Taking place in Florida, all five families in this cul-de-sac have their share of secrets. At the beginning of the story, someone is shot.
Every home is armed and you are kept guessing who will be killed. Story covers five families and alternates narrators in a seamless way. Highly recommend this domestic suspense novel.

Five families. 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. Joy Fielding, always a pleasure to read! Loved the book. Finished it in two days cause I had to know how it turned out. Highly recommend. Thank you Random House for my ecopy.

It has been a while since I have indulged in one of Joy Fielding's novels, and I realize how much I have missed them after reading her next, Cul-de-sac, which will be published in August 2021 (thanks to Net Galley and Ballantine books for the ARC edition). Ms. Fielding sets an ominous tone in the prologue, letting the reader know of the "fatal events" and the gunshot that occurs on the cul-de-sac on a hot summer night. The book tells intersecting and parallel stories of the people who live in the 5 houses on a cul-de-sac; behind each door are secrets and dramas that are not known to the neighbors. I found myself empathizing with each family, as the situations are realistic and relatable, and the way the characters respond is understandable. The suspense builds until the resolution, which I found satisfactory and appropriate. I enjoyed this book, and have some catching up to do!

The houses on the cul-de-sac may all look the same, except for their exterior colors, but each one houses a family facing a different crises. A marital separation, a loss of job and status, abuse, alcoholism, drugs and thievery, a domineering mother-in-law and PTSD all come to play in this neighborhood. But which family and which crisis is the one that leads to the trigger being pulled? Joy Fielding keeps the reader engrossed in the separate, yet intertwined stories of the neighborhood's residents, giving us insights into how these seemingly normal lives on a quiet street are anything but chaotic, unsettled and even brutal behind closed doors. Each character has a motive and the ability to "pull the trigger", but which house and whose lives will be changed forever? Once the reader is hooked into each household's story, it becomes impossible to put the book down until you've discovered the identity of the victim as well as the motive behind the shooting. Well done.

Told from multiple perspectives, the reader hears the story of group of neighbors over the course of a few chaotic months.

This book is about 5 families all living on a middle class cul-de-sac. Someone is shot, and all the neighbors have access to guns. It goes through each neighbor's circumstances as secrets and lies are revealed. As you read along, you get to know all these characters. There's definitely alot of them, but the author handled it so well. Such a juicy, thrilling, and dramatic read. I enjoyed this book so much.

There are some triggers in this book such as sexual assault, and domestic violence!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted egalley. All opinions are my own!

I enjoyed reading Cul-de-Sac. I live on a cul de sac and that's what attracted me to this book. Fielding introduces readers to a small enclave, a microcosm community and each chapter reveals more about each family. One night shatters the community as someone is going to die. Guns clatter about the story and I enjoyed deducing who was going to be offed. The author conjures some truly nasty vile characters and I have no regret about the person who died. I guessed correctly who it would be and who pulled the trigger. If you live on any street, cul de sac or not, make sure to read this book.

I really enjoyed this book. At first it was a little hard to get to know all the people in the book but it finally comes together. I thought the ending was going to be a lot more different or actually more dramatic but it was still at good read

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinions. I found this book to be a fun, fast read, that is kind of a thriller and family drama. This book has a great plot line which makes this a page-turner with a satisfying ending.

Thank you to the publisher and author for this ARC for an honest review.

Cul-de-Sac is a story about the ups and downs of the families who live in the cul-de-sac. They didn’t know each other well until one of them started talking to another. Then you get to know all of them and realize it could be the cul-de-sac down the street. If you have ever read one of the many books that Joy Fielding wrote, you will know that the writing is strong and the storyline is good. I enjoyed getting to know the characters.

I have never read anything by Joy Fielding and am so thankful I found her. I absolutely devoured this book. I read it in a day staying up until 3:00 in the morning to finish it.
At the very beginning of the book you find out that someone has been shot in a quiet neighborhood cup-de-sac. The story then unfolds from multiple points of view from each family living in the cul-de-sac. I knew from the first chapter I was going to love the book. The writing style, voice, and plot kept me enthralled.
Thank you so much to the publisher for granting my wish. I am a new Joy Fielding fan!

I enjoyed this book tremendously. I found myself rushing to get back to read this book when I had to stop. Good story about homes on a cul de sac and the people who live in them. Nice variety of characters and sub characters. The book centers around a late night shooting and the pleasure in this book is finding out who was shot and who pulled the trigger. Also, a great read as you follow the metamorphosis of the characters. I highly recommend this read. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving this book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

This is a domestic drama about five families in a suburban cul-de-sac in Florida. Someone will be shot dead in the middle of a July 4th bar-b-que. All the couples have secrets and the story is told with multiple points of view. The characters are well-developed and the plot is fast-paced. I found the ending to be satisfying. There was scandalous behaviors of drug abuse, social issues, mental illness and an undercurrent of hope in the story. It was my first Fielding book but I do own some of her other books and will definitely be checking them out. I would like to thank NetGalley and Ballentine Books Random House Publishers for a free copy for an honest review.

I LOVED this book!

There have been many times when I've read books that alternated chapters giving each character a voice. Some books, I've dreaded getting to a particular character or skimmed that chapter because I just wasn't interested. This book however, has 5 characters/families that I couldn't wait to read what was going on. Each character was unique and had their own "issues" going on and I was all there for it. A few characters I loved and cared about and a few I couldn't stand but wanted to keep reading about them.

Ultimately someone gets shot in the story and almost on a daily basis, I chose.....the wrong person who did it.
Each person has a motive and each person own guns.

The worse thing I can say about this book is that I've finished it and will miss the characters that live on that
cul-de-sac.

Thank you so much for granting my wish and allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a good look at many types pf relationships and all the secrets involved BUT this did not wow me. It was a slow burn and I was waiting for more of the thrill to set in. Just an ok read.

Still an ok read and recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, Joy Fielding and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 8/10/21

This wasn’t really a thriller or domestic suspense. The story was redeeming because of the characters. This wasn’t my favorite book. I’ve never read the author before.

I really enjoyed this book, there were several different character’s storylines to follow throughout but the author made it easy to remember who was who. Sometimes when there are so many characters it is hard to keep track & I lose interest, but she kept me wanting to know more the whole time. I would consider this book more of a drama than a mystery/thriller, but I think she did a great job writing it. The characters were likeable & you want to keep reading to figure out who is going to get shot. Almost all of them have some kind of problem in their family. I would def recommend & will read other books by her! Thank you Netgalley & Ballantine Books for a copy of this book for an exchange for an honest review.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review - -
Wow! Wow! what a book - -
Living in a Cul de Sac - 5 families - each house with secrets - in a quiet neighbourhood.
Dani, a dentist, her husband an oncologist with two children - Dani -who can't do anything right to please her husband.-
Grandma Julia, her grandson living with her who likes his drugs -
Oliva who works, married to Sean who lost his job and is drinking too much and depressed -
Newly married Aiden suffered with PSTD, and his wife Heidi. Aiden's mother seems to control him - can this marriage survive? -
Maggie, whose husband left her with two children - but yet they still love each other
And with all this drama going on in the Cul de Sac someone is shot! Who is it?
Once again Joy Fielding writes a winner - you won't want to miss this book!!!!

Every one of the five houses on the “Cul-de-Sac” in this neighborhood are filled with secrets, slowly revealed, which all come to a head on a 4th of July BBQ in this simply named novel. Although not a thriller in the sense of the word, the author details all the trouble each family is battling until the tragic ending. Slow and plodding at times with a large cast of mostly unlikeable characters, the book still draws you in as you guess which neighbor is going to break first. Loved the witty dialogue from the teenage daughter, and overall I enjoyed the book. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The opening page of this fascinating domestic noir tells us that one of our characters will be shot in July. Knowing that, we discover the hidden secrets and hidden guns of five families living in a middle class cul-de-sac in Florida. Fielding is no apologist for guns and gradually introduces stunning gun facts as she introduces the families. While I was waiting for the murder I was immersed into each of the characters stories and disappointed when we switched to the next only to be delighted with their life as the story builds. Maggie is the central figure, scared after a traumatic experience that led to her move to ‘safer’ Florida, slowly coming out of her terror and ‘ finding her spark’ according to her estranged husband. The novel was so good and the characters so well written that when the murder itself doesn’t happen til near the end, I knew who I desperately wanted to be the victim and hoped that the women and children I had grown to love would be safe. Well paced, deep rich writing and a satisfying conclusion.