Still Life-Joy Fielding

Still Life
Joy Fielding
Atria, Mar 24 2009, $25.00
ISBN: 1416585273

Casey Marshall is wealthy, successful as an interior designer, and loves the ethical man she married who insisted on a prenuptial agreement to protect her assets; he receives nothing from her estate if they divorce. She loves her spouse so much that she tells her two best friends at lunch she is thinking of having a child with her beloved.

Afterward she goes to the garage to get her car when another vehicle going at least forty miles above the posted speed limit runs her over; almost every bone in her body is broken and she quickly lapses into a coma. At the hospital she somewhat returns to consciousness though cannot see or move a muscle. However unable to see and paralyzed while seemingly still comatose, Casey can hear. Her visitors are unaware that she listens in to their discussions. She learns things about her husband, her friend and her sister that she wishes were untrue. The detective working the case informs everyone in front of Casey that the hit and run was deliberate by someone targeting her. When she is released from the hospital she returns home where her staking killer can finish the job much easier.

Fans of the Higgins-Clark mom and daughter duo will enjoy this taut thriller that builds up the tension gradually from the moment Casey’s perfect world is shattered forever. Casey remains resolute even in her comatose state and with her injuries as she is determined to defeat her deadly adversary even if it means her death; she will not go idly into the night. Joy Fielding provides a strong suspense starring a courageous woman in trouble.
Harriet Klausner