Memory Man

Must read

an absolute page turner. suspence from the first to the last page. I loved it.

Loved the book and character of Decker

This new character, Amos Decker, is quite interesting. I can’t wait to read the next book in that series.

This book is a cunningly plotted introduction to a thrilling series. Amos Decker is an ex-cop with exceptional mental abilities that allow him to see what others can't. Thus he a cut above other investigators. Baldacci has successfully created yet another character whose adventures are worth following and the author definitely deserves praise for his work. The book has a gripping plot and the multi-layered story unwraps in a fashion that keeps the reader hooked till the last.

Amos Decker is a young man, a very big young man. He’s fast and strong, but he’s neither the fastest nor the strongest. With tremendous effort and will, he makes it to the NFL. In the first game of his career he takes a vicious hit, a career ending hit. His head trauma changes Amos from an outgoing, gregarious and prankish young man to someone who becomes withdrawn, reserved and socially awkward. This head trauma has also given him a super brain, a condition called “Hyperthymesia”, a brain that cannot forget. Some people figure he’s been given a gift, but for Amos it’s a curse.Amos Decker gets help from a clinic that gives him a new direction. For all the right reasons, he becomes a policeman and with his incredible brain, he quickly becomes a detective. He meets the woman of his dreams, gets married and they have a beautiful child. After completing an evening shift he comes home to discover that his wife and child have been brutally murdered. He almost ends his own life, but doesn't. Losing the two people dearest to him, he quits his job, loses his home and even starts living on the street, sinking the lowest point in his life. After another murderous tragedy at a local high school, the authorities call on his brain to help with the case, a brain that counts colours and sees time as pictures. He soon realizes that this case is connected to his own tragedy and to him personally. He eventually discovers that the killer is a hermaphrodite who was brutally assaulted and, as a result, experienced a similar head trauma as his own and somehow feels Amos is responsible for her/his brutal events and pursues a sick vengeance not only on others, but ultimately on Amos. He commits his effort volunteering his own life to end the killing that would, without a doubt, continue.Memory Man is a typical detective novel with a unique (a brain that will not forget) twist. It has short punchy sentences and lots of detective-speak and short chapters in the latter part of the book to keep the reader moving along. For me, the most interesting part of the story is when Amos is in pursuit of the killer(s) who are able to stay one step ahead and taunting him along the way. They are headed on a collision course that will leave only one person standing. I liked the book, but I didn't see the justification of the killer’s hatred for Amos and for all those around him. I felt it was the main weakness in the plot. I still recommend Memory Man as an entertaining read, but I won’t be reading any more stories about Amos Decker as I found his persona boring and Asperger-like.