Cul-de-sac: A Novel
Kindle
$13.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$16.99
Paperback
$19.23
Audible Logo Your audiobook is waiting!
Enjoy a free trial on us
$0.00
  • Click above for unlimited listening to select audiobooks, Audible Originals, and podcasts.
  • One credit a month to pick any title from our entire premium selection — yours to keep (you'll use your first credit now).
  • You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
  • $14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel online anytime.
Learn more about membership
Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company
List Price: $18.00
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible’s Conditions Of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice.
Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Cul-de-sac: A Novel Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Joy Fielding (Author), Lauren Fortgang (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,978 ratings
See all formats and editions

A shooting lays bare the secrets harbored by five families in a sleepy suburban cul-de-sac in this riveting psychological thriller from the New York Times best-selling author of All the Wrong Places.

“Cul-de-sac proves once again that Joy Fielding is an ingenious master of domestic suspense.” (Samantha M. Bailey, USA Today and number one national best-selling author of Woman on the Edge)

Someone on this quiet, unassuming cul-de-sac will be shot dead in the middle of a sultry July night.

Will it be Maggie, the perfectionist wife, or Craig, the husband who can’t quite live up to her expectations? They’ve packed up their two children and fled their life in California, hoping for a fresh start in Florida, only to find the demons of the past hovering on their doorstep.

Maybe it will be Nick, a highly respected oncologist, or his wife, Dani, a successful dentist, both with well-kept secrets of their own.

Or perhaps the victim will be Julia, an elderly widow, whose troubled grandson has recently moved in with her, introducing unsavory habits and even more unsavory acquaintances into her formerly quiet existence.

Then there’s Olivia and her husband, Sean. Having lost his job at a prestigious advertising agency, Sean is depressed, resentful of his working wife, and drinking heavily. He is also prone to increasingly violent fantasies.

And what of the newlyweds, Aiden and Heidi, whose marriage is already on the rocks, due to Aiden’s reluctance to stand up to his intrusive mother? Matters aren’t helped when Heidi befriends Julia’s grandson, setting the stage for a major blowup.

A diverse group of neighbors, to be sure. Yet all harbor secrets. All bear scars. And all have access to guns.

Not all will survive the night.

Previous page
  1. Listening Length
    10 hours and 42 minutes
  2. Author
    Joy Fielding
  3. Narrator
    Lauren Fortgang
  4. Audible release date
    August 10, 2021
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B08R972WZC
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
Next page

Read & Listen

Switch between reading the Kindle book & listening to the Audible audiobook with Whispersync for Voice.
Get the Audible audiobook for the reduced price of $12.99 after you buy the Kindle book.

Product details

Listening Length 10 hours and 42 minutes
Author Joy Fielding
Narrator Lauren Fortgang
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date August 10, 2021
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B08R972WZC
Best Sellers Rank #52,541 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#276 in Psychological Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)
#1,388 in Psychological Thrillers (Audible Books & Originals)
#2,013 in Psychological Fiction (Books)

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
1,978 global ratings
Vivid characters
5 Stars
Vivid characters
This is Joy Fielding's 29th book, but my first time reading her work. Very well told narrative. Cul-De-Sac takes place, where the name suggests, in a nice upper middle-class Cul-de-Sac street in Florida. The novel builds through the lives of the families who leave in each of the five houses on the street. The neighbor's don't know each other very well although their interactions with each other increase as the story unfolds. Each house has its own issues that build towards a climax and everyone's lives end up changed forever. Some resolve for the better and others will need time to heal. It's a very realistic snapshot of how people aren't the perfect family or the perfect couple next door, but are doing the best they can anyway.I really ended up connecting with each individual character...or most of them anyway. I ended up rooting for their stories to conclude with the characters in a better place than their struggles have them now.Thank you to Ballantine and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC and I look forward to experiencing more of what Joy Fielding has to offer.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Shelley
5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing page turner
Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2021
Verified Purchase
I have read most of Joy Fielding's books in the 1990's and early 2000. I remember loving every book she wrote. I was pleasantly surprised to see she had a new book out so I grabbed it and loved every minute of it. Great suspense and hard to put down. In a lot of thrillers, the characters are one dimensional caricatures, but not Fieldings books. This one especially had real, down to earth, believable characters. This was a great book!!
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Captain Howdy
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book. Research more. :)
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2021
Verified Purchase
Great story. Just a little jarring when details aren't accurate. I like that she tries to stay current with the mention of Tesla. But the front doors don't open upward...the passenger doors do. And only in a Model X. It's pointless to have a character asking what "mileage " a Tesla gets. No one asks that because it has no engine nor does it require gas. People ask, "How many miles on a charge. " It's just jarring to have details incorrect.
Helpful
 Report
Tyuana Bailey
5.0 out of 5 stars Well done!
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2023
Verified Purchase
Another captivating story by Joy Fielding. With so many characters, I didn't expect to be equally invested in everyone. I was! Great story with just enough redemption, a villain, and characters for which i was rooting. Really enjoyed this one.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
stephen g. carroll
5.0 out of 5 stars Cul-de-sac: A Novel
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
It's been too long since Joy Fielding's last book, and boy did she deliver! There's something to be said about getting too friendly with your neighbors or not too friendly. In this neighborhood, there are five homes where the residents don't really socialize, until an impromptu ball game. As the 4th of July nears, things are starting to simmer as one neighbor becomes increasingly concerned that another one is being abused by her husband. Then there's the husband who has been out of work, and is pretending to his wife, otherwise. Truer words were never spoken when someone said you never know what goes on behind closed doors. Things come to a head after the the 4th of July when one neighbor will not live to see another day. A great read.
16 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
mnmloveli
4.0 out of 5 stars GREAT way to get back into Joy Fielding !
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2022
Verified Purchase
DEC 2021 : 4 STARS. Someone on this quiet, unassuming curl-de-sac will be shot dead in the middle of a sultry July night. A diverse group of neighbors, to be sure, yet all harbor secrets and have access to guns.

I spotted this book on sale for $2.99 (reg 13.99) and grabbed it. I haven’t read this author in many years, way before I started tracking my books. Right away I like how the author easily gets you familiar with each family in the neighborhood. I didn’t have any confusion with all the characters since the author gives you enough time with each family to really get to know their storylines. At 80% I’m still interested in the workings of each family and still can’t decide who I think will be shot. I know who i would shoot LOL ! Good ending
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
B. Evans
3.0 out of 5 stars Just ok for me
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2022
Verified Purchase
I'm a huge Joy Fielding fan, but this book was not one of my favorites. Some of the characters were really unlikeable, I couldn't bring myself to care about the others. Guns were brought up way more times than never as if they were trying to sell the suspense. Overall, this book was just mediocre for me. The storyline was boring and predictable and the ending was very anticlimactic.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
W. McKinney
5.0 out of 5 stars Another great novel by Fielding
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is definitely a book that is hard to put down. There are a lot of intersecting stories, but Fielding paints each character with such uniqueness and personality that they all draw you in. From the beginning of the book, you know someone is going to be killed, so the question is who is the victim and who is the murderer. It doesn’t take long to figure out what’s probably going to happen, but it’s still a compelling page-turner none-the-less. Ever since I read my first Joy Fielding novel, See Jane Run, I have been a huge fan. She really knows how to tell a story and keep readers engrossed.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Bookwoman
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2023
Verified Purchase
Just finished my second book in two days. This was a good one with interesting characters and the plot was great. The end was well done. I enjoyed it so much I'm wishing there was more to read. Give it a try.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Barry Francis
5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece of Suspense and Intrigue
Reviewed in Canada on August 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
Things aren’t always what they seem in Carlyle Terrance, a pleasant middle-class cul-de-sac in South Florida, as we learn in the first chapter of Joy Fielding’s latest thriller.
Apparently, “fatal events” have marred an otherwise peaceful July evening. Someone is shot dead in the middle of the night.
We spend the rest of the novel exploring events in the two months leading up to that fateful night and the personalities, dark secrets and motivations of members of the cul-de-sac’s five families to learn the victim’s identity and who did it.
There are lots of candidates for this unpleasantness and, like many Floridians, they all have access to guns.
One wonders who the victim could be. Could it be the one of the newlyweds struggling under the thumb of the husband’s nasty, overbearing mother or perhaps the otherwise highly respected oncologist who has a nasty habit of beating his wife, sometimes in front of the children?
And what about the perfectionist wife who’s constantly on edge because of an incident she witnessed in California which motivated her family to move to Florida, rather than enter the witness protection program?
Or could it be the successful career woman and her unemployed loser husband with his suicidal thoughts and imaginary job, or the recently widowed grandmother temporarily housing her troublesome pot- smoking grandson while her son pressures her to sell her house and move into a seniors’ home.
There’s a dark side to these characters and their portrayal is so vivid you’d swear you’ve met some of them. The fact that they live on a cul-de-sac is critical to the plot as the curved enclave allows the neighbors to watch and interact with each other, not always in a pleasant way.
I found myself picking favorites among these characters as to whom I would like to see meet an early demise. I was not disappointed as my number one choice bit the dust in the book’s surprising climax.
Joy Fielding is a master story-teller. Her fans have been waiting two years for her latest offering and Cul-de-sac definitely makes the wait worthwhile.

Barry Francis
3 people found this helpful
 Report
nancy boyle
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Canada on March 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
The best author
Report
S. Fan
5.0 out of 5 stars J F at her best
Reviewed in Canada on October 9, 2021
Verified Purchase
I wait months for any new Joy Feilding books, even ordering them on pre order. I read this book in two days. I couldn't wait to see who done it and to whom. Excellent read.
OK so I may be a nit picker but two things in this book caught my limited attention. When Heidi confides her condition, she is invited in for a drink. Later Heidi is invited for coffee. Any 21st century reader would frown on this, especially since Heidi is in her first tri mester. Never mind my Passive agressiveness - this is an excellent read from an excellent author. Already looking forward to her next one.
3 people found this helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Spellbound
Reviewed in Canada on May 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
An interesting story, kept my attention throughout.
Report
Roger 10
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in Canada on January 10, 2022
Verified Purchase
A good novel with an interesting plot. Easy to read and kept my interest up. I would recommend it to anyone.
One person found this helpful
 Report