Amazon.ca
It begins placidly enough. Terry Painter, a single, 40-year-old nurse in Florida, takes in a young tenant, the vivacious Alison Simms. A friendship quickly develops between the two women, but disturbing hints of trouble in paradise start to appear. Just what secrets from her past is Alison hiding? Is Terry perhaps not the caring yet lonely soul she appears to be? Their volatile relationship lies at the core of
Whispers and Lies, the latest psychological thriller from Joy Fielding. Those who have enjoyed Fielding's previous works, including the bestselling novels
Grand Avenue,
The First Time,
Kiss Mommy Goodbye, and
The Other Woman, are in for a definite treat with
Whispers and Lies.
Before turning to writing, Fielding was an actress, and that may help account for the strongly theatrical flourishes in her prose style. Occasionally she comes close to falling prey to the flaws of the romantic novel, but generally her well-turned phrases help keep the suspense building inexorably. Here's one vivid example: "I tiptoed toward the bedroom, the handle of the large butcher knife clutched tightly in the palm of my hand, the blade protruding from my body like the thorn of a giant rose." The Toronto-born author now spends much of her time in Florida, and the Sunshine State proves a fitting backdrop for the evil that she skilfully evokes. As she writes early on in Whispers and Lies, "Look a little closer, and you'll see the deadly alligator lurking just below the water's smooth surface." There are whispers and lies aplenty here, not to mention undercurrents of incest, lesbianism, and murderous violence, which make Whispers and Lies a genuine page-turner indeed. --Kerry Doole
This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
An ending worthy of Hitchcock rewards readers able to weather the false clues and emotional angst of Fielding's latest page-turner. Once again, the bestselling author (Grand Avenue; The First Time; Missing Pieces; etc.) tests the complex ties that bind friends and family, and keeps readers wondering when those same ties might turn deadly. Since Terry Painter's mother died five years before, the single 40-year-old nurse has been renting out the cottage behind her Florida home. When an appealing young woman calling herself Alison Simms arrives from out of town, Terry offers her not only the cottage but also her friendship. Alison pries into Terry's personal belongings, brings home rude young men, tells lies about her job and family and pops up everywhere unexpectedly and uninvited, while Terry's inner critic, in a voice sounding much like her mother's, fuels her suspicions. Threatening phone calls from a man who seems to know a lot about Terry and the tenant who occupied the cottage before Alison add to her growing paranoia. Despite these worries, Terry finds time to get involved with the son of one of her patients, an elderly woman named Myra. Careless, friendly Alison and responsible, guarded Terry are a study in contrasts, but as the novel progresses, Fielding makes it clear that they both have secrets to hide. The brutal denouement will shake readers lulled by the tale's cozy trappings, but those familiar with Patricia Highsmith's particular brand of sinister storytelling will recognize the mayhem Fielding so cunningly unleashes.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
