Title: All Is Not Forgotten
Author: Wendy Walker
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: 7/12/16
Version Reviewed: digital ARC courtesy of NetGalley
Rating: ★★★
How far would you go to protect *your* child? What if it's at the expense of someone else's?
Fifteen-year-old Jenny Kramer is brutally assaulted and raped in the woods, a few hundred feet from a high school party. Her parents consent to a medical treatment that prevents Jenny from remembering the rape. After all, it's best to move on, right? And what can help a victim move on better than forgetting?
But all is not forgotten. Jenny is tormented by knowing she was raped but not knowing any of the details. She is tortured by the feeling of wanting to crawl out of her skin but not understanding why. It's only after she attempts suicide that her parents agree to memory recall therapy. That brought the Kramer family to Dr. Alan Forrester, who is the narrator of the story. And things get tricky.
"I have no remorse... Hate me if you must."
How grateful I am for the permission. The narrator turns out to be a twisted individual with limited introspection. He's also the only person who can tell Jenny's full story. I think some readers will be tempted to excuse his actions because he "saved his son." But I don't see a loving father. I see a monster. He *put* his child in the cross hairs. He had the power to clear his son's name. But instead the good doctor chose to manipulate and destroy. Throughout the book, he calls his need to treat Jenny "selfish." Only at the very end does it become clear just how true that is.
This is a good, not great, thriller. I definitely didn't see the twists and turns coming, but sometimes the book got bogged down in neuroscience.
No comments:
Post a Comment