A twisting, thrilling suspense novel about a woman with dissociative identity disorder borne of unspeakable childhood trauma who must face her abuser’s release from prisonAll of Us is a riveting thriller with six compelling protagonists—who all share one body. Though legally she is Carolyn Grand, in practice she is Martha, a homemaker who cooks and cleans for her “family,” Victoria, a … put-together people person, Serena, a free spirit, Kirk, a heterosexual man, Eleni, a promiscuous risk-taker, and Tina, a manifestation of what is left of Carolyn after years of childhood sexual abuse.As they jockey for control of their body, all the personalities also work together to avoid being committed to a psychiatric facility. But Carolyn’s tenuous normal is shattered when Hank Grand, the man who abused her and leased her out to pedophiles, is released from prison. Soon he begins stalking her, bringing back painful memories for all of the personalities.When Hank is murdered in a seedy hotel room, Carolyn is immediately a prime suspect. But the man has other shady dealings, and the burden of proof weighs heavy on the police—especially when, propelled by demons of his own, one of the detectives assigned to the case finds his way into Carolyn’s very solitary life.The police and the reader are left wondering: are any of Carolyn’s personalities capable of murder? A deeply suspenseful novel, with a truly unique cast of characters.Optioned by Sony for a six-part limited series.
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I’m (darkly) fascinated by stories about the mind’s ability to protect itself by splintering the personality into pieces… The books are always horrific in their details – the abuse that renders this the best protective mechanism for survival is inevitably soul-crushing and devastating to read about – but the survival story is so moving and powerful and the logistics of how the person manages the personalities fascinates me.
A.F. Carter has done a marvelous job writing in the different voices that comprise Carolyn Grand. The interconnectivity is well managed. The bad guys in this piece are REALLY BAD, and the conflict that derives from the various personalities’ dealings with both the father AND the therapist is cringe-inducing in a way that felt believable even in its parade of horribles. This is a woman who literally cannot catch a break, and her ability to manage the dreadful things that keep befalling her was impressive but never oversold. Each of her personalities jumped off the page and kept me engaged in the story, precisely because each voice was so uniquely presented. I cannot imagine how difficult it is to hold all of those voices in your head (either in reality or as the author presenting this reality); it impressed me to no end and definitely secured Carter a place on my “authors to watch” list…
This is NOT a story for the faint of heart; no multiples tale ever is. But it is a moving, powerful examination of what it means to survive, and how survival may not always look or feel all that impressive to the person doing it, but what IS always impressive is that they manage at all. The ending came together in a way that might, at first blush, seem a little tidy – but honestly, by then, I wanted something to go Carolyn Grand’s way so badly that it felt deserved rather than overly optimistic, as though at some point the universe HAD to give this poor woman something as a reward for all she had endured.
It was a powerful read and I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if at times it left me wanting to wash my brain out with soap…
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
My Rating:
Content Rating: 18+
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Published: June 2, 2020, by Mysterious Press
All of Us is a noir thriller with an unnerving psychological twist. A.F. Carter takes the reader deep into the fractured mind of Carolyn Grand. Since early childhood, Carolyn has endured horrendous abuse at the hand of her sick, twisted father, Hank, and then she suffered at the hands of her foster family. As if that is not enough, Hank also exposes Carolyn to his pedophile friends and films them.
“I have no memory of my father, now in prison, or of his sadistic friends. Nor do I remember Benny Aceveda and his wife, the foster parents who rented us by the hour.”
Martha
Carolyn’s mind copes with this trauma by splintering into six distinctly different individuals, each with their own unique personalities. Carolyn Grand suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), sometimes called Multiple Personality Disorder or Split Personality. I loved that the author took a murder mystery and added this unique twist.
All of Us is told to us by each of Carolyn’s personalities. These six different personalities work together and have enabled Carolyn to have a reasonable life. She still struggles and needs help from the state, but she can live on her own. Carolyn Grand’s people are the makeup of Martha, Victoria, Serena, Kirk, Elina, and Tina, who have their particular purpose in protecting Carolyn both physically and psychologically.
“Our past is imprinted somewhere inside the brain we share, but Tina alone has access. If that saves the rest of us a lot of pain…”
Martha
I won’t explain what each person does for Carolyn, as that would take away the fun of reading the book but know that A.F. Carter does an excellent job in the development of each character and perfectly showcases the internal struggle between each of the personalities.
“Victoria and Martha want to eat me, me and Eleni, to swallow us down, to digest us, to empty us from their bowels, to flush us away.”
Serena
Everything is going along “normally” until Carolyn hears that her father will be released from prison. Upon release, he starts stalking Carolyn, she reports this to the police, but they are unable to do anything. And then Hank is murdered.
A.F. Carter leads us down a well written suspenseful path that leaves us wondering and yes, hoping if any of Carolyn’s personalities were capable of murdering Hank. These six characters/personalities were all so well developed, and I became attached to all of them. The pacing of this book was well executed and kept me on edge throughout the whole book. If you like the thriller genres, All of Us delivers that edge of your seat reading with a unique twist.
* Please note the quotes in my review are subject to change once the book is published. *
** I kindly received this galley by way of NetGalley, publisher, and author. I was not contacted, asked, or required to leave a review. I received no compensation, financial or otherwise. I have voluntarily read this book, and this review is my honest opinion. **
I remember reading The Three Faces Of Eve, seeing the movie Sybil and being fascinated with multiple personalities. Sometimes thing happen that are so awful or so traumatic that the mind cannot handle it. Some people blank it out. For other people the mind creates a new identity to handle it. Charlene Grant was abused by her father and his friends for their amusement but she still had hope. When her father was arrested and she went into foster care the abuse was even worse. This time she lost hope and many other identities came into being. As the book opens, one of her identities, Eleni the sexual one, propositioned an undercover cop. She wasn’t arrested because she didn’t ask for money but she was sent to therapy with the rather creepy Dr Halbertstam. With him we meet Martha, Victoria,Serena,Tina and Kirk. Each of them has a purpose in Charlene’s life and they have been existing quite well on their own. Soon after the incident with Eleni, Charlene’s father was released from prison. When he is found dead, Charlene was the most likely suspect, especially since she is already known to the police. I did not find this book to be that suspenseful but I enjoyed it. The chapters alternated among the identities which could be confusing for some I suppose but I had no trouble with it. The book was a sad commentary on the mental health system and how it sometimes treats patients. The ending ties everything up but not necessarily neatly. I received an early copy from Netgalley and would like to thank the publisher for allowing me to read and review it.
Carolyn Grand suffered extreme abuse as a young child at the hands of her father and not much improved for her in foster care. In order to survive her horrific circumstances, various personalities were birthed to control each aspect of her life until she, Carolyn, didn’t have to surface and function anymore.
I found this book beautifully written, so respectful of the struggles of multi-personalities. The author got the reader inside the head of each multi and you started understanding why each one was birthed and the role of each one in their life.
How each multi deals with the therapist; the police and other figures and even each other, is very clever and insightful.
The ending caught me totally by surprise and in retrospect was actually very clever. The policeman was a clever addition to the whole setup.
A book well worth reading.