Life Penalty - by Joy Fielding (Paperback)

About the Book

Gail Walton is comfortable and secure with a successful husband, two beloved daughters, and a house in the New Jersey suburbs. But one tragic afternoon shatters her perfect life beyond all recognition. Gail's six-year-old daughter is abducted from the neighborhood park, sexually assaulted, and murdered. Consumed with grief and rage, Gail turns her back on the police investigation and takes the law into her own hands. Armed with a description of the killer and a handgun, she prepares a meticulous trap to exact the ultimate revenge.

Book Synopsis

She's searching for the man who killed her daughter. But will he find her first?

In a novel that grips like a waking nightmare, master storyteller Joy Fielding creates a searing examination of a horrifying crime, the limits of the law, and a woman's terrifying journey into a killer's twisted mind.

In one tragic afternoon everything changed. Until then, Gail Walton had considered herself lucky. With a successful husband, two daughters, and a house in the New Jersey suburbs, Gail lived a safe and predictable life. Then the unthinkable happened: her six-year-old daughter Cindy was abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered.

Consumed by grief and rage, Gail has retreated into herself. Her family and friends fear she's losing her grip on reality. The police warn her to let them handle the investigation. But not one of them knows the truth: that Gail has a description of the killer, a plan to set herself up as a decoy, and a room in a run-down boardinghouse. And Gail Walton has just bought herself a gun....

Review Quotes

"Fielding has made the woman-in-jeopardy genre her own."
--People

"Fielding knows how to turn the screws of suspense."
--The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

New York Times bestselling author of Missing Pieces

About the Author

Joy Fielding is the author of Don't Cry Now, Tell Me No Secrets, See Jane Run, Good Intentions, The Deep End, Missing Pieces, The Other Woman, Kiss Mommy Goodbye, Trance, The Transformation, and The Best of Friends. A graduate of the University of Toronto, she lives with her family in Toronto and Palm Beach.