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Puppet | 
| Author: Joy Fielding
Publisher: Atria
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $4.50
You Save: $20.45 (82%)
New (6) Used (16) from $0.10
Avg. Customer Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 1055292
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
ASIN: B000KJTOI0
Publication Date: January 4, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Amanda Travis is a successful twenty-eight-year-old criminal attorney who races through her glamorous life with very few concerns. Her estranged mother, dead father, two ex-husbands and a past love that once consumed her are just distant memories now. But when ex-husband #1 calls to tell her that her mother has shot a man at point-blank range in the lobby of Toronto's Four Seasons hotel, Amanda knows she must return to her hometown to race her demons and uncover the hidden facts behind her mother's violent outburst. All too soon, she is drawn into the dark, strange power her mother seems to hold over everyone. Her childhood nickname, Puppet, echoing in her ears, Amanda must finally confront the past in order to be free of the ties that bind and learn to stand on her own.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 Another Treat From Fielding ! April 20, 2008
I have now read several of Fielding's novels. Some of her earlier work remains among my favorites, while "Whisper and Lies" (see my reviews) has one of the best endings of most books I have read. Anyway, "Puppet" was a hard one to put down, I read it in one sitting. Ms. Fielding always guarantees a page turner, and this one didn't disappoint in that regard. As usual the author also almost always presents us with a great ending as well, this ending was more than interesting to say the least, however, a little peculiar for most tastes, hence the four star rating instead of the five. I still love you Joy! Next up...Heartstopper.
 Puppet January 21, 2008
Although a good novel, it was not as spell binding as her previous. I enjoyed the book, but by no means was it a "can't put down,page turner".
 Not the Best November 1, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Joy Fielding is one of the authors that I buy a book just by the author name alone. This book was not her best but still wasn't a waste of time. The plot was interesting. The angry daughter comes home because her estranged mother shoots and kills a complete stranger. The plot is interesting but not the sit on the edge of your seat suspense that is the norm in books by Joy Fielding. The ending was definitely a surprise so you can't call the book predictable. It was just slow moving and could have been condensed probably about 100 pages.
 Close the Curtains on This Puppet Show! October 29, 2007
2 out of 8 found this review helpful
Amanda Travis is another unappealing, unpleasant, unsympathetic character who can join the ranks of Fielding's other unappealing, unpleasant, unsympathetic protagonists. The New York Times book review calls Mandy Puppet "beautiful," when there is no evidence to support this subjective statement. Mandy's behavior made her anything but beautiful. A pie in the face for Mandy!
This story is set in 2004. Twice-divorced defense attorney Mandy Puppet Travis (another whinebag lawyer like Jess of "Tell Me No Secrets") has a practice in Florida. Her first husband, Ben, a 1950s wannabe bad boy calls her to defend her mother. Seems Mandy's mother shot a man outside of a hotel and nobody can figure out why. Since the lady isn't talking, Ben figures Mandy can slither back into her life and worm the reasons out of her. Mandy drags her feet at returning to her hometown of Toronto and she certainly wants nothing to do with her mama dearest. Naturally, Mandy and Ben relight one another's fires and admit that when they married, both were too young. Mandy's second marriage to Mr. Travis was the opposite extreme - she married a man much older than she who was genuinely a nice person. She used him and fortunately for him, they parted company.
Mandy acted a fool all throughout the book. She had a pathological aversion for nicknames of any kind and the word "puppet" sent her into orbit. Mandy had no compunction about picking up men and sleeping with them. She just used people and was a tiresome drone. It didn't matter to her if they were married or single. She picked someone up at a gym and later a seatmate on the plane. He went from seatmate to sackmate and Ben actually catches them together. One gets the impression that Mandy the Puppet staged that little scene for Benny-boy's benefit.
No, Mandy the Puppet just isn't a character you can like. She puts one in mind of Elvis' 1956 cover of "Hound Dog," where he says, "they said you was high class, but that was just a lie..." so true in Mandy Puppet's case. The supporting cast of characters are dull and tiresome. The "mysteries" as it turns out is simply a) why Mandy Puppet's mother killed that man; b) the man's identity and c) what connection did a woman with two pre-teen children staying at the hotel have with that man.
By the time you get to the end, you just don't care. You kind of wish they'd all just hop off the puppet stage and run behind the curtain. Talk about a Punch & Judy show! A good song to sum up this book is James & Bobby Purify's 1966 hit, "I'm Your Puppet." The ending, as duly noted by other reviewers was indeed unsatisfactory and yeah, even "creepy," just like Mandy Puppet.
I couldn't put the book down September 9, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
PUPPET by Joy Fielding
September 9, 2007
Amazon Rating: 4/5 stars
Amanda Travis is a high powered lawyer who will do what she can to win a case. Her latest client is accused of raping his girlfriend, and despite the evidence against him, she is successful and gets him off most of the charges. She always gets what she wants, and has been successful because she's aggressive and is not afraid to step on anyone that gets in her way.
Amanda has been married and divorced twice, and ex-husband #1 has been calling her constantly, almost to the point of harassment, asking her to call him back. While she's in the middle of having sex with a stranger she just met, she decides to pick up the phone and find out what is going on. She eventually learns that her mother has killed someone with a gun in the middle of a hotel lobby for no apparent reason. The man her mother murdered is a total stranger, and Amanda cannot for the life of her figure out why her mother would do something like this.
As Amanda explores her mother's crime, she begins to unravel secrets of her own life, including the connection the murdered man has to her mother and her family. PUPPET may read like a sensationalistic soap opera, but while some readers may find the events totally unbelievable, one has to agree this made one hell of a story, and I had a hard time putting the book down. Riveting with a lot of action and suspense, PUPPET is yet another book by Joy Fielding that I enjoyed a lot. I have only one negative comment about the book - I did not like the main character very much. I believe the author intentionally wrote the character of Amanda Travis as a very manipulative and self-centered woman, in order to arrive at the end of the book where her life takes a turn for the better, despite everything she's learned about her family history. With that said, PUPPET was definitely one of the better books by Joy Fielding that I've read, and recommend the book with the warning that the main character is highly unlikable.
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