2022 Book Review #19: Cul-De-Sac

 

One of my fave authors....I've read many of her 29 novels.  Have really enjoyed most of them. 

This is her latest.

STORY SUMMARY

Five Families live on the little cul-de-sac known as Carlyle Terrace. 

One hot July evening, one of the residents will be shot dead. Who is it?  and who pulled the trigger?

Maggie, a paranoid mom of Erin (age 16) and Leo (age 11) is married to Craig a very successful car salesman.   They recently moved here from CA with their own secrets and issues. Maggie used to be a high school teacher but is trying to deal with some of her issues.  Craig and she just separated although both still love each other. 

Nick, a highly respected oncologist is married to Dani, a dentist.  They have 2 sons named Tyler (the sensitive one) and Ben (the feisty one is only 8 years old).  There are many secrets that go on behind closed doors and Dani feels like she can never escape. 

Julia is an elderly widow, whose obnoxious very wealthy son Norman is on his 4th wife.  Poppy is a trophy wife.  Norman's son Mark comes to stay with Julia and he too has some issues he needs to deal with.  At age 20, he is pretty much addicted to drugs and owes someone big money. 

Olivia and Sean also have their issues.  Sean has been unemployed from his prestigious advertising firm for the last year and so is a stay-at-home dad to their 3 children (twin boys and a girl). He resents the fact that Olivia has returned to the workplace and so he becomes depressed and deals with it by drinking.  A lot.  And lying to Olivia about looking for work. 

Aiden and Heidi are newlyweds who appear to be blissfully married.  However, Aiden's domineering mother Lisa, comes between them time and again.  Both Aiden and Heidi work at stores in the local mall and Heidi is trying to be the daughter in law she thinks Lisa wants.  All of her efforts fail, however. Heidi moves out one evening, after telling Aiden he needs to choose between her or his mother. Which will he choose?? He also has PTSD from 2 stints in Afghanistan and is getting therapy...all paid for by his mother, as is their home. Matters are not helped at all when Heidi becomes friends with Mark, the grandson of Julia.  On Independence evening, everything blows up. Which person will Aiden choose??

These neighbors all have secrets.  And all have access to guns.  What happens that hot July night??

MY THOUGHTS

This is one of the most fast-paced novels I have ever read.  Each chapter keeps you turning to the next one. I stayed up very late on vacation to read more and more. 

The character development is very well done......I felt as though I could be friends with Dani and Maggie and maybe even Olivia and Heidi.  I felt for the kids in this story......they just want their parents to get along and love each other. 

The plot becomes apparent and is so entwined yet easy to keep track of (all the different neighbors and their issues).  It's very well done. 

This book deals with domestic violence, emotional abuse, addictions, parent-child relationships, marital relationships,  and gun violence for sport.  

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some mature content).

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.