All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy WalkerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Everything seems picture-perfect in the town of Fairview, Connecticut, until one night the unthinkable happens: a young woman, Jenny Kramer, is brutally attacked at a local party. In the hours immediately thereafter, Jenny 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, she wrestles with her raging emotional memory.
Jenny's father, Tom, becomes obsessed in his quest for justice though her mother, Charlotte, struggles to pretend this horrific event did not touch her carefully-constructed world. Soon the fault lines within their marriage and their close-knit community emerge from the shadows, where they have been hidden for years. Meanwhile, Jenny remains haunted by what she can and cannot remember. . .and her attacker is still on the loose.
Dark and thought provoking thriller that explores experimental treatment that will erase memories of an horrific rape that a girl suffers when she is attacked at a party.
Believing that she is doing the right thing, Jennys' mother makes the decision to let her daughter who was attacked have the drug (previously used on trauma patients) to erase her memory of the attack. Jenny's father is conflicted, he wants the attacker found and if her memory is wiped all hope of that happening is gone. He is also wracked with guilt that he couldn't have protected her and feels it is his duty to find this man. Because treatment must be given within hours of the attack for it to be effective it leaves very little time for her parents to think things over or speak to any other professional. Believing it is the best course of action, Jenny's mother pushes for it to be done.
However, the treatment does not completely rid Jenny of the experience and her emotional and physiological memory of the incident are still living on in her body which causes her to have extreme anxiety and depression. She does have additional counselling through a support group where a psychiatrist works with victims. While she is being counselled her father is unravelling and crazed with finding her attacker. Her mother is coping the best way she can by convincing herself they can put this behind them.
It is a deep and dark psychological novel highlighting the effects of decisions made and consequences that propel people down specific paths in life. It is brutal in its honesty and frighteningly real in its portrayal.
The narrators identity is not revealed until late in the book and although not entirely surprising it was not immediately obvious.
It kind of has the 'be careful what you wish for' warning - sometimes its' not good to tamper with events but the appeal of having all the trauma taken away from you must be tempting. Its worth remembering that the brain is complex and 'quick fix' experimental solutions may have long term unpredictable consequences.
Lots of curve balls to send you down blind alleys in this book with good pace and plenty of suspense. Although the writer takes pains to tell us that the drug does not exist it makes you wonder how close we are to developing something similar and what the consequences would be should it ever be used.
Have to give this one 5 stars for its originality and spellbinding story telling.
I would like to thank the publisher for sending this in exchange for an honest review.
