Description
As the book opens, Dr. Jennifer White’s best friend, Amanda, who lived down the block, has been killed, and four fingers surgically removed from her hand. Dr. White is the prime suspect and she herself doesn’t know whether she did it. Told in White’s own voice, fractured and eloquent, a picture emergesof the surprisingly intimate, complex alliance between these life-long friends—two proud, forceful women who were at times each other’s most formidable adversaries. As the investigation into the murder deepens andWhite’s relationships with her live-in caretaker and two grown childrenintensify, a chilling question lingers: is White’s shattered memory preventing her from revealing the truth or helping her to hide it?
Astartling portrait of a disintegrating mind clinging to bits of realitythrough anger, frustration, shame, and unspeakable loss, Turn of Mind is a remarkable debut that examines the deception and frailty of memory and how it defines our very existence.
Advance Praise
AdvancePraise for Turn of Mind
"Heyreaders, Alice LaPlante has arrived. Turn of Mind features a crazy-smartnarrator in a gripping family drama that is itself a brilliant murder mystery.LaPlante possesses both the wild audacity to attempt such a tour-de-force andthe pure talent to pull it off. Totally compelling, dark and yet at momentsalso darkly funny, completely unforgettable. Lord knows what LaPlante willwrite next. I can't wait."
-Colin Harrison, author of Afterburn and Risk
"An electrifying book, impossible to put down. Gripping,thought-provoking, humane, funny, tragic, it is masterfully done, a tour deforce that can't be a first novel-and yet it is. I'll read whateverLaPlante writes next, and the sooner the better."
-Ann Packer, author of The Dive from Clausen's Pier
"This is a fascinating read told in fragments mirroring the protagonist'sconfused state of mind yet remaining cohesive and compelling." -BarbaraHoffert, Library Journal (Prepub Alert "Editor's Pick")
BooksellerPraise
"Turn of Mind has stuck with me for days after finishing it. I'venot yet read anything that gives such a clear telling of how a dementiasufferer feels, thinks, and progresses into the inevitable andheartbreaking decline. Jennifer White, a sixty-four-year-old formersurgeon, in lucid moments, knows exactly what's happening to herphysiologically. Whether she murdered her best friend, she cannotrecall. Or can she? This is an extraordinary novel of familysecrets, tragedy, and the mysteries of this disease."
-Dana Brigham, Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA
"I loved it. It's been haunting me since I finished it. How did LaPlante figureout how to construct this novel so perfectly? I was pulled, pushed, repulsed,delighted."
-Gayle Shanks, Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, AZ
"Turn of Mind is a most surprising and gratifying read. LaPlante'sintimacy with the frightening disintegration of an Alzheimer's mind is a tourde force that takes your breath away and breaks your heart in the same moment.The reader is also steeped into the investigation of a murder that youcomprehend and yet the motive rests just beyond reach, with unexpectedpsychological twists. It is a singular novel that can keep you at the edge ofyour seat both in a searing emotional way and in a classic thriller's slowunfolding."
-Marie du Vaure, Copperfield's Books, Sebastopol, CA
"Turn of Mind is a startling, inventive, exciting leap in a newdirection, something that comes along all too seldom. Told in the voice ofa woman with dementia-a retired surgeon, who sometimes knows her children andsometimes doesn't, the fragmented perspective slowly and precisely unveilsdetails of a life story, while also unfolding the mystery of her best friend'smurder-which she herself doesn't know if she committed. A stunning,riveting, extraordinary literary debut!" -Carol Schneck, Schuler Books andMusic, Okemos, MI
"Turn of Mind is a splendid book: beautifully written, moving, andprovocative. Dr. Jennifer White is more than a metaphor for the a personsuffering from dementia, she's a fully realized character brought alive byexcellent writing." -Louise Jones, Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, VT
"There's a tragedy at the heart of an intense friendship between two women, onefalling into dementia the other found dead in her home with her fingersremoved. The truth is as difficult to measure as the intensity of their lives.This novel is a journey through the mind like no other, and as the mind losesfocus the body continues to remember and life is played out, particularly inthe hands. Almost an elegy to love twined with envy set againstincomprehensible loss with a subtle place set at the table for rage, Turn ofMind has left me haunted by its power and grace." -Sheryl Cotleur, BookPassage, Corte Madera, CA
"‘Retired' from medicine and living at home with a full-time caregiver,brilliant surgeon Jennifer White slip-slides in and out of dementia, her mind akaleidoscope of memories merging continually with present-day reality. She isalso chief suspect in the murder of her best friend. Strings of Jennifer'sinternal monologue bleed their way into conversations that take place with andaround her-conversations involving her son and daughter, the caregiver, adetective, and, in memory, her husband and her slain friend. Occasional momentsof scalpel-like insight throw light on both past and present as the surgeon'sformidable mind surfaces, only to submerge again in the murk of disease. Abreathtakingly original and novelistic mystery that turns on the insubstantialnature of reality in the brain of someone suffering from Alzheimer's, Turnof Mind is also an illuminating look into those deep caverns in the mindand heart where love resides. LaPlante, at once compassionate and cynical,resorts to neither cliché nor soft sentiment, yet manages to profoundlyaffect-and electrify-the reader." -Betsy Burton, The King's English Bookshop,Salt Lake City, UT
"Turn of Mind is an emotionally intense story ofsixty-four-year-old surgeon, Jennifer White, as she experiences dementia invarying degrees. On any given day she islucid, catatonic, violent or very, very sly. Does she feelany remorse for her less than stellar parenting of her two children? Did she kill her friend, Amanda, and amputate her fingers? AuthorLaPlante's writing is stunning and her exceptional skill withwords puts the readers inside this brilliant woman's mind sothat we experience her anger, frustration, and confusion. This isa remarkable, heart-wrenching, and utterly fascinating debut novel."
-Susan Wasson, Bookworks, Albuquerque, NM
"Readers of literary mysteries will find plenty to hold their attention inAlice LaPlante's Turn of Mind. Jennifer White is an Alzheimer's patient,lost to the disease enough that most days are a blur of strangers' faces andsnatches of old memories. Jennifer's best friend Amanda lived next dooruntil they day she was murdered, and the circumstances lead the police tosuspect Jennifer- a surgeon by trade before her illness took root. Jennifer isthe ultimate unreliable narrator with layers of potential deception the readeris forced to peel away, and some readers will find the portrayal of the declineof a brilliant mind even more compelling than the ultimate question of the murderer'sidentity." -Chris Rickert, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Pittsburgh, PA
"That the story is told through the dementia-clouded vision of Jennifer White,an eminent vascular surgeon in the early stages of Alzheimer's adds a brilliantdimension to La Plante's riveting narrative. Dr. White is a "person ofinterest" in the murder of her best friend and neighbor, Amanda O'Toole, founddead in her home with four fingers clinically severed. Her son and daughter,her care-giver, and Amanda herself emerge gradually to the reader through thefog in Jennifer's mind. This is not only an artful mystery but a poignant andpainfully believable portrayal of Alzheimer's." -Marian Nielsen, Orinda Books,Orinda, CA
"After finishing Turn ofMind, I think I can safely say that it is one of the best novels Ican expect to read for some time to come. Turn of Mind is a complex andcompelling story of a sixty-four-year-old surgeon, Dr. Jennifer White sufferingfrom dementia told in a way that we experience both the clarity and confusionof her thoughts as the illness progresses. Add to this the mystery of themurder of her best friend Amanda and glimpses of the long history of theirrelationship. I couldn't stop turning the pages to find out the details ofAmanda's murder and then was completely taken by surprise with the ending. Apoignant conversation occurs between Jennifer and the police detectiveinvestigating the murder as the detective talks about losing her partnerto Alzheimer's. 'People think it's just forgetting your keys . . . or the wordsfor things. But there are personality changes. The mood swings. The hostilityand even violence. Even from the gentlest person in the world. You love theperson you love. And you are left with the shell . . . And you are expected togo on loving them even when they are not there.' New emphasis and seemingbreakthroughs in Alzheimer's research make this subject a hot topic. The noveloffers insight to the disease and the complexity of the mind and is agreat read." -Fran Keilty, The Hickory Stick Bookshop, Washington Depot, CT
"Turn of Mind is a splendid book: beautifully written, moving, and provocative.Dr. Jennifer White is more than a metaphor for the a person suffering fromdementia, she's a fully realized character brought alive by excellent writing."-Louise Jones, Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, VT
"Turn of Mind is one of the best character studies I've read recently. Iwas fascinated by the ups and downs of Jennifer's dementia. . . . The innocenceof her journey was very moving." -Vicki Erwin, Main Street Books, St. Charles,MO
"Compelling! Amazing! Riveting! Page-turner! This is a must-read book! From thefirst sentence the reader is drawn into the life of Jennifer; the readerbecomes Jennifer, steadily sliding down the tragic slope of Alzheimer's. As weall know, Alzheimer's is a dreadful disease, one that many of us are exposed towhen our parents, our grandparents, our neighbors begin to age. And, next tocancer, it's the disease that we fear the most for our own aging process. Thisbook hits us right in the gut, making us see the real disease and how itprogresses. It makes you think, "What if this is me? What if I go this way?What if . . . ?" Jennifer was an accomplished surgeon until the disease begins.But now she has Alzheimer's. She still lives at home, despite the efforts ofher daughter, Fiona, and her son, Mark, to move her to a care facility. Butsomething has happened . . . Jennifer's best friend, Amanda, has been brutallymurdered in her own home, just three houses down the street from Jennifer'shome. Because Amanda's fingers have been surgically removed after her murder,the police begin to question Jennifer. Did she commit the crime? Would she evenknow if she had committed the murder? As you turn the pages, you will liveJennifer's bewilderment and frustration; you will follow her mind through theintricate maze of confusion . . . and always you will feel yourself slipping,slipping, slipping. From her home, to the care facility, to her incarceration,you are there. And you DO have Alzheimer's. I guarantee that this book willhave an effect on every single reader. The final revelations leave one amazedand stunned. Read this book!" -Nancy Simpson-Brice, The Book Vault, Oskaloosa,IA
"I was impressed with Ms. LaPlante's story and also her writing style. Shecaptured the torture that is dementia. The reader is captured from the start,and is taken on a roller coaster ride through Jennifer White's mind." -BobAngell, Spring Street Books, Newport, RI
"An orthopedic surgeon with dementia may be somehow involved in the death anddismemberment of her best friend. Through thoughts and conversation thestory unfolds of Dr. Jennifer White and her family and friends. Greed,envy, betrayal and anger are all woven into this wonderful novel." -BethCarpenter, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, NC
"Turn of Mind isthe best literary thriller since PresumedInnocent. The narrator is a hand surgeon who has dementia, thoughshe experiences lucid moments. She is also the prime suspect in the murder ofher best friend whose body was found with her fingers surgically removed. Shedoesn't know whether she did it. This is a page-turner and a moving,fascinating glimpse into the mind of a tightly controlled, intelligent woman whois slowly succumbing to Alzheimer's. The disease works brilliantly as aliterary device, revealing family secrets, tragedies and an ending you won'texpect." -Sheila Burns, Bloomsbury Books, Ashland, OR
"What could be worse than losing your memory? How about being the prime suspectin the murder of your best friend and no memory of it? This compellingstory is revealed in strobe-light flashes of memory as Dr. Jennifer Whitedescends into the strange abyss of dementia. Wow! What a greatbook." -Susie Fruncillo, Lake Country Booksellers, White Bear Lake, MN
"What could be worse than losing your memory? How about being the primesuspect in the murder of your best friend and no memory of it? Thiscompelling story is revealed in strobe-light flashes of memory as Dr. JenniferWhite descends into the strange abyss of dementia. Wow! What agreat book." -Susie Fruncillo, Lake Country Booksellers, White Bear Lake, MN
Available Editions
| EDITION | |
| ISBN | 9780802119773 |
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