Author: Wendy Walker
ISBN: 9781489210623
RRP: $29.99
All Is Not Forgotten, well there is a lot in that title that resonates because this book is one that certainly will not be forgotten.
To say I loved the story feels disingenuous because I can’t LOVE a story centred around an event so brutal and traumatic. I found the story to be fascinating and multi-faceted, it drew me in and held me captive even at times where the heartbreak of reading it had me wanting to put it down and walk away.
The storytelling method is brilliant, it gives an in-depth look at all of the characters and an insight into their psychological makeup that we otherwise would not have had. It takes a couple of chapters to work out who this seemingly objective observant narrator is, and how they fit into this most horrific story.
The story starts with the third person retelling of the brutal rape of a fifteen year old girl in the woods behind a house party. The party is attended by many of the teens in town and it is only a small town. The kind of town you don’t expect these things to happen in. This chapter, these events, are very hard to read and they could probably trigger all sorts in anyone who may have suffered any type of assault.
I don’t think that was the worst of it though really because Walker then brings a controversial (fictional) treatment into the narrative that uses drugs to erase traumatic memories. Jenny, the victim, is a minor so it is up to her parents to consent to the use of the treatment; which needs to be administered as early as possible after the trauma, before the memories take hold. Jenny’s parents want to do the best for their daughter, they want to do all they can to help her heal and move on so of course they sign her up for the treatment… how can removing the memory of her brutalization be a bad thing? Well, that’s a question we will have answered before we make it halfway.
Our objective narrator is a psychiatrist who is brought in to treat Jenny when it becomes apparent to all that the treatment she received directly after the attack hasn’t helped. Yes, it removed her memories of the attack but it didn’t take the emotions and that creates a whole new wealth of issues.
Dr Alan Forrester, our narrator, is the only practising psychiatrist in their home town of Fairview, and he volunteers a full day each week to treat mentally ill criminals in a level five maximum security institution. He is also working with a former Navy SEAL struggling in the wake of the treatment that removed his memories. All of these things are elements of why he was employed to work with Jenny.
Dr Forrester is great at explaining his take on the workings of the mind and the ‘filing’ of memories, the way the treatment is supposed to work and what it actually does. He is also quite good at working with patients to recover these memories, which has to be done very carefully to avoid creating false memories. Either way, the recovered memories are not admissible in court as the nature of the treatment makes them unreliable.
All Is Not Forgotten is the journey, told for us by Dr Forrester, of a family towards healing; because though Jenny is the victim of the attack the rest of her family are not immune to damage in its wake. There is guilt, there is anger and a need for revenge; and that’s just on the surface.
Dr Forrester takes on treatment of Jenny but he also starts treating her parents Tom and Charlotte, separately. He collects the stories of the Kramers through their sessions, and the wider picture through his liaison with the local police department. Everyone wants to see the rapist caught and brought to justice, to offer closure to Jenny but also to the entire town.
The slow unfolding of events, the relationships between all of the characters and the secrets being kept unfold slowly through Dr Forrester’s sessions and his recording of the conversations. There are some very interesting twists that I did not see coming that add to the tension and the suspense of the unfolding story.
All Is Not Forgotten is well written, the hooks are well placed and the pacing is steady. I was impressed with the in-depth exploration of memories and how they are made, the explanations of the treatments and then the way that Forrester goes about recalling these true memories and the explanation that went into how it all works, simplistically enough that it could be understood by everyone and not just those in the mental health industry.
Right from the beginning Dr Forrester tells us about his observations on truth and relationships from his years of experience as a psychiatrist, though he tries to keep it objective. He does enjoy relating these observations when he can directly relate them to what is happening in the story.
The characters are quite three dimensional for the most part and well developed, except where it was in the best interest of the suspense to keep them a little sketchy.
A thought-provoking, yet heartbreaking, story of deceit, degradation, suspicion and the desire to protect the ones we love. Equal parts fascinating and disturbing this is definitely going to stay with you long after the book is read.
All Is Not Forgotten is available in August through Harlequin and from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Wendy Walker can be found on Facebook, WendyWalker.com, Twitter and Instagram.
Thanks to Harlequin 20 of our Beauty and Lace club members will be reading and reviewing All Is Not Forgotten so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Wow! I’m not even quite sure where to start with my review for this book. It was not what I expected at all! Initially, I found it quite difficult to read. Lots of medical terminology was used and although it was all explained, I found it hard to follow and remember. Then there was the horror of Jenny’s rape. I found I could only read short bits at a time.
Then….. it all suddenly got very interesting and I got sucked in hook, line and sinker and couldn’t put the book down (much to my children’s disgust as they were waiting for their tea!). About half way through, I thought I had it all worked out. I was sure I knew who’d done it, and then I realised I was wrong. While relaxing in the shower, I worked out who’d done it again and I thought ‘No, it can’t be! What will happen now?’
I think I’ve worked out that I wouldn’t be a very good detective. I jump to too many conclusions and then forget to take in new information. Luckily for me, that is not my job. The book was so well written and now that I’ve finished, I can see why it was written the way it was. The twist in the tale at the end was so clever and once again my detective skills missed all the clues. I did wonder why Dr Forrester didn’t pick them up sooner though.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for another great read >:o)
well, I too have now read “all is not forgotton” and as the title says, it will be a long while before I would ever forget this story. I found if very thought provoking, and it really makes you sit and think, on what can and does happen all around us in life, that we on the whole do not hear about… This is a book, whose author has taken, I would believe, a long time to go into all the facts given by various doctors on being able to forget such a enormous event like this in your lives, and to be honest I did not know that they have advanced far enough in medical science to have a drug that can help block this event out of you r memory. The father, in this story goes thru tearful sections realising, what has happened to his daughter, and he keeps thinking that perhaps he should have been more aware of what could happen, and unfortunately did happen… The mother has flashbacks to her own life, nothing like this , and so is prepared to, should I say, grieve, with her daughter over her lost virginity.. , the daughter to whom this happened, goes thru various periods of dispair, . The author has handled this in a truly original way by bringing to the fore, many questions that parents ask. The twist in the tale, at the end, will help you, as to who was involved …. In twelve months time, I shall come back and read this book again, and see if I am any better in working out just who was involved…
A small town, a violent assault and rape and the use of an experimental memory erasing drug, to take away the pain… All is Not Forgotten is a gripping and harrowing story about the unraveling of a shocking crime and the impact it has had.
While the young victim Jenny Kramer’s physical wounds have healed, and she has no factual recall of the traumatic attack, it soon becomes clear that Jenny is still struggling. And the key to soothing her troubled soul seems to be to reawaken her memories so that she can heal emotionally as well.
Jenny’s parents seek help from Dr Forrester and in so doing uncover a pandora’s box of secrets and unsavoury goings on not only within their own marriage but also in the picture perfect community of Fairview, Connecticut…
The story is narrated by the psychiatrist, and from from the start I found his clinical and detached telling of the brutal events quite unnerving and creepy. This all adds to the drama, and helps to build the suspense as you try to piece together what is going on. It also becomes clear that while the psychiatrist’s motivation is ostensibly to help Jenny and her family, his motives and interest are far more complicated than that…
A thought provoking and raw novel, All is Not Forgotten asks some very tough moral questions and will not easily be forgotten!!
I really enjoyed this book!!
Thanks so much to Beauty And Lace for the opportunity to read and review!
I don’t want to reveal too much, but I will say that this book really held my attention the whole time I was reading it, and I think that it is written brilliantly.
All Is Not Forgotten is a great read. I loved how the book was narrated by Jenny’s psychiatrist; it added a really clever element to the story.
Even though the focus of the entire story is on Jenny’s brutal attack, there are a lot of twists, and it is certainly entertaining. I stayed up late turning the pages because I was really drawn to the story and wanted to find out who Jenny’s attacker was.
The ending threw me a little, and even days later, I still can’t make my mind up about whether I liked the way it ended, but that could just be because it wasn’t what I expected was going to happen. Nonetheless, it’s a really intelligent ending and left me thinking about it for days afterwards.
I’d highly recommend this book, especially for those readers who enjoy dark, intriguing stories.
I’m really interested to watch the film version when it is released to see how it will compare with the book.
Thank you BeautyandLace for this review opportunity.
I’m not sure what word to use to start off for my review. It’s because there’s some much to say about this storyline. This book is filled with quite descriptive and some slightly graphic details of assault, which can be uncomfortable and unpleasant to read. However, I believe a good book takes us on a journey, no matter if it’s confronting, disturbing, and which may also take us out of our comfort zone.
The writing style is easy to read and to understand. The narration is told by the main character, and we also read thru different characters, which I enjoyed and I liked the views that developed and “talked” thru this. It adds dimension to the intertwined stories.
The storyline is unique and I loved the thrilling suspense that completely weaves thru this book. It is a great book to read and completely get lost in. It kept me captivated and wanting to know more.
I would recommend this book for anyone who wants a good read which is a thriller, a crime novel and which flows easily without confusion. It also keeps me interested and enthralled with the gripping storyline. I enjoyed the inclusion of medical details, which made it an interesting aspect.
I certainly enjoyed reading this book, although it is quite serious and confronting at time. It’s a book that I carried with me and read whenever I had a chance, because I wanted to know what happened next. And, that’s what I feel a good book should do to the reader.
All is Not Forgotten is a seriously confronting book. Not at all my usual type of reading, but something that I will not forget and would actually recommend to others.
I read at night to relax and unwind. This really isn’t the book for that. I found it seriously unsettling and put it down till I had some time during the day to read. The emotional toll this takes on the reader cannot be underestimated.
This is a brilliantly written book and once you get past the graphic nature of some parts it really is easy to read.
Wow the ending is anything other than predictable and I would absolutely say I really had no idea! Try something different have a read of All Is Not Forgotten!
Thank you for the opportunity to review
All is Not Forgotten is a very well written book. It is brutally honest and doesn’t pull any punches with describing various scenes.
The Narrator, the Psychiatrist working with the main character shows his human side in one of the many unexpected twists that will keep you guessing right until the final chapter.
This book is not one to read if you are expecting a light read as it can be heavy reading in places but the storyline meshes brilliantly.
I recommend this book and will definitely look for further works written by Wendy Walker.
I thought I would like this book given that Karin Slaughter said it was “Deeply intriguing and provocative “. I was not disappointed
It is dark, so much flawed humanity. At times, I wanted to stop reading, but I couldn’t, not for long. It is a very confronting yet compelling book
The main focus is 15 year old Jenny who was raped under horrific circumstances. Her parents decide to go ahead with medical treatment to erase her memories of this time
Things aren’t always so simple and as we find out with Jenny and those affected by what happened, things don’t always go to plan. Lots of twists and turns to keep you focused
Yes I enjoyed this book. It was dark, but life can be dark at times. Small towns often hide a lot of secrets
Thanks for selecting me to read All Is Not Forgotten
I can honestly say I enjoyed this book even though I found the story very sad and dark and confronting,
I was a bit confused at first until I realised it was a third character telling the story
This book would not be an easy read for some people as I have said it is quite confronting with nothing held back
The ending was a total
surprise to me
It will be interesting to read the author Wendy Walkers next book
I highly recommend this book
Wow, I can certainly say that this book did not grab me straight away, i was a bit confused but kept persisting. Sure enough the descriptive and intriguing characters came to light and i ended up really loving this book..
With lots of characters intertwining the conclusion is unexpected and leaves you thinking. a good read
Wow, What an amazing book this is and although it is called All is not forgotten I have to admit there are some parts which I would prefer to forget. The first thing I have to say is from a tactile perspective. The paper this book is printed on has an amazing feel and one that sets you up for reading on a cold raining winters night!
But to the book. Gripping right from the start. The scene setting and character development is enthralling and wants to you read more. The details are both enriching to the storyline and frightening from their realism and as a mother of young girls – horrifying.
It is clear that the author has spent many months researching the medical terms and symptoms but on occasion I found myself glossing over some of the terms as I got confused.
However, this issue aside, I would recommend this book as something to keep you focused and challenged through the book with each twist and turn spinning you away from who you think it is as everything is not as simple and straight forward as you initially thought.
Definitely a thought provoking and stimulating book!