Puppet

Fielding's cunningly crafted novel translates splendidly to audio. Hicks's sensitive yet matter-of-fact narration perfectly portrays the unlovable Amanda Travis. Known as "Puppet" in childhood, Amanda is a high-powered criminal attorney in Palm Beach, who at 28 is twice divorced and enjoys sleeping with married men. When her first ex-husband calls to say her mother killed a man in their hometown of Toronto, Amanda must confront the shocking reality of her past. Hicks's pacing makes the dialogue and Amanda's thoughts easy to distinguish. She easily portrays Amanda's growing frustration with her mother's evasions. S.C.A. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

September 1, 2005
Amanda, a beautiful young Florida defense attorney, receives puzzling news from her ex-husband, Ben--her mother has shot and killed a stranger in the lobby of Toronto's Four Seasons Hotel. Although long estranged from her mother and embittered over a loveless childhood, Amanda flies to Toronto. Ben, also a lawyer and serving as her mother's counsel, informs Amanda that her mother has confessed to the murder but refuses to reveal her motive. Amanda then tracks down the victim's sister, who tells Amanda that the murdered man stole her real brother's identity 20 years ago. Amanda doggedly and testily pursues the truth, which emerges through Chinatown-like revelations of incest and shocking blood ties among the victim's widow, Amanda, and her mother. A crisp reading by Broadway and television actress Laura Hicks provides energy to a somewhat ponderous plot, which might benefit from abridgment. Recommended for fiction collections that expect healthy circulation of Fielding's novels. --Judith Robinson, Univ. at Buffalo, NY

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