A typical
party, a lot of alcohol a girl, an incredible crime. 15-year-old Jenny Kramer
is raped in the woods close to a party. She has lost consciousness when she is
found and when the parents are offered a drug to make her forget what has
happened to her, they agree. However, this also means that the offender cannot
be identified because the victim cannot provide any facts. The family decides
to bring back Jenny’s memory with the help of a therapist. He digs deep and
does not only unveil details of this deed, but also secrets of the family
members. And slowly it becomes obvious that he himself has some secrets to be
kept well hidden.
Wendy
Walker’s thriller offers everything of novel of this genre needs: a lot of
suspense, unexpected twists and turns, abysses of the human character. Whenever
you believe you have identified what happened and who is guilty, some new
aspects pop up – all well motivated and believable – and you have to adjust
your theory. This lasts until the very last page when you finally get the big
picture and a complete explanation.
What I
found most impressive is the psychological aspects of the human soul and the
mode of operation of the memory. To some extent the novel is also a kind of
study into the human brain which I found quite fascinating. Having the story
told from a psychiatrist’s point of view is definitely an interesting mode of
presentation and integration this characters with his own motives into the plot
makes the whole story even more thrilling.
