The Wild Zone [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Joy Fielding (Author), Jeffrey Cummings (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 23, 2010

This is how it starts. With a joke. Two brothers — Will and Jeff — and their friend Tom are out one night at their favorite South Beach bar, the Wild Zone, and decide to make a bet on who can be the first to seduce a mysterious-looking young woman drinking by herself. Pretty, dark-haired, blue-eyed Suzy has an innocent, almost ordinary girl-next-door way about her. “Just waiting for Prince Charming to hit on her,” Jeff says. Little do they know the secrets she hides from the outside world, particularly those having to do with the daily horror she experiences under the watchful eye of her abusive husband. Little do they know she has an agenda of her own. Little do they know their harmless bet is about to take on a life of its own, a life full of deadly consequences for all concerned. Fielding is continually praised for her “heart-pounding” (Booklist) brand of storytelling, full of “chillingly satisfying twists” (People). There’s certainly no going back once you’ve entered The Wild Zone.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Jeff, Will, and Tom make a wager to see who can bed an attractive woman first, it (inevitably) blows up in their faces and sends them all down paths of destruction from which no one will walk away unscathed. Unfortunately, neither the prose nor the narration can sustain our interest in the characters or their fates. Fielding's attempt to inject several core character-building events (a dying mother, rival brothers, post-traumatic stress from fighting in Afghanistan, childhood abuse and exploitation, body dysmorphia, and more) falls flat. Jeffrey Cummings's narrative voice keeps the story going, but his character voices are lacking: his female voices lack authenticity and his male characters sound forced. An Atria hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 14). (Feb.)
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Review

"A wild ride with a life all its own, strewn with surprises and consequences for all parties along the way. Fielding's characters and plot are strong and well-developed. The story is gripping, always leaving the reader guessing, and culminates in a deliciously untamed twist of a conclusion."
— Winnipeg Free Press

"[Fielding] sucks you in with end-of-chapter cliffhangers, violent results and wild sex....This is a thriller and, as with all thrillers, there is that twist at the end that forces you to read until the very last sentence."
— The Globe and Mail

From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged; Unabridged edition (February 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423362683
• ISBN-13: 978-1423362685
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,305,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joy Fielding is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Still Life, Charley's Web, Heartstopper, See Jane Run, and other acclaimed novels. She divides her time between Toronto and Palm Beach, Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Shockingly bad, March 14, 2010

By 

barry (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Wild Zone: A Novel (Hardcover)

I am a huge Joy Fielding fan. The first book I read by her was SEE JANE RUN. From then on I have highly anticipated each release from her. Some of her works are better than others but the reader is usually always promised great character development and a suspenseful realistic plot line. MAD RIVER ROAD and WHISPERS & LIES are also favorites of mine. She's had a couple that didn't quite work but they still managed to be enjoyable works.

I am speechless with this latest THE WILD ZONE. It is not just that I didn't like the plot or theme. It is honestly a very poorly written excuse for a novel. I am stunned that Joy Fielding wrote this, let alone let it be released. And where were her editors? Couldn't someone have caught this dribble before its release. It is obvious she is trying to expand her horizons here for the main characters are three men and that is totally new for her. And even though women are involved in the story it is basically about the lives of these three men. Sadly bringing a realistic male character to life is beyond her reach as an author. Here we have Jeff, Tom and Will and each one is an extreme over the top caricature. She tries to define their personalities through their dialogue and it becomes laughable. She does use language and plot turns that will shock some faithful readers but had they served a purpose in establishing true character development or storyline it would have been acceptable but instead it is very gratuituous. The fact that Joy thinks this is good baffles me.

The start is three men making a bet at a bar. Simple with lots of potential. What follows is plot twists that are shockingly unrealistic and characters that become more laughable with each page turn. I have only written praise for every Joy Fielding book since SEE JANE RUN so to write this review bothers me. But it also bothers me that the author sees fit to release this and expect readers to pay for such a poor book. I am shocked also by Publisher's Weekly praise for this book. There is no growing suspense. In all honesty, the only reason I finished the book was for it was so bad I couldn't put it down for I needed to see just how outlandish it would get. This is also a very fast read. It is mostly dialogue. The ending is a surprise and in the last 3 pages I felt a glimmer of the Joy Fielding I know and love.

I praise any author for trying to stretch but when it does not work it should not be released. Here we have what is meant to be a dark, stark gritty story about three troubled men and the troubled paths their lives take by a few mistakes in judgement. Instead we get this. I honestly laughed at many points for the dialogue was so corny and actions so unrealistic. Shame on you Joy Fielding. Your readers deserve so much better. Please acknowledge your limits as a writer and if you try something new have it pass through many eyes and get honest feedback before pushing it on your readers. I can in no way recommend this novel unless as a library read and you want to see a succesful writer falter. Regretably I will now question when I purchase a new Joy Fielding book and that makes me sad. If this review seems harsh it is only honest and I want readers to know what to expect.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Hard to believe Joy Fielding even wrote this garbage..., March 10, 2010

By 

Orlando Bookworm (Orlando, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wild Zone: A Novel (Hardcover)

I'm finding it hard to believe that Joy Fielding even wrote this novel. It was awful. All the male characters were laughably cliche, most notably Tom, who was so superficial and sterotypical that it was just way over the top. Joy can write so much better than this - she should be downrigt embarrassed to have her name on this lousy book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the wildest ..., February 27, 2010

By 

W. Smith "4everSLAUGHTERED" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wild Zone: A Novel (Hardcover)

Best friends and former soldiers in war, Tom and Jeff, take Jeff's visiting "little brother" Will to the Wild Zone bar were Jeff's live in girlfriend, Kristin is the sexy bartender. The men make a bet as to who can score with a beautiful woman named Suzy. With the help of Kristin, Will is the reluctant winner. Jeff and Tom are in angry disbelief. Then the wild ride begins. All three can't get Suzy out of their heads. As Will seems to flourish with his new found relationship with Suzy, Tom and Jeff deteriorate. The characters deal with Jeff's bad but reasonably controlled behavior and then with Tom's extremely violent and frighteningly out of control behavior that worsens as the book continues. Plus, Suzy struggles with a horrific problem of her own and pulls in those that have entered the "Wild Zone".

The language through the book is very rough. Not for the prudish or Mary Higgins Clark fans. For example, Tom hires an "escort" and she rattles off her menu of services as well as her do's and don'ts for the bedroom. Yikes! There are also a lot of repetitive phrases that drove me nuts. Examples, "Do you want to talk about it", "I don't understand", "what do you mean", "it's because of Afghanistan".

This is a tale that has been told before except for the one amazing surprise at the very end of the book. Before you get to that amazing surprise - everyone gets what they deserve!

I didn't think this was a great book or a fun suspenseful read. It was just so-so for Joy Fielding and somewhat predictable. The best Joy Fielding book with the same feel is my highly recommended pick Mad River Road: A Novel . Her last book Still Life: A Novel was excellent!