Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

Genre: Fiction/Psychological Thriller

Date of Publication: March 27^th, 2012

Memorable Quotation: “From the moment I opened the cadaver and saw the tendons, the nerves, the ligaments and the carpal bones of the wrist, I was in love. Not for me the heart, the lungs, or the esophagus--let others play in those sandboxes.  I want the hands, the fingers, the parts that connect us to the things of this world.” (Pg. 215)

Lasting Impression:  This is what it feels like to lose your mind...

Storyline: A

Pace of Story: A

Characters: B+

Ending: A-

Overall Grade: A-

As we get older, memory loss becomes an unfortunate part of aging we all must accept. Sometimes it is worse for others, but no amount of small forgetful moments can compare to the pain family members must go through when one of their parents or family members suffers from Alzheimer’s or Dementia. This is the fate of Dr. Jennifer White, retired Orthopedic surgeon, who at sixty-five is suffering from Dementia and is quickly slipping farther from reality, mentally. To add to the pain her family is going through with her illness, a murder has taken place in her neighborhood and Dr. White is the prime subject, for two reasons:

1.) The person murdered was her neighbor/best friend, Amanda, and Dr. White was the last person seen with her alive.

2.) Four of Amanda’s fingers had been cut off after her death, which leads to suspicion of

Dr. White because her surgical practice. 

Through Dr. White’s first hand account, the reader goes on a wild ride as they try to figure out if this murder case has nothing to do with her or if the holes in Dr. White’s memory are hiding the clues needed to uncovering the case.

To tell Dr. White’s story, Alice LaPlante uses an interesting writing style of using short sentences and having Dr. White’s voice in regular font while anyone else’s voice is in italics, making the voices of others seem shaky; Dr. White only certain of her own voice. 

The flow of the story is fluid, the imagery is lucid, and the thoroughness LaPlante uses in showing the ups and downs from the Dr. Whites point of view is eye-opening and sad; an amazing accomplishment with Turn of Mind being a fictional novel, at times feeling like a memoir. 

This feat in writing from the perspective of a Dementia sufferer also has its downfalls, do to the way different things are described and then randomly changes, most likely following the thought pattern of someone with Dementia, but it can frustrating for the reader with not understanding what is happening. The only other downfall to LaPlante’s novel is that the build up to what happened to Amanda takes a while; it is not until the middle of the novel the murderer is uncovered, and when that is revealed, it is in a quick sentence that will make the reader stop and say, “wait…what?” I promise, however, that the ending is worth the wait and will leave you practically speechless.

A carefully constructed story with many aspects relatable to older generations of our families undergoing increasing memory loss, Turn of Mind is a brilliant story full of twists and discovery of the mind and heart. The relationship between Dr. White and the reader is effortless as they embark on a voyage through her mind to try to cover any holes in her memory that could aid the murder investigation and help her mind piece together her fragmented thoughts and memories before she loses everything in her mind for good.

~Shelly-Beans