A review by novabird
Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

3.0

Turn of the Mind, was an exceptionally good read, however terrifying. LaPlante having first hand experienced what it was like to have someone close to you be invaded by Alzheimer disease wrote an amazing account of the progression of this wasting condition, with its moments of lucidity, personality shifts and hallucinations. She accomplished this through shifting points of view and engaging the reader in the mystery, so much so, that I was guessing up until the very end. LaPlante herself did not know who had committed the murder until the last 50 pages, as she wrote this in one great creative surge and allowed her intuition to reign free.

Spoiler

I question now whether or not Jennifer could have held out and kept the memory of her surgical removal of Amanda's fingers secret. And that the blending of secrets with memory deficits, however clever, is used in this case as the vehicle for resolution. This is also used as a cover for manslaughter. As readers we are shown the horrible Amanda and the horrible effects of Alzheimer and then asked to collude with the characters to cover up the story of unaddressed crime. I hesitate here in an ethical quandary and I wonder why I was so willing to participate in also keeping this crime a secret? Was it sympathy? or something else darker?

LaPlante is a good writer, she knows how to get under a reader's skin.

I will be on the watch for her next book, "Coming of Age in the End of Days."