Customer Reviews

Missing Pieces

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This book is a nice break from more serious heavy reading. Any woman over 30 who has ever had a child, husband, mother or sister must read this. Humerous yet with a fast paced plot. I read it in a 24 hour period. The characters are fun and believable and lovable. This was my first Joy Fielding book and I will certainly seek out others.

The story itself wasn't as interesting as its title was. It is mainly about a family therapist, Kate Sinclair, who struggles with her defiant teenage daughter, her stepsister who falls in love with a man who killed thirteen women, and her former high school sweetheart who still attracts her very much. The story is written from Kate's point of view. It has unnecessary repetitions that don't have anything to do with the main theme, which is finding the missing pieces. For example, Kate and her sister goes to the criminal's trial every time. But nothing happens. It is only written about how Kate Sinclair feels about everything from her point of view. For example, there is a part when Kate complains about how she cannot have a normal sister like everyone else. Also, I didn't understand the ending because the author clearly didn't state what the missing pieces were. It was boring because there weren't any exciting parts where you didn't want to put the book down. Every chapter seemed the same to me except for the parts when some killings occured.

Having read several of Fielding's previous books, I was anticipating a thoughtful and mesmerizing novel - I was not disappointed! I found "Missing Pieces" hard to put down and entertaining throughout. I liked her style of closely examining Kate and her family members while keeping up the suspense. Perhaps I could relate to this novel because I am similarly situated to Kate, with a teenage daughter. Although I thought she made some poor choices in overlooking or ignoring her family members' behavior, I found this totally believable. It is hard to see what you don't want to be present in family members.

I enjoyed this novel, and especially the fact that it was written in the first person. It's got a fast-paced plot and lots of psychological suspense.

I found the characters a bit frustrating, but that actually worked for the book. The characters, especially Kate, do some stupid and annoying things, but we eventually learn about the charcters' history, and understand why they do the dumb things they do. It adds an element of human nature and behaviour to a somewhat basic mystery plot. That's not to say that the mystery fell flat; there were some twists and surprises which made for an overall good read. The trick to enjoying this book is to not overanalyze - just enjoy.

I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down. Held my attention to the very end. Sure, the lead character is a therapist, but she is also human. What happened to her family could happen to anyone's family. Her sister is a real loose cannon that was just looking for trouble from day one. The climatic ending didn't dissapoint. I feel you won't be dissapointed either. If you have read Joy Fielding before, you will love this book.

My very first book of Joy Fielding and I truly loved it. Her characters were very real, very human. Contrary to another review, I did not find Kate Sinclair stupid, she was guilty of something human beings are guilty of doing, not wanting to see the reality of her family's faults. The fact that Kate knew and did not admit it to herself just made her more human, being a therapist does not mean that one does not have their own personal demons to deal with. This book was not only a suspense novel but it was also about real human beings dealing with real family relationships.

Therapist Kate Sinclair seeks to repair other people's lives. Her own stable marriage and handsome home are like the icing on the cake of a perfect life.

But when Kate's emotionally fragile sister Jo Lynn develops an obsession with alleged serial killer Colin Friendly, the first signs of trouble begin to appear. At around the same time, an old love interest from Kate's past surfaces and starts making overtures, even tempting Kate with her own call-in radio show (he owns several radio stations). Adolescent hijinks from Kate's oldest daughter Sara add just enough high drama to the mix to tear into the now fragile fabric of Kate's stable life.

As her life begins to unravel, missing pieces of a puzzle about the past begin to trouble Kate, with nightmares interrupting her sleep. Her mother's symptoms of Alzheimer's add to the confusion. Meanwhile, Jo Lynn and Sara become bosom buddies, both lashing out at everyone around them.

Once Colin Friendly is convicted and given the death sentence, Kate believes that things will finally calm down. Unfortunately, the trouble is only beginning.

What new pieces of the puzzle from Kate and Jo Lynn's past will come to the forefront? What surprising move will Jo Lynn make, and what will finally bring the whole family to the point of crisis?

The suspense builds while all the characters are suddenly thrust into a highly dangerous situation. Missing Pieces, told in the first person voice of Kate, is one of those books that you cannot put down. (If you do put it down, like I did briefly, it may disappear; that is why I had to get the book from the library to finish it). It was well worth the slight delay in my reading momentum. Once I picked it up again, though, I was drawn again into the very real world of the characters that is believable and memorable.

Five stars.

MISSING PIECES by Joy Fielding
September 25, 2007


Amazon Rating: 4/5 stars

Here's another "can't put this down" book by Joy Fielding. In MISSING PIECES, family therapist Kate Sinclair has a family background that she is trying to forget. In chapter one, Kate's sister Jolynn tells everyone that she's going to marry Colin Friendly, who is making news at the moment for being a serial killer accused of raping and murdering women. Jolynn, who has never been known to make good choices when it comes to men, believes he's innocent, and is bent on going to the trial and finding a way to introduce herself.

Kate is flabbergasted and does not want to support her sister, but she ends up going to court with Jolynn anyway to witness this man who they find out is a charmer as well as very good looking. When the two go to court, Kate bumps into an old boyfriend, someone that she had been very much in love with, but had been dumped by him because she wouldn't put out, back when they were in high school. Robert now owns a radio station, courtesy of his wife's family, and he recognizes Kate and shows a renewed interest in her.

In the meantime, Kate is married and has a daughter, Sara, who seems to be following the same path of destruction just like her Aunt Jolynn. Kate is frustrated that she cannot control Sara's behavior, and it doesn't help that Sara idolizes her Aunt Jolynn who is as irresponsible and carefree as they come.

So, Kate is dealing with a troublesome teenage daughter, a sister who is destined to meet the wrong men, and now a mother who is living in a retirement home but is showing signs of Alzheimer's. It doesn't help that things at home with her husband aren't great, and Kate is now tempted to start something with Robert, a man that she thought she had loved years ago, and now has come back into her life.

MISSING PIECES, like some of Joy Fielding's previous books, has enough stuff going on that it reads like a soap opera. But it's also a type of book that you can't put down. The story is just too juicy. The main story line is that of Jolynn and her obsession with the serial killer, Colin Friendly, the man that she wants to marry and eventually does get to meet. She woos her way into Colin's life, and believe it or not they begin to see each other (behind bars, no less). The evidence shows that he is most likely guilty of the crimes he's being charged, but Jolynn insists that he's innocent, and will not listen to Kate's warnings.

But little by little, Kate picks up clues and hints that something isn't right, and while she hopes in the back of her mind that Jolynn is right, the more she gets to know Colin, the more worried she becomes. The ending had me on the edge of my seat, and while I think what happens may not be totally unexpected, I still found the book overall satisfying and worth the read. It was definitely one that kept me glued to the book, and I can see why I keep going back to Joy Fielding.

When I was looking for some good books of suspense on my usual bookshop, I never imagined I was going to buy the best suspense book I've ever read. This is because Joy Fielding was new to me (and soon I discovered she's MUCH BETTER than another famous author that writes in her same genre, Mary Higgins Clark), and MISSING PIECES was going to be my first try on her books. I bought the book, but soon discovered that she was published in Portuguese here in Brazil and tried first the ones in my language. When I finished the one in Portuguese, I started MISSING PIECES, and oh my Godness... it's completely wonderful. It's a book full of twists and it's also funny and becomes more and more interesting as the story develops. When I finished the book I was sad because it was over and I wanted it to never end. That's the feeling that you have when finish Joy's books. MISSING PIECES is no exception.

I'd also recommend: LIFE PENALTY, DON'T CRY NOW and other books by Joy.

I found this book to be unbelievably ridiculous. Kate Sinclair is a family therapist but she is unable to handle her own family's problems. I disagree with the other reviewers who say she is stupid. I think Kate's sister, Jo Lynn, is stupid!! Kate totally does not have any common sense and she is weak, whines and is a total pessimist. She lets Jo Lynn and her teenage daughter, Sara, walk all over her. Kate over-analyzes everything, but she is unable to take any ACTION! She lacks control of her family. Thank goodness for her sweet, levelheaded younger daughter, Michelle. Kate, however, had incredible patience with her mother while her mother was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. And what about that lame husband?? He was good for nothing, basically. Talk about passive. I did not feel that there was that much in this book which involved the serial rapist/killer, Colin Friendly, and I thought that was the basis of this book. My mistake, I guess. The depressing tone of this book grew tiresome very quickly. I recommend that you read one of Joy Fielding's other books. This one missed the mark by far.