Jenny Cooper Has a Secret
A Novel
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4.4 • 40 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
In this riveting psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of All the Wrong Places, a dementia patient reveals a deadly secret—and one woman must decide whether to believe her.
“An epic murder mystery . . . This novel is a delight, tugging at your heartstrings as it explores the grief, insecurities, and beauty that come with aging.”—Oprah Daily (Best Books of the Fall)
Reeling from her husband’s death and best friend’s dementia diagnosis, seventy-six-year-old Linda Davidson feels lost and alone. Her beloved daughter Kleo and son-in-law Mick have moved into her house to keep her company, but the constant bickering quickly turns their presence into yet another worry on Linda’s long list.
Eager to escape the tension at home, Linda goes to visit her friend at Legacy Place, a memory care facility for the elderly, where she meets Jenny Cooper, a ninety-two-year-old dementia patient who makes a shocking confession: she kills people.
Linda dismisses the so-called secret as the confusion of an ailing mind, but Jenny seems strangely lucid during their visits as she recounts stories of her many victims—mostly men who hurt her. Then a fellow patient at Legacy Place dies. Everyone else sees it as the natural death of a sick old man, but Linda can’t help but wonder: is there any chance Jenny’s telling the truth?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fielding's excellent latest (after The Housekeeper) nestles a murder mystery inside a witty novel of friendship and loss. Linda Davidson, 76, is starting to admit she's growing old. Since she lost her husband to cancer two years ago, she's opened her home in Jupiter, Fla., to her youngest daughter, Kleo, and her chauvinistic son-in-law, Mick. Linda's best friend, Carol, has recently been diagnosed with dementia and is now living in an "upscale oceanfront memory care facility that calls itself—with not the slightest hint of irony—Legacy Place." Linda pays regular visits to the facility, even though Carol no longer recognizes her. On one such occasion, she's approached by diminutive 92-year-old Jenny Cooper, who tells her a secret: "I kill people." Initially, Linda brushes it off as the ramblings of a sick woman, until a sudden death at the facility spurs her to take Jenny's confession more seriously. Linda starts to visit Jenny, who tells her stories of the men she's supposedly killed, moving Linda—and readers—to wonder if she's befriending a serial killer. Fielding renders Linda and Jenny's blossoming friendship with sensitivity while ensuring things never get mawkish. Punchy, surprising, and sweet in equal measure, this tale of twisted sisterhood is a home run.
