Turn of mind - Alice Laplante

The police are convinced that Jennifer White has killed her best friend. Amanda's body has been discovered in her home, stabbed to death and with four fingers from her right hand neatly removed. The murder is a horrifying shock to a quiet and genteel neighbourhood. Jennifer's work as an accomplished surgeon and the stormy nature of her friendship with Amanda make her the prime suspect. However, even Jennifer cannot tell if she really is responsible. Her days are spent in confusion and her memories are fragmented thanks to the Alzheimer's that is gradually destroying her once brilliant mind.

Fractured images and remembered conversations return to her over the days of the police investigation, and Jennifer pieces together recollections from the near and distant past that cast light on her current predicament. As her condition deteriorates, she struggles against succumbing to the indignities of her merciless illness. She frequently fails to recognise her children, Mark and Fiona, when they come to visit but at times she finds herself vividly reliving distinct moments from her most significant relationships - with her late husband James, her much-loved medical career and of course Amanda, who knew even her most intimate and dangerous family secrets.

Turn of Mindis a portrait of a complex friendship of vexed intimacy, with a compelling mystery at its heart. It is a powerful and moving debut that will haunt readers long after the police have drawn their final conclusions about what happened on the cold February evening when Amanda lost her life.