REVIEW: Still Life by Joy Fielding

Title: Still Life
Author: Joy Fielding
Publisher: Atria
Publication Date: March, 2009
Genre: Suspense / Thriller
Rating: 9/10

Description: Beautiful, happily married, and the owner of a successful interior design business, Casey Marshall couldn't be more content with her life, until a car slams into her at almost fifty miles an hour, breaking nearly every bone in her body and plunging her into a coma. Lying in her hospital bed, Casey realizes that although she is unable to see or communicate, she can hear everything. She quickly discovers that her friends aren't necessarily the people she thought them to be - and that her accident might not have been an accident at all. As she struggles to break free from her living death, she begins to wonder if what lies ahead could be even worse.

My Thoughts: Joy Fielding is no stranger to the suspense genre as any fan of her books can attest. I know that when I want nail-biting suspense, a Joy Fielding book is a good choice and Still Life delivers. Our heroine, Casey Marshall has a good life. Married to the man of her dreams, a good career, good friends and financially well-off, she has what most of us can only wish for. Unfortunately, her perfect life changes in a split-second when she is run down by a hit and run driver.

This story takes a sinister turn when Casey discovers she can hear what is being said in the presence of her comatose body. She learns that the accident may not have been an accident and she has placed her trust in the wrong person who now wants her dead. Though her body is in a coma, her mind is alert trying to figure out who tried to kill her. How frightening is that? Physically helpless and unable to defend yourself, but able to hear the killer planning to finish the job, I felt sorry for Casey and just as helpless as she did.

For the most part, this story moves along building on the spine-tingling suspense. I could relate very well to what Casey was going through and could feel her frustration and anxiety. The characters in this book come through very clearly. Joy Fielding does an excellent job of describing the scene from Casey’s perspective so I got a real sense of what it was like for Casey.

My only problem with this book was Casey’s reminiscing about her childhood and her parents and the excessive number of nannies Casey and her sister had growing up. It didn’t ruin the story for me, but I found myself getting impatient for Casey to return to the present and work on getting herself out of the coma.

Fans of suspense novels and fans of Joy Fielding will enjoy this offering. It gave me a reminder of how fragile we truly are and how brutally honest people can be when they don’t know you can hear them, which can be quite disturbing.