I adored this story. Gripping from the first page to the last, it’s a true page-turner that kept me guessing all the way through. The writing style is captivating, drawing the reader into a world filled with suspense and intrigue. The characters are well-developed and relatable, making their journey all the more compelling. I found myself unable to put the book down, eager to uncover the secrets hidden within its pages. It's a must-read for fans of the genre!

If you want a story that makes your pulse race and your heart ache at the same time, this is it. I found myself completely lost in the characters, rooting for them with everything in me. It’s gripping, emotional, and totally binge-worthy.

I absolutely loved Joy Fielding’s latest suspense novel. Gripping from the first page to the last, it’s a true page-turner that kept me guessing all the way through.

This psychological suspense novel is a great read.

Linda Davidson, 76, makes regular visits to Legacy Place, a memory-care facility for the elderly, after her best friend Carol is diagnosed with dementia. While visiting, Linda meets 92-year-old Jenny Cooper who tells Linda that she has killed a number of people, mostly men who hurt her and she believes deserved to die. Linda has a lot of stress in her life: her husband died and she’s not certain how to move on with her life, her best friend doesn’t even recognize her, and the peace of her home is disturbed by the constant bickering between her daughter Kleo and her husband Mick who live with her. She becomes intrigued with Jenny and her stories which provide her a reprieve from daily life.

The suspense derives from trying to determine the truth. Is Jenny just spinning yarns for Linda’s entertainment? Are her confessions just the confusion of an ailing mind? At times she is surprisingly lucid, so her revelations cannot be easily dismissed. When a patient at the facility dies shortly after Jenny learns he sexually abused his daughter, is Jenny responsible? Does she actually pose a danger to others?

Jenny is feisty and quirky. She has a commanding personality who cannot be ignored. She is full of quips, often speaking without filters. Many of her exchanges with Linda are hilarious. For instance, when Linda asks Jenny about the number of her murder victims, even just a ballpark, Jenny replies with “’Shea Stadium’” and even after Linda explains what the expression means, Jenny retorts with, “’You say “ballpark” and I’m supposed to know that means to give you an approximate number? That doesn’t make any sense’” and continues “’What does how many people I’ve killed have to do with baseball?’” Amidst her witty remarks are words of wisdom. For instance, she tells Linda that she apologizes too much and should stop overthinking. She is definitely a memorable character.

Despite its lighthearted moments, the novel does touch on a number of serious subjects like aging, abuse, friendship, loss and grief, and family. Dementia and its effects, on both those diagnosed with the disease and their loved ones, are examined. Carol’s husband tells Linda she is such a good friend because she continues to visit Carol even as her condition deteriorates and Linda reflects, “Does he know how hard it’s become for me to visit my lifelong friend, the disappointment and outright anger that I feel toward her condition, that I feel toward her, and the guilt I carry for feeling this way? Would he consider me a good friend if he knew the depth of my resentment, the rage I can barely suppress whenever I confront the glazed look in her eyes, the unstated fear I carry of ending up the same way?” Perhaps because I am not much younger than Linda, I identified with a number of her concerns.

This is a fast-paced, quick read. I predicted the ending, but that didn’t lessen my enjoyment.

Perfect pacing of a novel....Joy has hit it out of the park again with this one....
Sad, Funny, intriguing, great paced..... You will find yourself binge reading this one

Canadian Author 🇨🇦

Joy Fielding delivers yet again! It's quite an entertaining story and a bit different from her usual ones. This is part women's fiction and part mystery. It features senior citizens which seems to be a bit of a trend lately. I loved that the story was set in a part of Florida that I know quite well. It's always fun to know the local places the characters "hang out" at.

Linda Davidson is 76 years old and a widow. Her daughter and son-in-law have recently moved in with her. Her best friend has Alzheimer's and has recently been placed in a memory care facility. Linda is lonely and her life has really changed. She visits her friend regularly even though she doesn't remember her. At the facility she befriends another resident, Jenny Cooper. Well Jenny tells her a secret. Is it real or is it Jenny's ailing mind at play?

The perfect ending although I may have seen it coming (not bad thing in this case) 😉 If you enjoy stories about seniors, loneliness, friendships, family drama with a pinch of mystery then this is the book for you!

Available today!

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for granting me access to this Advance Reader's Copy.

I was immediately drawn to the cover—it’s striking, vibrant, and absolutely eye-catching. I only hope the final version matches the one I saw on NetGalley, because it’s easily the stronger design.

This novel is both quirky and heartfelt, weaving in themes of aging, memory, and resilience while still maintaining a brisk, easy pace. The budding relationship between Linda and Jenny was my favorite aspect; two older women navigating complicated lives with sharp wit and unexpected vulnerability. There’s humor, suspense, and just enough emotional weight to give the story depth without making it overly heavy.

The ending, in particular, was deeply satisfying—bittersweet, moving, and more layered than I anticipated. While the plot isn’t relentlessly dark, it does touch on difficult topics such as dementia, abuse, and mortality, balancing them with warmth and even a touch of levity.

Overall, I found this to be a refreshing and compelling read—an “easy-breezy thriller” in pacing, yet grounded by characters with real heart. It worked perfectly as a palate cleanser between denser, darker books, while still offering plenty to think about.

Jenny Cooper Has a Secret is a psychological thriller centered on 76-year-old Linda Davidson, a recent widow navigating loneliness, familial tension, and the fading connections of her past. When her daughter and son-in-law move in—bringing nothing but constant arguments—Linda finds herself seeking escape in visits to her longtime friend, Carol, now living with dementia in a memory care facility called Legacy Place. It is there she meets Jenny Cooper, a sharp, cantankerous 92-year-old who nonchalantly confesses, “I kill people.” Initially dismissing her as confused, Linda becomes increasingly intrigued—and unnerved—as a resident dies under ambiguous circumstances, challenging her to question whether Jenny’s confession is delusion or sinister truth.

This novel is a quick easy read. Not my typical type of book but I really enjoyed it. I would recommend this story as it was a funny, twisty and a suspenseful read. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an advanced copy of this book.

“Men, you can’t live with ‘em, can’t shoot ‘em. But there are simpler ways”

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC. I devoured this in two days, such a quick easy read. Murder mystery with a twist as the story is told from Jenny Coopers dementia muddled mind. Linda Davison is left sorting through the confusing stories trying to get to know Jenny a bit better. Her daughter is concerned that Linda is spending so much time with crazy Jenny, but her crazy ideas just might not be so bad.

There are tough topics, abuse, death, dementia, cancer, but it is wrapped together in such a light hearted way. It really is a feel good murder mystery from the nursing home.

I'm afraid I have to DNF this one at 16%. I'm not enjoying it at all. It's not BAD, per se, although the writing seemed kind of weak to me (the editor might have caught and fixed the problems by publication day?). I just don't care about people's sex lives or body image, and that has been a large part of the focus so far. I'm sorry, I have a lot (A LOT) of health problems, so when someone starts complaining about how their body is starting to look different as they age (not even fall apart, just **gasp** NOT BE AS PRETTY), it rubs me the wrong way. And feisty, foul-mouthed old people aren't funny to me. They're just as annoying as feisty, foul-mouthed young people.

Basically, I'm the wrong audience for this book. But others will probably enjoy it a lot? There seems to be a murder mystery involved. The killer might be a 90-year-old woman who keeps shouting obscenities and making whispered confessions. Nursing home shenanigans and humour-in-the-face-of-dementia are happening. It's a light, quick read. Check it out if that sounds up your alley.

So... what exactly was Jenny Cooper's secret? This was so convoluted and redundant that at some point I thought I was the one who had dementia. It was really frustrating and hard to enjoy. So a very annoying journey mostly filled with unlikeable characters, babble and fluff to a super predictable ending, for a novel marketed as a thriller, which it was absolutely not and should've honestly been a novella. I'm usually a fan of this author, and just can't bring myself to believe that she actually wrote this one... The only positive thing I can say about it without spoiling anything is that someone got what they deserved (and even then, I find rookie mistakes were made, so I had to suspend disbelief).
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Joy Fielding does it AGAIN!! This is a captivating, well paced and fast read from this well established author. I want to be a part of Linda Davidson's bookclub and wish I could have visited Jenny Cooper too. It's excellent to read books that strive to normalize the aging process and the full lives of people who are aging. I also appreciated the primary setting of this book being in an age-care facility and the poignant recognition of the grief that accompanies dementia. All that packaged an entertaining read. Well done Joy Fielding - I look forward to your next offering. Big thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada, and Joy Fielding for this ARC. Do yourself a favour and pick up this engaging read! 4.5 stars!

🤯 W I L D W E D N E S D A Y review 🤯 featuring “Jenny Cooper Has a Secret” by Joy Fielding!

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Linda Davidson is 76 years old, a widow, living with her adult daughter and her sketchy husband and is also having a hard time accepting that her best friend Carol has dementia.

Feeling rather lonely, Linda makes it a priority to visit Carol in the memory care home she now lives in for dementia patients. Carol has good days and bad days, but still Linda makes sure to go once a week. During one of her visits she meets Jenny Cooper who is an eccentric 92 year old and full of piss and vinegar.

Jenny Cooper has a secret … PSST … that she kills people. Unsure if Jenny’s stories are real or part of her dementia, Linda starts to spend more time with Jenny as she is curious to find out more. Jenny seems to be oddly lucid when she tells stories of the men she’s killed that once hurt her. So when one of the male patients (known to be an abuser) winds up dead from “choking”, Linda is sure that Jenny may have actually done something to him ☠️!

💭 Hands down, everyone needs to read this! Jenny Cooper literally consumes your mind and you never know what’s the truth and what’s an illusion. Jenny is such a chaotic and quirky character who COULD be a serial killer! If you loved Too Old For This by Samantha Downing then you HAVE to read this one! It’s totally wild and will take you by surprise!

Thank you kindly to @fieldingjoy @doubledayca @penguinrandomca @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on August 26, 2026!

Fun, over the top, quick read. I giggled, rolled my eyes, and at times was even laughing out loud! Totally not what I expected but I really enjoyed it. If only everyone had the opportunity to get to know a senior like Jenny Cooper and enjoy their wisdom, the world would be better for it. This is a must ‘fun/light’ read!
Thank You to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada, and Joy Fielding for the opportunity to read and thoroughly enjoy this ARC.

4.5 Stars. Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advance digital edition of 'Jenny Cooper Has a Secret' by Joy Fielding. This was a psychological drama between Legacy Place, a memory care facility and the stressful home of Linda Davidson, age 76. The story touches on dementia, family tensions, abuse, grief, death, unlikely friendships, profanity, and protecting loved ones. There was a mention that the story might be demeaning toward older people. I am older than some of the patients, but I cannot agree or disagree with this warning, because I was too busy laughing. I found the book to be very entertaining.

Linda was lonely after her husband died, and her daughter, Kieo, and her despicable, lazy husband, Mick, moved in to her home to keep her company. Her daughter has taken a year off work to write a Phd dissertation, and Mick is supposedly working at home to develop a business. He loses prospective clients because his computer time is often spent viewing pornography, and he has a drawer full of similar magazines. His financial situation is grim, and he resents that his wife is busy with her thesis and wants her to return to her job.

Their constant arguing has made Linda very stressed and uncomfortable in her home. She escapes by visiting her longtime best friend, Carol, at Legacy Place. Linda is saddened to find that Carol's memory is rapidly declining, and she rarely recognizes Linda. Carol is frequently visited by her husband, Lorne. Carol fails to remember him, and Lorne is now attracted to Linda. She imagines an affair with him, but is appalled by a possible romantic affair with the husband of her best friend. She believes it would be morally wrong, even after Carol becomes more attached to another male patient.

Linda is dismayed by Carol's deteriorating condition, but continues to visit. One day, she is confronted by Jenny Cooper, a tiny woman with a very outgoing and commanding presence. Jenny is loud, vulgar, and swears constantly. Jenny is almost 93 years old. She tells Linda that she has a secret. She kills people. She demands proof that Linda is not a member of the CIA or FBI, and is not wearing a recording device. At first, Jenny claims to have murdered four men, but her stories keep changing and expanding. Linda is intrigued and puzzled by Jenny's confessions.

Their conversations are hilarious. Is her list of the men she has killed a bid for attention or a product of her dementia? Jenny's conversation is often disjointed and rambling, but with moments of clarity. Jenny forgets their conversations and repeats them due to her memory issues. I found her presence memorable and more fascinating than annoying. Jenny tells her that she was once a pharmacist and concocted a recipe from over-the-counter drugs that mimics a heart attack or death by choking. She is proud never to have been discovered for her crimes. When an elderly man dies in his room, it is regarded as a natural death, but Linda is concerned that Jenny killed him. Her stories are believed by Linda until Jenny mentions that she killed President Kennedy, but Lee Harvey Oswald was blamed.

Carol has been moved to another, more distant facility. Linda continues to visit Jenny, and now considers her a friend and is still mystified about how true her list of murdered men is.

Meanwhile, the situation in Lida's home has grown more unbearable. She suspects that Mick ( who was once believed by Jenny to be Mick Jagger) is now injuring her daughter and has hidden and destroyed pages of her dissertation. Their loud arguing continues. She also overhears her son-in-law making hateful comments about herself. This forces her even closer to visiting Jenny.

When Jenny dies, she leaves a gift for Linda. The ending is a satisfying one. Recommended to prospective readers who can ignore any triggering issues and enjoy the humour. Another similar and excellent mystery is 'All the Words We Know'. The publication date in Canada is August 26/2025.

I overall really enjoyed this!! I don’t have a whole lot to say, but it was a solid read and I’ll definitely be reading more by Joy Fielding in the future!!

Jenny Cooper has a Secret

Yes she certainly does !! This book was odd in a great way. I honestly struggled at the beginning and the book continued to grow on me quickly!

What started out as a woman in her 70s visiting her best friend in a care home for dementia, turned into a really well written crazy ride.

Themes of: domestic violence, murder, loss, and grief.

Also a big thanks to the author for the ending, it was perfection.

Im obsessed with the cover! The greeny-blue is sooooo appealing!! (The netgalley cover is different to the Goodreads one and I pray the netgalley is the official cover cos it is 1000x better! 😬)

Our FMC Linda meets a patient (Jenny) in a memory care facility, after striking up a friendship of sorts Jenny begins to tell Linda stories of her past which are very entertaining yet feature many apparent murders. Linda likes spending time with Jenny and doesn’t take her stories too seriously given the fact she could be entirely bonkers but is happy to hear them nonetheless. As was I the reader happy to hear these stories too 😆

This book is a quick read, very fast paced you get into the rhythm very early on. I enjoyed the characters budding relationship and the fact they found someone to connect with through different stages of their lives. The plot isn’t super serious but it does have some suspense and twists for those who like easy breezy thrillers.

I liked the quirkiness of the characters and thought the read was entertaining overall. This is a good palette cleanser for in between longer / darker books, I thought it was a nice break in between my usual reads,

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and Joy Fielding for the #netgalley #gifted copy!

Publishes : August 26th

Over the years I have read many of Joy Fielding's books. In fact, way back in the 1970s I read one called Best of Friends, which was one of the strangest books I had read at that young age. I believe it was her first published book.

This book is very different too. It didn't take long to wonder if there is an unreliable narrator. Of course, I had to keep reading to find out. Linda, the narrator, is visiting her friend, Carol, in a memory care home when she meets another patient, Jenny. Jenny is full of strange stories that drew me in. Really strange stories, which draw Linda in too. Jenny and Linda develop a very strange friendship/relationship.

I am someone who witnessed the loss of my mother from dementia. In the depths of despair, I always tried to find a smidgen of humour in the situation. It helped me to cope. The conversations between Linda and Jenny were spot on…..reminded me of some of the conversations my mother and I had. It actually brought smiles to my face. Round and round we go!

The relationship between Linda and Jenny was the highlight of the story. I truly enjoyed their interactions, the ones that made sense and the ones that didn't.

Throughout the story, there is always a dark undertone. It left me feeling uncomfortable at times, wondering where and when the twist was going to be. It kept me turning the pages.

There are several themes prominent throughout the story. Dementia, loss, aging, friendship and closed-door abuse. Some may consider these a trigger.

The ending is not quite what I was expecting but it was good. I was satisfied.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

4.5 stars but since I got so much enjoyment and laughs out of Jenny Cooper Has a Secret and the ending was absolutely perfect, I will gladly round up to 5 stars.

Linda is visitng her best friend at a memory care faciilty when she meets the quirky Jenny Cooper who tells Linda that she has a secret: she kills people.

I loved Jenny. She is a character and loves to embellish her stories. She is also in her nineties .

Linda cant decide what is true and what is not but cant resist visiting Jenny every time she visits her friend.

The body count goes up according to Jenny and Linda half believes her.

The bantering between the two ladies is perfect, funny and yet sad at times and you know this wont end well.

Everyone needs a Jenny in their life and when my daughter puts me in Shady Acres, as she loves to say, I hope I am a Jenny.

Don't overthink the premise of the book, just pick it up and sit back and enjoy.

I am willing to bet a few hometown Book Clubs will add this book to their list.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada/Doubleday Canada for a most enjoyable read of Jenny Cooper Has a Secret.