Five homes located on a cul-de-sac outside Palm Beach. Each has its own story with dangerous potential. Book starts with a shooting in the quiet neighborhood. We are not told who the victim is, but are lead back, two months prior, and read intimately the stories of each of the households.

You’ll figure it out and then you won’t. You’ll sympathize with some characters. You’ll cringe at others. One or two, you’ll hate.

Each of the household’s tales are told well from beginning to end. Characters are well thought out. I’d certainly recommend this to book discussion groups of all types.

I really enjoyed this book! Each character had a unique personality and story that sucked me in. A total page-turner. It centers around a neighborhood and a shooting, the story unfolds and you're trying to figure out who was shot and why. Normally the main question would be what pulls me to the end, to find out whodunit, but instead each of the character's lives had such interesting twists and turns, the big answer was just the cherry on top.

I read several books by Joy Fielding years ago and enjoyed them for what they were…fluff thrillers and not much more. What I didn’t realize then is that the author is really behind the times and more than likely she hasn’t paid much attention to the gains women have made and the fact that most marriages and relationships are not as cliched as she makes them out to be. Her female characters are totally lame, even the professional dentist! While she always has written about women overcoming the odds I don’t recall her other books making those women start from ground zero and getting a life education in a matter of months. Either that or the characters in this book were just not completely fleshed out and came off as superficial and dense. The old woman Julia was the only one who seemed to have sense and wisdom. The excessive tropes was another problem. Spousal abuse, PTSD, overbearing hateful mother-in-law, deadbeat husband… yeah, just too much.

The other thing I really disliked was the author’s totally uninformed knowledge of how guns are handled, bought, and kept safe. If you are going to have a single mom buy a gun and leave it in a drawer for her 5 year old son to pick up you just lost me. That whole scene just upset me and I lost a lot of respect for the character. Then instead of learning how to use and handle the gun she turned it in to the police???!!! Fielding clearly has issues with guns yet she goes on later to have another character use it in self defense?? Granted she needed to but what exactly are you trying to say Joy Fielding?? At 73 you should have some idea about where you stand on women and guns and for that matter, feminism.

The book talks about a gunshot irrevocably changing the lives of the characters who live on this cul-de-sac but the shooting is at the very end, long after the lives had already been changed. The description of the story is misleading. I can say, however, that I was happy for the result of said shooting and for how the other characters ultimately turned out. Needless to say I doubt I’ll ever read another book by Fielding.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

That was certainly a satisfying ending. I wasn't sure where the book would go based on the beginning of the novel. And I certainly not a fan of guns but this book really observed fun culture, its affects on us and really delved into certain traumas which I wasn't expecting.

I really enjoyed this. The plot was fast moving with lots of twists and turns. The characters were relatable; even if you couldn't see yourself in them, you know someone similar.

I always enjoy a Joy Fielding book. Lots of characters in this made me keep guessing who it was that got shot.

Great story characters and dialogue I'm happy that tbe person I most wanted to die died.All the characters were relatable a perfect read.

I loved this book, so much! Joy Fielding, I can’t believe this is your 20th novel & I’m just now finding you. I can’t wait to catch up with more of your work!

If you’re a fan of Big Little Lies or Desperate Housewives, this is right up your alley. This story tells the tale of 5 families living in, yep you guessed it, a quaint little cul-de-sac. Every chapter immerses you into their lives & I became so invested in the characters that I couldn’t stop thinking about them.

One hot July night, someone gets shot in this quiet little neighborhood, but who will it be? You have to wait until the very last second to find out!

A huge 👏🏼 thanks to Ballantine Books & Netgalley for this advanced copy to read & review, this hits the shelves August 10. Get ready, you don’t want to miss it!

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun to know what event we were building up to and wondering who it would be that it happened to. So many people that might want to hurt someone and so many people that others had a reason to hurt. The book was well written and moved quickly a fun, fast read!

The characters were well written and I was fully invested in knowing what would happen in the end. I enjoyed that the book gave us full closure at the end, I hate wondering how things ended.

An amazing read! I HIGHLY recommend this book to all.

Great characterization and development of characters.

Read in one day!

Many Thanks to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for this treat!!!

This book was everything! OMG the stories of these people and what you see from the outside versus the inside! It makes you think about the people around you and how well you know them.

So excited to have read Joy Fielding's latest novel. Great story and characters lead the reader through a maze of neighborhood families and their interconnecting journeys. This was a little different from Fielding's past works which are usually a little more thriller based. I enjoyed this novel and the interweavings of the stories presented. Very character driven and I felt it was a strong story with a satisfying end.

Thank you Netgalley for granting my wish - Cul-de-sac by Joy Fielding is one of her best books. Loved Fielding since i read See Jane Run and she draws you in with great characters and lots of drama. Cul-de-sac takes place in Florida and the description of this neighborhood is vivid.
In this quiet neighborhood gun shots ring out. and a crime is committed. The reader is taken back in time to acquaint you with the group of people living in this little hamlet. You meet five families who are interesting and have their own problems and secrets.
You are introduced to these families in each chapter and the drama keeps you guessing - all of these families are gun owners, they all have dark secrets, and all have the capability to pull the trigger of a firearm.
The characters are real, and you are vested in each of them because Fielding has the ability to bring them alive, and trying to figure out who would pull that trigger will keep you reading till the end of this fantastic drama.
I loved this book - great summer read - this could be a movie not not just a Lifetime movie of the week. It is deep, rich, and oh so addictive.
5 stars. Recommend.

Oooo well this was a very fun read! I loved this story from start to finish. Totally binge worthy!! Thanks for the arc in exchange for an honest review! I highly recommend

I read Joy Fielding's books years ago and enjoyed them a great deal. This book is absolutely fabulous. Ms Fielding is a master story teller. An added delight is her ability to develop characters that are flawed but feel like friends b I can't wait to discuss this in book group.

Thank you Netgallery for this opportunity to read this ARC. I loved this book. I have been a Joy Fielding fan since See Jane Run in the 90's. This book had many twists and turns and very interesting characters. I live in South FL so can appreciate the Palm Beach references as well. The book kept me guessing and there were many twists and turns until the final reveal. I also enjoyed the prologue which filled the reader in on how the characters lives were in the future. Definitely recommend!

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. Cul-de-sac is a slow-burning suburban drama that tackles relevant social issues over the backdrop of a Florida community. Told in multiple POVs, Which I happen to like. The Cul-de-sac has 5 houses on it, and The residents of each house has serious problems. There is nothing normal about this particular complex. It is full of guns, lies, PTSD, theft, sexual abuse and drugs. I found the book readable, and will look into more by this author.

#Netgalley

I've read all 29 of Fielding's. Some I loved, some I liked, some I was disappointed in. But it is difficult to churn out 29 blockbusters in a row.
This is a good book. Not her greatest but not her worst. Pacing was a little slower than her usual, but my pacing is slower than when I read her first book back in the 80s.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The half circle of houses on Carlyle Terrace conceal a host of secrets behind its well-maintained yards and houses There's handsome, respected oncologist Mark and his dentist wife Dani and their two young sons; Aiden and his young wife Heidi, asking with his overbearing mother, who doesn't love with them but might as well, controlling the young family much as Mark controls his, although without the violence; Olivia and Sean, who's been laid off and lying to his wife about where he goes every day;Maggie and Craig, starting over a continent away from the bikers who terrified her with their threats after she testified against one of them; and octogenarian Julia Foster, whose teenage grandson is both her hope and her despair. The gradual unfolding of their lives is nicely observed, but the characters are one dimensional and the narrative plodding. Not one of this popular author's best books

I feel like it's been awhile since I've seen anything by Joy Fielding, and I must say that this was worth the wait. Take a group of neighbors on a "quiet" cul de sac, all with their own lives, problems and secrets, and you have a recipe for trouble. The author does a great job of giving enough life to each character that I didn't have any problems telling each one apart. They all had their good points (well, most of them...) and bad, but were well done and I was reading into the night. I highly recommend this new book by Ms. Fielding. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.