This must have been an incredibly difficult book to write. We are seeing everything from the perspective of a doctor who is suffering from Alzheimer's. She is not always oriented to time and place, and does not always realize which people are with her. There are three main parts to the book: first, when she is living at home, second, when she has been moved to a rather nice assisted living facility, and third, when she escapes from that facility and wanders through the streets of Chicago.

There is a mystery at the heart of the book: the protagonist's friend has been killed, and the fingers of one of her hands have been surgically severed. Since our heroine was once a hand surgeon, the eyes of the police are on her. She doesn't believe she's committed a crime, but doesn't really know. We see all the suspects through her eyes: the son with money problems, the unstable daughter, the hired help. We glean nuggets of information and learn bits and pieces, but everything is fragmented and difficult to put together.

Despite this, the book flows smoothly. We can empathize with our heroine, even if we see that she wasn't always a perfect, or even particularly nice, person. You want to keep reading to find out more information. And the information is given out organically, meaningfully.

I don't know if I'd describe this as a literary mystery or not, but I've never read anything quite like it and I would recommend it without hesitation.