Quick easy read. My opinion is this book is for senior audience. It covers dementia and senior living

I've been reading Joy Fielding for 4 decades. This is a bit if a departure for het but still enjoyable. I love the strong elder female characters in this one.
Enjoyable quick read.
I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I realize this is a very unfair review because I could not get further than the second chapter. I’m not sure what made me request this book. I am not able to read any books that include characters with Alzheimer’s. This is basically the storyline and a major miss on my part for not letting that dissuade me. I did find the writing compelling and I love Joy Fielding, so im sure I would like the book if I were able to read about the topic.

This was an enjoyable breeze of a read - except for the fact that it makes me never want to get old lol. Jenny Cooper is an amazing character that I would have treasured knowing. The story on the peripheral of her is good but somewhat sad and why I don't ever want to get old(er). The real enjoyment to me came with the relationship of Linda and Jenny.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Jenny Cooper has a secret.
A woman in a health care facility likes to tell her stories. She’s 92 and quite animated with her tales. Are they true? We’ll soon a woman visiting this facility meets this woman Jenny. And her own life is examined in ways she cannot understand or imagine.
Not my favorite book by this author but a good read overall.
3 stars

This book did not feel like a psychological thriller, but I liked it. It centers on Linda, who meets an elderly lady named Jenny in a memory care center while visiting her best friend who has dementia. Jenny tells Linda that she has killed people in her past and Linda can't decide if these are true stories or not. Beyond that, her conversations with Jenny are just enjoyable- Jenny has no filter and says whatever pops in her mind. Since Linda's home life is fraught with tension due to her daughter and son-in-law living with her, she spends more and more time with Jenny.

Linda is a likable and believable character, and I was charmed by the dynamic between her and the other characters. Jenny should be super annoying but there is just something about her which drew me back in (much as it did with Linda!). There really wasn't much mystery in the book but it felt like a fast read either way. I guessed the twist at the end early on, but I still enjoyed it and it helped tie up loose ends that might still be in the reader's mind.

Overall, while this was different than I expected, I found it to be an enjoyable read. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a fun read! Such a surprise ending! Loved the characters and the premise! Kind of a new style for Joy Fielding but I like it!

fun and well-written psychological thriller which almost felt cozy at points. i loved the characterizations they all felt real. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Well done, Joy Fielding. Very well done.

Linda Davidson's husband died two years ago and she hasn't been out of the house much since then. She did let her daughter, Khloe, and her husband, Mick, move in while they were getting back on their feet financially. Then Linda starts going to a memory care facility to visit her best friend, Carol, who sometimes knows who she is and other times doesn't have a clue who Linda is. But the highlight of Linda's visits become her chats with Jenny Cooper who claims to be a serial killer. She also dispenses some good advice. Jenny is a character in every sense of the word.

When Linda's friend Carol is moved to another facility quite a ways away, Linda still visits Jenny because she's grown to like her. Meanwhile, Khloe and Mick are almost constantly fighting which makes Linda stay away from home.

When I first started reading thrillers, Joy Fielding, was one of my go-to authors. Now that she writing about memory care, I thought she might be close to my age. She was born the month before I was. So, she is definitely writing about what she knows because that time has come in our lives when assisted living calls to many of us.

Even though I guessed the ending, how the author got there was definitely the high point of this book. I highly recommend it and I couldn't put it down.

As a fan of Joy Fielding’s novels (particularly Cul-De-Sac), I was looking forward to reading this book. However, I was very disappointed and felt that the story was somewhat monotonous and definitely not a mystery or thriller. I also felt that the book was demeaning to older people and especially those with dementia or other memory issues. The depiction of the memory care facility and its employees did not appear to be realistic (based on the several I have personally visited) and, unfortunately, probably portrayed an accurate picture of too many marriages in today’s world.
I thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this novel prior to publication.

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 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?

Book: Jenny Cooper Has A Secret
Author: Joy Fielding
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine
Pub Date: August 5, 2025

I am a Joy Fielding fan but she can be hit or miss for me. And sadly, this was a miss. It’s described as a riveting psychological thriller and it is indeed not riveting. The story was very repetitive. Each chapter was like Groundhog Day – the same thing over and over. I can’t say I expected a whole lot of excitement out of the story because all of the characters were in their 70s plus but still…. The ending did pack a little bit of a punch but it just wasn’t much punkin’ leading up to it. While I am disappointed in this one, I am still a Joy Fielding fan and she offers a lot of great books.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is August 5, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Jenny Cooper Has a Secret.

Linda Davidson is grieving the loss of her husband to cancer and her BFF, Carol, to dementia. She visits Carol frequently at the assisted facility and it's where she encounters Jenny Cooper, an almost 100 year old who has more than her share of secrets.

As Linda and Jenny begin to spend more time together, Linda wrestles with her age, her future, and her daughter's troubled marriage,

The narrative focuses on the woes of aging, a fact of life most of us (if we're lucky) will face in our lives; what does it mean to be a woman and to grow old especially as a widow; how do we keep busy, find fulfillment and meaning in our lives as we near the end.

The story lacks suspense and urgency, even when Jenny is divulging her secrets since her past is in the rearview mirror and her recollections can't be entirely trusted due to her dementia.

Jenny's murderous revelations become a turning point Linda as she decides on how far to go to protect her daughter.

The ending is predictable and you can see how the ending leads straight there.

I would have liked to know more about Jenny and her exploits but it was more about how Linda's friendship with Jenny enables Linda to take a more active role in her life and future.

I liked the story. The ending was kinda predictable, but I still enjoyed it. Jenny was an interesting character and I liked that she was sort of doing us a “favor”.

I’m not sure what I just read but I absolutely loved. Huge thanks to the publisher for this ARC of Jenny Cooper Has a Secret by Joy Fielding! also LOVING the Dateline references throughout.

If you love layered mysteries, messy characters, and the feeling that someone’s always watching, keep an eye out for this one

When Linda Davidson begins visiting her best friend at an assisted living facility, she crosses paths with Jenny Cooper, an eccentric 92-year-old woman with a wild past and a jaw-dropping secret. As their unlikely friendship grows, Linda is pulled into Jenny’s tangled stories that blur the line between truth and delusion, all while navigating personal grief and family tension back home.

This novel offers a thoughtful look at aging, memory loss, and the emotional toll of caretaking, all wrapped in a character-driven narrative with hints of mystery. I was intrigued by the premise and found Jenny to be a fascinating and unpredictable character. However, the pacing dragged in places, and I expected a bit more suspense and payoff given the setup.

That said, Joy Fielding writes with insight and compassion, and readers who enjoy slower, reflective fiction with quirky characters and emotional depth may find this a compelling read.

Linda Davidson is still learning to cope with the death of her husband when her longtime best friend, Carol, is diagnosed with dementia and doesn't recognize her anymore. Linda is desperately lonely, even after her daughter and son-in-law move in with her. Daughter Kleo is trying to complete her dissertation and while son-in-law Mick is supposedly setting up his own business and being supportive, he seems to spend more time watching porn and drinking beer.

Linda escapes to the memory care facility to visit Carol, even though Carol rarely knows who she is any more. So, when Jenny Cooper, another resident in the memory care facility, repeatedly accosts Linda (and mostly remembers her name), Linda spends time with the wacky woman who claims she has murdered several people. In her 90s, Jenny Cooper is frail and seems to have no family or visitors. A former pharmacist, she tells Linda that she has killed people, or has she? Linda doesn't know what to think but is mesmerized by Jenny's stories and grateful to have a distraction from the problems in her life. Her visits to the facility seem to be more for her and Jenny, even though she makes token visits to Carol.

Learning to navigate without her husband and best friend is a bit confusing and even somewhat frightening for Linda. And, Linda has begun to avoid her home as much as possible because of Mick's irritating and entitled mannerisms. She is intrigued by Jenny's claims, especially when another resident of the home dies shortly after his granddaughter confesses to Linda, in Jenny's hearing, that her grandfather molested her when she was a child.

This is Joy Fielding at her best, setting up a mystery with suspense, numerous possibilities and human frailties. Fans of her other works won't want to miss this one. Narrator Carol Monda has just the right touch, presenting each character with a unique voice and manner.

Couldn’t put it down. This book was entertaining, engaging and quick.

Linda was visiting her best friend, 76-year-old Carol, in a memory care facility with ocean views in Jupiter, FL. They’ve known each other since grade school and with Alzheimer’s, Carol was now just on the edge of recognizing her.

Yet, someone else caught her attention: Jenny, a 92-year-old eccentric dementia patient. She told her she kills people. Jenny repeated phrases, spoke loudly at times and had a quirky side. Yet, it made Linda curious. Was there any truth with her words? She could have ignored her but she was a good distraction from the other parts of her life.

The short chapters kept the pages moving with lies, secrets and consequences. Readers, especially seniors, could understand her frustrations. Linda had a hard time with technology and couldn’t understand what happened to regular TVs, watches, and appliances. She was annoyed at her Apple watch for giving her pep talks.

It’s always easy to remember the characters with simple names: Linda, Carol, Jenny, Ralph, James and many more. Yet, Jenny kept repeating that one of her husbands, Parker Rubini, had a different kind of name. Linda wondered if she killed him.

While Linda narrated the story, the true star was Jenny. She took advantage of her age with dementia and why not? She got everyone’s attention with her dramatic lines. It wasn’t hard to predict what would happen but it was certainly a fun ride.

My thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of August 5, 2025.

In this psychological thriller authored by Joy Fielding, the narrative centers on Linda Davidson, a seventy-six-year-old woman grappling with the dual challenges of her husband's recent passing and her best friend Carol's diagnosis of dementia. Despite her daughter Kleo and son-in-law Mick moving in to provide support, Linda experiences profound feelings of isolation and seeks refuge by visiting a memory care facility. During these visits, she encounters Jenny Cooper, a ninety-two-year-old dementia patient who claims to have committed murder, a disturbing revelation that profoundly alters Linda's understanding of her reality.

At first, Linda regards Jenny's assertion as mere ramblings of a disoriented mind. However, she begins to uncover inconsistencies in Jenny's narratives that hint at a more complex truth. Following the death of another patient at the facility, which the staff attributes to natural causes, Linda is left to ponder whether Jenny's alarming claims might possess an element of truth. This conflict between belief and skepticism propels the narrative forward, immersing readers in a labyrinth of uncertainty.

Despite the compelling premise, I did find this novel to be lacking in some area. The pacing of the book at times, was slow. I think that this novel was more similar to a novel about aging and dementia; and not necessarily a psychological thriller. Although the characters are engaging, they may not fully meet the expectations typically associated with a psychological thriller, as there was not a significant degree of suspense and action typically associated with psychological thrillers.

Although, it was enjoyable as a mystery centered around the themes of dementia and aging. The interactions between Linda and Jenny offer moments of both depth and humor; however, the narrative's leisurely pace and absence of dramatic twists may not appeal to all readers. Nevertheless, as I am an aficionado of Fielding’s works, I do appreciate this novel and anticipate future works. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my review.

Just WOW! I’m late to the Joy Feilding party but so happy to be here! This book grabbed me from the very beginning and I could not put it down. Flipped pages long into the night. The characters were fantastic and very relatable. This story was dark and gritty (yet had many laugh out loud moments) Big fat 5 stars from me. Can’t wait to read more by this author.
Thank you NetGalley, Joy Fielding and Doubleday Canada International Books for the opportunity to read and review this gem of a book.