Mystery Genre Annotation

Turn of Mind
By: Alice LaPlante
Genre: Mystery, Literary Fiction, Psychological Suspense

Jennifer White is a retired orthopedic surgeon who has begun to slip into the throes of dementia.  She keeps a notebook so that she can write things down to refer back to and others can write information for her on her "bad days".  The story is told from her perspective, which is like going in and out of a dream, fragmented and blurry. On good days, she is clear enough to understand what is happening to her.  On bad days, she can hardly think of names of ordinary household objects, let alone her children and friends.  She rages and and attacks out of frustration and has a caretaker, Magdalene, who does her best to contain her charge.

Jennifer's best friend and neighbor, Amanda, has been murdered and her fingers removed from her hand.  Jennifer is the prime suspect, although she has to be told every day that Amanda is dead and what happened to her.  There is an investigation, but it happens outside of Jennifer's comprehension.  She is questioned numerous times and as the book progresses, the questions become more and more intense.  She has no idea she is suspected of murdering her friend, nor does she have any idea what may have happened to her.  As she floats in and out of lucidity, flashbacks reveal secrets and betrayals from the past that define her relationships with those around her.  Ultimately, the case is solved, but until then, we wonder, "Who killed Amanda?"

APPEAL FACTORS

Tone:  Bleak, haunting
Character: Flawed, unreliable
Writing style:  Compelling
Storyline:  Unconventional; nonlinear

READ-ALIKES

Trust No One by Paul Cleave:  Jerry Gray is a mystery writer who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and as the disease progresses, he makes the claim that his books' bloody, violent murders are true because he committed them.  Is it true or all in his head?

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey:  This was recommended on Goodreads by a reader who thinks it is similar to Turn of Mind, but executed better.  An elderly woman succumbing to dementia believes her best friend has disappeard, yet no one believes her or will help her.  So she embarks on a desperate quest to find her.

The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey:  A man wakes up on a beach with no memory of who he is or why he is there.  He takes on the identity of the owner of a BMW he finds, but soon finds himself fleeing from the police for something unknown to him, but known to Daniel Hayes.  Is he Daniel Hayes?

MY TAKE
This was not a procedural mystery by any means.  In fact, it barely meets the criteria for mysteries.  There is a murder and an investigation, but seen through the splintered memory of the main character, which leaves the reader just as confused as she is.  However, the end gives us the answers to the question of who killed Amanda, so a mystery it is.  While this is classified as a mystery on NoveList and Goodreads, it is also called psychological suspense and literary fiction.  In fact, read-alikes suggested by NoveList did not include many mysteries at all, which makes sense.  Our mystery chapter in Saricks informs us that there is a wavy line between many of the sub-genres of mystery, and this book proves that.  I liked it a great deal, but only because I'm not really a mystery fan and I didn't miss the hard boiled investigation and forensic procedures of your standard mystery fare.  I think that people who like mysteries for those factors will be very disappointed with this book.  I would not recommend it to someone who came up to me and asked for a good mystery UNLESS they specifically asked for suspense.