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A Mother's Shadow: A Novel
In this page-turner by New York Times bestselling author Joy Fielding, the life of a young, successful defense attorney is thrown into turmoil when she is called back to her hometown to defend her disturbed, estranged mother, who publicly shot and killed a man.
High-powered, twenty-eight-year-old defense attorney Amanda Travis likes several the colour black, lunchtime Spin classes at the fitness centre on Clematis Street in downtown Palm Beach; her all-white one-bedroom, oceanfront condo; a compliant jury; men whose wives don’t understand them.
Some of the things she doesn’t the colour pink; when the temperature outside her condo’s floor-to-ceiling windows falls below sixty-five degrees; clients who don’t follow her advice; being asked to show I.D. when she goes to a bar; nicknames of any shape or size.
Something else Amanda Travis doesn’t memories.
But when Ben, the first of her two ex-husbands, calls from her hometown of Toronto with the alarming news that her mother has shot and killed a man in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel, it becomes more and more difficult for Amanda to continue running from her past. Now she must return to face her demons and the life she left behind—a love that once consumed her and a mother who holds a strange, dark power over everyone she encounters. But now Amanda is determined to fight her mother’s fatal whims—even if it kills her.
High-powered, twenty-eight-year-old defense attorney Amanda Travis likes several the colour black, lunchtime Spin classes at the fitness centre on Clematis Street in downtown Palm Beach; her all-white one-bedroom, oceanfront condo; a compliant jury; men whose wives don’t understand them.
Some of the things she doesn’t the colour pink; when the temperature outside her condo’s floor-to-ceiling windows falls below sixty-five degrees; clients who don’t follow her advice; being asked to show I.D. when she goes to a bar; nicknames of any shape or size.
Something else Amanda Travis doesn’t memories.
But when Ben, the first of her two ex-husbands, calls from her hometown of Toronto with the alarming news that her mother has shot and killed a man in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel, it becomes more and more difficult for Amanda to continue running from her past. Now she must return to face her demons and the life she left behind—a love that once consumed her and a mother who holds a strange, dark power over everyone she encounters. But now Amanda is determined to fight her mother’s fatal whims—even if it kills her.
- GenresMystery Thriller
463 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 17, 2026
14 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Joy Fielding
125 books2,221 followersJoy Fielding (née Tepperman; born March 18, 1945) is a Canadian novelist and actress. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, she graduated from the University of Toronto in 1966, with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. As Joy Tepperman, she had a brief acting career, appearing in the film Winter Kept Us Warm (1965) and in an episode of Gunsmoke. She later changed her last name to Fielding (after Henry Fielding) and began writing novels.
Fielding is also the screenwriter of the television film Golden Will: The Silken Laumann Story.
At the age of 8, Joy Tepperman wrote her first story and sent it into a local magazine, and at age 12 sent in her first TV script, however both were rejected. She had a brief acting career, eventually giving it up to write full-time in 1972. She has published to date 22 novels, two of which were converted into film. Fielding's process of having an idea to the point the novel is finished generally takes a year, the writing itself taking four to eight months. Joy Fielding sets most of her novels in American cities such as Boston and Chicago. She has said that she prefers to set her novels in "big American cities, [as the] landscape seems best for [her] themes of urban alienation and loss of identity. Fielding is a Canadian citizen. Her husband's name is Warren, and they have two daughters, Annie and Shannon. They have property in Toronto, Ontario, as well as Palm Beach, Florida.
Fielding had an interview with the Vancouver Sun in 2007, just after her publication of Heartstopper. She enjoys catching readers off guard with the endings of her stories, but insists that "[it] isn't what her fiction is about", but rather more about the development of her characters. Discussing her novels with the Toronto Star in 2008, she said "I might not write fiction in the literary sense. But I write very well. My characters are good. My dialog is good. And my stories are really involving. I'm writing exactly the kind of books I like to write. And they're the kind of books I like to read. They're popular commercial fiction. That's what they are."
Fielding has been noted as a novelist who is more popular in the United States and foreign countries, rather than in her native Canada. For example, the novel Kiss Mommy Goodbye was more popular in the States, and See Jane Run in Germany. In addition, she had an American agent and publisher, although she has now switched to a Canadian publisher.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, she graduated from the University of Toronto in 1966, with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. As Joy Tepperman, she had a brief acting career, appearing in the film Winter Kept Us Warm (1965) and in an episode of Gunsmoke. She later changed her last name to Fielding (after Henry Fielding) and began writing novels.
Fielding is also the screenwriter of the television film Golden Will: The Silken Laumann Story.
At the age of 8, Joy Tepperman wrote her first story and sent it into a local magazine, and at age 12 sent in her first TV script, however both were rejected. She had a brief acting career, eventually giving it up to write full-time in 1972. She has published to date 22 novels, two of which were converted into film. Fielding's process of having an idea to the point the novel is finished generally takes a year, the writing itself taking four to eight months. Joy Fielding sets most of her novels in American cities such as Boston and Chicago. She has said that she prefers to set her novels in "big American cities, [as the] landscape seems best for [her] themes of urban alienation and loss of identity. Fielding is a Canadian citizen. Her husband's name is Warren, and they have two daughters, Annie and Shannon. They have property in Toronto, Ontario, as well as Palm Beach, Florida.
Fielding had an interview with the Vancouver Sun in 2007, just after her publication of Heartstopper. She enjoys catching readers off guard with the endings of her stories, but insists that "[it] isn't what her fiction is about", but rather more about the development of her characters. Discussing her novels with the Toronto Star in 2008, she said "I might not write fiction in the literary sense. But I write very well. My characters are good. My dialog is good. And my stories are really involving. I'm writing exactly the kind of books I like to write. And they're the kind of books I like to read. They're popular commercial fiction. That's what they are."
Fielding has been noted as a novelist who is more popular in the United States and foreign countries, rather than in her native Canada. For example, the novel Kiss Mommy Goodbye was more popular in the States, and See Jane Run in Germany. In addition, she had an American agent and publisher, although she has now switched to a Canadian publisher.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 11, 2026
Usually a fan of Fielding , but it did not follow my own personal rule for books - no matter how flawed the characters , I need one to root for . I didn’t find that here and I think the twist at the end was just sensational with no deeper meaning to it . Sigh
March 14, 2026
I don’t often give a 5 but I really enjoyed this book by joy Fielding . There are parts that made me laugh and parts that made me sad. Overall it is a very enjoyable book to read and I would recommend it to others.
March 21, 2026
Forgot how much I like Joy Fielding’s books. Will look for more. Loved that it was set in Toronto and I recognized places
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews