Friday 23 September 2016

All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker (Thriller, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

 July 2016, HQ, 384 pages, Hardback, Review copy 

Content: rape, marital affair, betrayal, 

Book summary
In the small, affluent town of Fairview, Connecticut, everything seems picture perfect.

Until one night when young Jenny Kramer is attacked at a local party. In the hours immediately after, she is given a controversial drug to medically erase her memory of the violent assault. But, in the weeks and months that follow, as she heals from her physical wounds, and with no factual recall of the attack, Jenny struggles with her raging emotional memory.  Her father, Tom, becomes obsessed with his inability to find her attacker and seek justice while her mother, Charlotte, prefers to pretend this horrific event did not touch her perfect country club world.

As they seek help for their daughter, the fault lines within their marriage and their close-knit community emerge from the shadows where they have been hidden for years, and the relentless quest to find the monster who invaded their town–or perhaps lives among them–drive this psychological thriller to a shocking and unexpected conclusion.

Nayu's thoughts
There are heaps of twists in this thrilling tale! It used a narration style that took a bit of time getting used to, but had me totally engrossed in this crazy tale. It is quite graphic in places when referring to the rape and other occasions, but don't let that put you off. I was a bit disappointed not to have it all from Jenny's view, but I got over that rapidly because there are so many secrets that as they unravel they affect every part of the case. It was totally necessary to learn about her parents secrets, who have a so many issues it's not surprising that Jenny struggles with the aftermath of the attack which she has no memory of. It's scary what medicine can do to the human body, and this tale definitely raises the issue of ethics, whether drugs should be used to change memories. I can't say much on this subject as it will spoil the story.

I felt sorry for Jenny because despite being of sound mind as a young adult, her parents took away her choice and in part their decision to use the memory forgetting drugs caused Jenny more suffering than necessary. She and her family learn to rebuild their lives while the search for the killer goes on, having a huge impact on the narrator who also makes unethical choices for their own child and Jenny. It is a heavy read, dealing with rape, infidelity, self-harm and other hard issues, but by being graphic in the descriptions gets the message home how messy, both literally and figuratively these issues are. I'm putting it on the reread pile, although it will be a long time before that happens to get over the content. Recommend this highly if you love thrillers!

Find out more on Wendy's website

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