, dementia, and vigilante justice is handled with real warmth. Jenny is a magnificent creation. The Florida setting is pitch-perfect. The domestic abuse subplot with Mick gives it real emotional stakes beyond the mystery. Linda becoming a murderer herself is the kind of earned, morally ambiguous ending you tend to love. show less
[May contain spoilers]
Jenny's confessions are real. She's been killing men who hurt women — abusers, rapists, the type who walk away unpunished — for decades, and her dementia has made her both more honest and more dangerous. The ending is the thing: Linda, who started this journey as a passive grieving widow, ends up committing murder herself — specifically dealing with Mick, her daughter's abusive husband, the situation finally demanding action. The novel doesn't frame this as heroic or evil — it simply exists in a moral grey zone, with the final image of Linda hearing Jenny's voice telling her not to think about it. Linda has inherited Jenny's legacy. The twist is not a structural surprise so much as a moral culmination — by the end you've been rooting for it and it still makes you sit with something complicated.
What I think: This is genuinely charming in premise and execution — the dark humour around aging, dementia, and vigilante justice is handled with real warmth. Jenny is a magnificent creation. The Florida setting is pitch-perfect. The domestic abuse subplot with Mick gives it real emotional stakes beyond the mystery. Linda becoming a murderer herself is the kind of earned, morally ambiguous ending you tend to love. show less
placed in a memory care facility, Legacy Place. While visiting Carol, Linda encounters a quirky character, Jenny Cooper, who claims that she “kills people.” When two residents of Legacy Place die, Linda begins to suspect that perhaps there is some truth to Jenny’s claim. As she strikes up an unlikely friendship with Jenny, she finds she enjoys her company and it also provides a respite from her situation at home where her married daughter and ne’er-do-well husband have moved in with show more her.
I loved this book! I couldn’t put it down. While it certainly falls under the mystery/thriller genre, I found it to be also akin to literary fiction or women’s fiction. Fielding’s observations of aging, friendships, marital relationships, and the Florida lifestyle are both painfully and humorously accurate. She tackles difficult topics in such an entertaining manner that it diffuses their discomfort. And, oh that ending!
This story really resonated with me. I live in Florida, am aging, am dealing with friends facing the inevitability of assisted living, and I fall asleep every night watching Dateline, just like Linda. I am sorry to admit that this is the first Joy Fielding novel I have read and have to ask myself, what have I been missing out on?
Thanks to #NetGalley and @RandomHouse @BallantineBooks for the DRC. show less
I loved this book! I couldn’t put it down. While it certainly falls under the mystery/thriller genre, I found it to be also akin to literary fiction or women’s fiction. Fielding’s observations of aging, friendships, marital relationships, and the Florida lifestyle are both painfully and humorously accurate. She tackles difficult topics in such an entertaining manner that it diffuses their discomfort. And, oh that ending!
This story really resonated with me. I live in Florida, am aging, am dealing with friends facing the inevitability of assisted living, and I fall asleep every night watching Dateline, just like Linda. I am sorry to admit that this is the first Joy Fielding novel I have read and have to ask myself, what have I been missing out on?
Thanks to #NetGalley and @RandomHouse @BallantineBooks for the DRC. show less
I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by this book! During the course of reading this, I at first thought the conclusion was going to end up like other cliched thrillers I’ve read. But certain plot points went in a surprisingly different direction, and that left this reader (and I suspect others too) very pleased. As a married woman, I don’t have any experience with today’s dating environment. But I have heard my share of plenty of horror stories about dating apps. Those are one of show more the experiences we read about from one of several main characters in this story. Each man and woman is at a crossroads in their life, and looking for that special connection to share their ups and downs with. One character will and has done anything for that connection, and another protagonist is wondering if moving on so soon is the best option after a particularly brutal heartbreak. I grew to really enjoy hearing the story from each characters points of view, even the not so redeemable ones. The writing was clear and flowed smoothly. When characters engaged in conversation, it felt like I was eavesdropping and unlike in certain other books, it didn’t feel forced. This was my first read from author Joy Fielding and I’m very tempted to seek out her other works. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 51
- Also by
- 25
- Members
- 12,131
- Popularity
- #1,932
- Rating
- 3.5
- Reviews
- 376
- ISBNs
- 1,050
- Languages
- 21
- Favorited
- 25
