Grand Avenue by Joy Fielding
Grand Avenue by Joy Fielding is a drama/mystery/suspense novel about four women who meet at the block park with their toddlers and form a friendship. Now I have to be honest, if this book wasn't on my on deck I probably wouldn't have read it. But this book was recommend to by my old book store supervisor, Kristi, who told me to read this book. Now this is the second book by Joy Fielding that I have read. While it isn't as morbid as the other book that I had read, the ending was shocking.
The four main characters of this book are Chris, Barbara, Susan and Vicki, each have different personalities and life styles. Chris is the shyer of the four women and also has a lot of the focus on her character through out the novel. Her husband is controlling and abusive and she doesn't know how to leave since she has no means to survive. Barbara is a former Miss Cincinnati and is obsessed with her appearance and fears the affects of aging. She also fears that her husband will turn his affections to one of the young co-eds at the college he is a professor at. Because of this she gets many plastic surgery procedures. Susan, is the one who is in the most stable and happy marriage. She's going to college to get her degree in editing and is trying to juggle school and family. Vicki is the career woman who is a lawyer. She is also married to the father of her old high school sweet heart so it was hinted from the beginning that there is a lot of tension in her family. She's also very open about her numerous affairs and isn't afraid to sacrifice the ones she loves just to get ahead.
Each women went through their own little bit of drama but for the most part of the book, Chris's was highlighted the most. She finally gets away from her husband but unfortunately she is kept from seeing her children and he stalks and harasses her causing her to lose jobs and move on a regular basis. Barbara's fears come true and her husband leaves her for one of his students. She clings to her daughter Tracy for support, affection and also for reassurance that she isn't looking old. She also becomes slightly vindictive by abusing the settlement that her husband will pay her credit cards for five years after the divorce. Susan finally gets a job working as an editor for Vicki's husbands magazine, but it isn't as perfect as she had hoped because her supervisor tells her that if she doesn't sleep with him she'll be fired. She gets Vicki to help and wins a big settlement but unfortunately her marriage is rocky at this point and one of her daughters are rebelling. Vicki probably has the least amount of drama but she is seen through out the book trying to locate her mother whom abandoned her at a young age. She is also the final pin that breaks the women's friendship at the end of the book when one of the women is viciously murdered. The end events shatter the strong bond that these women once held forever changing their lives.
This is one of those books that I didn't expect to enjoy but I did. I read it in one day because I had to find out what happened next with the characters. While it did seem like something that would be played out in a soap opera it was nice how the author brought the characters to life and drew me in as a reader. I think anyone who likes reading dramatic books with a hint of suspense and mystery this would be a great book to pick up. I know I wasn't disappointed after reading it.
Rating:
5 out of 5
On Deck:
No Mercy by Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Warrior by Kinley MacGregor
Keeper of the Crystal Spring by Naomi and Deborah Baltuck
