Books › All Around The Town
All Around The Town
First published 1992 · 480 pages
A tense, psychological puzzle where the most dangerous secrets are locked inside the protagonist's own mind.
What it feels like
This psychological thriller plunges the reader into a tense, dread-soaked atmosphere where memory is both the ultimate weapon and the deepest vulnerability. The narrative moves at a propulsive pace, driven by the urgent need to untangle a web of fragmented identities and buried childhood trauma. As the protagonist faces a shocking murder charge with no recollection of the event, the mood remains claustrophobic and bewildering, mirroring her own internal fracture. The prose is direct and suspenseful, keeping the focus squarely on the dramatic unraveling of the mind. It is a perfect fit for readers who devour classic mysteries and psychological suspense, offering a gripping exploration of how the darkest shadows of the past can suddenly eclipse the present.
- Mood
- tense
- bewildering
- dread-soaked
- claustrophobic
- Tone
- suspenseful
- urgent
- dramatic
- psychological
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- fragmented identity · buried trauma · unreliability of memory · shadow of childhood abuse
- The writing
- Direct, suspense-driven, and tightly focused on the psychological unraveling of its protagonist.
- The arc
- Moves from shocking disorientation and profound vulnerability to a desperate, high-stakes fight for clarity and survival.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave classic psychological thrillers centered on buried secrets, trauma, and women sleuths racing against the clock.
Content notes
- childhood kidnapping
- child abuse
- murder
- mental illness
About the book
When Laurie Kenyon, a twenty-one-year old student is accused of murdering her English professor, Allen Grant, she has no memory of the crime. But iat the scene of the homocide, her fingerprints are everywhere - on the door, on the curtains, and on the knife used to stab hinm to death. Shocked and bewildered, Laurie is arraigned on a murder charge.
Kidnapped at the age of four and the victim of two subsequent years of abuse and incarceration, Laurie has developed multiple personalities. The host personality, Laurie, is unaware of the others, especially "Leona" who has written crazed love letters to Allen Grant and his house.
Description from Open Library.
Books like All Around The Town
See why they match
StillwatchMary Higgins ClarkA classic, shadowy thriller where political ambition collides with buried family secrets in the elegant, paranoid streets of Georgetown.
Two Little Girls in BlueMary Higgins ClarkA tense, intuition-driven race against time fueled by the uncanny bond of twins and a mother's desperate hope.
Pretty Girl13Liz ColeyA tense and haunting exploration of a fractured mind piecing together the missing years of a stolen childhood.
Someone to watch over meJudith McNaughtA glamorous, snow-swept romantic thriller where a shattered perfect life gives way to dangerous secrets and a hard-won, swoon-worthy new love.
All the little liarsCharlaine HarrisA suspenseful, character-driven mystery where domestic life collides with urgent, high-stakes amateur sleuthing.
The minds of Billy MilliganDaniel KeyesA chilling, meticulously documented descent into a fractured mind that blurs the line between true crime and psychological horror.