As mystery/thrillers go, Puppet's rather hit-and-miss.

The plot is as follows: Amanda Travis is a defense attorney in Florida. She is summoned to Toronto (where she is originally from) because her mother has shot and killed a man, seemingly a stranger, in a hotel lobby.

I didn't much care for Amanda at first - she came across as rather shallow and vain in the first third of the book, but she seems to grow up a bit as the book goes on. Ben, her ex-husband - he's a nice, sensible guy who makes for an okay co-star.

I thought that the book seemed to change certain things around too quickly - it seems like Gwen (Amanda's mother) abruptly goes from domineering, spider-in-the-web mom to the caring, nurturing mom. Granted, these reasons are explained in the book, but it still seems kind of abrupt.

The revelations about John Mallins, the murder victim, and his family are quite disturbing, to say the least. I will say, though, that it made me think of the Albert Walker "Hand in the Water" case in the mid 1990s. And the continuing references to puppets and marionettes throughout the book do add a nicely creepy touch.

Got the book off into the mail this morning. It is now on its way to Nataliec7 in the UK, who has selected it from my "need to clear off the shelves a little bit this summer" RABCK.

Thanks very much 4thEstate for sending me this book, I received it this morning and look forward to reading it.

First of all, Amanda is the most annoying woman you could ever meet. Originally from Toronto but living in Florida, she is a lawyer living a fast lifestyle. She has 2 ex-husbands and apparently no desire to settle down. One day, her secretary tells her that she has received phone calls from 'Ben'. Ben tuns out to be her 1st ex-husband and after putting off calling him for some time, she eventually gives in and calls him back. He tells her that her mother has shot and murdered a man in front of several witnesses in the four seasons hotel in Toronto. She is estranged from her mother and reluctantly flies home. Shes angry at her mother for her childhood but tries to solve the mystery around why her mother just murdered this man. Her mother wants to plead guilty and accept the punishment. Amanda starts searching for the tuth and uncovers a strange past. She also seems to love her ex-husband too who is currently in a relationship.
I didn't expect the twist at the end. It took me by complete surprise and it made putting up with Amanda all worth while. Once I got to the main twist, I could not stop reading. Definately worth reading for me. It appears other fans of Joy Fielding feel like this isnt her strongest work which leads me to believe that I will read more from this author.

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