Publishers Weekly - Audio
05/30/2016
In Walker’s novel, a controversial mind-altering drug erases a rape from teenager Jenny Kramer’s memory. Her parents, Tom and Charlotte, consider it a kindness when the drug works. But Jenny is stuck with damage to her body and a sense of fear and unease that, to her, have no cause. Dr. Alan Forrester, the story’s narrator, is a psychiatrist who eventually treats Jenny and others connected to the rape. The doctor’s approach to the story is professional and clinical, interrupted by his views on psychopharmacology; the book is more case history than thriller (except for certain sequences). Actor Baker has no trouble presenting most of this tale of rape and its aftermath in a voice as bloodlessly objective as the author intended. He does display emotion when necessary—such as when depicting Charlotte’s close-minded denial, Tom’s obsession with finding the rapist, and Jenny’s tragic decline as she searches for an explanation her increasing trauma. A St. Martin’s hardcover. (July)
Publishers Weekly
★ 05/16/2016
The rape of 15-year-old Jenny Kramer in the well-to-do town of Fairview, Conn., propels this exceptional psychological thriller from Walker (Social Lives). The masked rapist wore a condom and was careful to leave no forensic evidence at the spot in the woods where he attacked Jenny after she wandered away from a party attended by nearly everyone in the 10th grade at Fairview High. Jenny’s parents, Charlotte and Tom, have vastly different reactions to this horrible assault on their daughter. Charlotte worries about her social standing, while Tom wants vengeance. When a doctor suggests a medication that will erase Jenny’s memory of the attack, Charlotte immediately agrees. As her parents grapple with their own emotional responses, they ignore Jenny’s pain. Alan Forrester, the family’s psychiatrist, provides the nonjudgmental, almost clinical narration. Forrester only wants to help the Kramers, but as Jenny’s treatment continues, he fears that the investigation will implicate someone close to him. While secret after secret about the residents of Fairview add to the suspense, Forrester’s secrets may be the most stunning of all. 250,000-copy first printing. Agent: Wendy Sherman, Wendy Sherman Associates Literary Management. (July)
From the Publisher
Praise for All is Not Forgotten
"Nerve-jangling." –TheWashington Post
"An exhilarating poolside read." –InStyle
"Plenty of room for plot twists and surprises." –Real Simple
"In affluent Fairview, Conn., a young girl who's been sexually assaulted is given a drug to help her forget–and the fallout isn't what anyone expected. Twisty and spellbinding." –People
"A dark and twisting psychological thriller that had me guessing until the very end." –Reese Witherspoon
“Exceptional…stunning.” –Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The cast is immensely relatable and book groups will enjoy.” –Booklist
“Dripping in suspense and the darkest shades of family drama.” –sheknows.com
“Exceptionally well-written.”–redcarpetcrash.com
"Deeply intriguing and provocative, All Is Not Forgotten explores intricate family relationships against the backdrop of searing suspense. A novel filled with twists, surprises, and a plot that keeps you guessing. All Is Not Forgotten is not to be missed." –Karin Slaughter, author of PRETTY GIRLS
"An assured, powerful, polished novel that blends suspense and rich family drama. Built on a fascinating scientific premise and laced with moral complexity, it is, in a word, unforgettable." –William Landay, author of DEFENDING JACOB
“Captivating and bold, Wendy Walker takes an incisive look at the importance of memory and the power of manipulation. Fascinating and at times shocking, All Is Not Forgotten is one book you won’t easily forget. Not to be missed!” –Mary Kubica, author of THE GOOD GIRL
“With an exceptionally unreliable narrator and unique plot set-up, All Is Not Forgotten is a compelling, thought-provoking mystery that will have you looking at every therapist you know in a brand new light.” –Kimberly McCreight, author of WHERE THEY FOUND HER
"In the brutal, heart-pounding All Is Not Forgotten, memory cannot be trusted; when a girl is given "the treatment" to erase her memories of a vicious attack, a small town crumbles under the weight of its secret peccadilloes, dangerous alliances, and the question of what really happened that dark night. A fascinating and compelling novel." –Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, author of BITTERSWEET
JULY 2016 - AudioFile
Narrator Dylan Baker affects an emotionally detached tone for Walker’s new novel. This may seem an unusual choice, given the dramatic depiction of sexual assault that is at the heart of the story. But Baker uses a distant manner to build tension and take the listener inside the attack. As Walker’s character, Jenny Kramer, recovers physically from being raped, she’s given a controversial drug to wipe the assault from her memory. Baker’s deliberate pacing reflects the ambiguity that results. The event itself is gone from Jenny’s mind. But can its emotional effects really be wiped clean—just like that? And what might an open psychic wound do to a young woman as she goes on with her life? R.O. Winner of AudioFIle Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2016-04-13
The traumatic memories of a teenager's rape are medically erased, but lingering thoughts of the attack remain, infecting everyone in her close-knit community. 15-year-old Jenny Kramer thought the party she'd been invited to would be the moment when she'd finally blossom, maybe even get a moment alone with the dashing Doug Hastings. Instead she found herself drunk, in the woods, the victim of a vicious hourlong rape, of which Walker spares the reader no detail in this unnecessarily explicit debut. After she's rushed to the hospital, Jenny's parents—blubbering car salesman Tom and tightly put together homemaker Charlotte —decide to give her an experimental drug cocktail to erase her memories of the attack. If the process were successful, there'd be no book, so enter the skin-crawlingly smug narrator, soon introduced as psychiatrist Dr. Alan Forrester, who begins treating Jenny, along with her whole family, after her nearly successful suicide attempt. It's difficult to empathize with a character—our narrator no less—who looks at a 15-year-old assault victim and wonders to himself "why [he] could not see the rape in her eyes." As the well-to-do enclave of Fairview, Connecticut, tries to regroup in the wake of zero viable suspects, Tom Kramer makes it his mission to find Jenny's rapist, jumping on every slim lead, like the sighting of a blue Honda Civic near the party. The introduction of one of Alan's other patients, a soldier who endured the same treatment as Jenny, merely clutters an already busy story whose resolution is anything but satisfying. A repugnant narrator, even an unreliable one, makes it difficult to focus on the true victim, one who is crushed under the weight of this ridiculous plot.
