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I had a dismal reading month in terms of numbers: I finished only one audiobook. But that one was not dismal at all; in fact, I found it rewarding because it was written by Joy Fielding, a writer I was glad to have rediscovered.
Jenny Cooper Has a Secret by Joy Fielding
- Random House Audio, 2025
- Narrated by Carol Monda
We meet Linda Davidson, our first-person narrator, as she arrives to visit her friend Carol in a large, upscale memory care facility in Jupiter, Florida. Now 76 years old, Linda has been best friends with Carol since they met in fourth grade. On this, Linda’s second visit to Legacy Place, she meets a tiny, frail, aged woman who whispers to her, “I’m Jenny Cooper. I have a secret. I kill people.”
Linda is shocked by Jenny’s statement but dismisses it as the product of an addled, aging mind. Besides, Linda already has enough to worry about. She’s having trouble acknowledging that her friend is gradually slipping away, even though she’s still alive. Linda’s melancholic outlook is further fed by grief for her husband, Bob, who died two years earlier.
But most pressing is Linda’s situation at home. Her daughter Kleo, along with husband Mick, have recently moved in with Linda. Ostensibly, they are there to help Linda out and keep her company since Bob’s death. But the real reason is financial. Kleo left her teaching job to get her doctorate and is now working on her dissertation; Mick is trying to start a consulting business, but all the client-meeting lunches he’s putting on their credit card never produce any actual clients. The couple’s bickering is mounting along with their debt.
To get away from her house, Linda continues to visit Carol. Just about every time Linda arrives at Legacy Place, Jenny finds her. As Carol’s ability to recognize Linda and visit with her declines, Linda spends more time conversing with Jenny.
During many of these conversations Jenny seems quite lucid as she tells Linda about the many men who have mistreated her throughout her life, beginning with her own father. Yet symptoms of dementia continue to pop up, with Jenny sometimes coyly saying, “But what do I know? After all, I’m demented.” Does Jenny have dementia or not? Is she telling the truth or making up stories?
On one of Linda’s visits she comforts a young woman crying in the visiting area. The young woman tells Linda that her mother insists she visit her grandfather, a resident at Legacy Place, but she doesn’t want to because her grandfather sexually abused her as a child. Linda catches a glimpse of Jenny hiding behind a pillar and listening in.
When, a few days later, the grandfather is found dead in his bed, Linda seriously begins to wonder about Jenny.
Amidst all the intrigue, Linda continues to face issues widowed older women often face, such as dating, sex, and companionship. And at home, Linda’s concern for her daughter grows as the contention between Kleo and Mick escalates.
I’ve always appreciated the way women characters in Joy Fielding’s novels face the world and take care of themselves. And I appreciate the way Jenny Cooper Has a Secret ends with a twist that illustrates exactly what a plot twist is and what it does.
© 2025 by Mary Daniels Brown
