Memory Man

Main character very interesting and oddly likable. Good story and as always with this author very well written. A page turner. I rarely give 5 stars but well deserved here!

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 His head trauma changes Amos from an outgoing, gregarious and prankish young man to someone who becomes withdrawn, reserved and socially awkward.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.

Amazing read and fascinating info about savants. So much research went into this book. Read it!!I read all night.

The concept is intriguing, its application is insightful.

I don't normally review Kindle ebooks but I felt I must this time as many of the reviews I read were so critical I just had to buy the book to see for myself. And I'm glad I did!! If you want a fast paced thriller/murder that is enjoyable to read then this is the book for you - you will not be disappointed.At this point I should mention that I work as a book editor and need to be critical and judgmental when I edit and I read lots of fiction of varying authors and standards. So when read Kindle books I read for fun and tend to forgive the author for some unrealistic storytelling or inconsistencies as long as I enjoy the book and keep turning the pages. And there were some unrealistic parts. One that comes to mind is where the main character tells us there are approximately only twenty five people globally who have his mental condition of hyperthymesia (which is factual) but later in the book two individuals living within a reasonable proximity to each other become involved in the story - a bit of a stretch when there's only twenty five in the world.A intriguing part of the main character for me was his condition of hyperthymesia and incredible autobiographical memory. I work with returned war veterans (I have two jobs) who have mental issues due to traumatic personal events and find this area fascinating - particularly how their mental issues impact on their personal life. Most of the details of the hyperthymesia condition are clinically accurate so Baldacci has done his research in this area.Some of the reviews of this book indicate this part of the story was unrealistic but I don't agree. How traumatic events impact on specific individuals is extremely unpredictable.In short, probably not one of Baldacci's best books but good enough for four stars in my opinion. Reasonable storyline, fast paced, keeps you engaged, you can't help but identify with main character and good fun enjoyable read. And I kept turning the pages ( this is one of the main goals of an author). If this is what you look for in a book then this is the book for you.

Apparently I chose the wrong David Baldacci to start with. I do like most of the writing - although I do agree with many reviewers - that there are some really out there, way too impossible to believe plot lines. The tie in to Decker is one of the most impossible to believe lines. I won't spoil it here.And then there's editing - I suppose editors don't need to know much math. But the following is a whopper of a misunderstanding of a really simple math concept - Prime Numbers.Page 251 of the paperback - in a paragraph about people with "Savant" abilities. Baldacci writes:"Another could divide any prime number in his head no matter how large."990,377,764,891,511 Is a pretty big prime number chosen by me randomly. Since I know it's a prime number, I know this: Prime numbers are divisible by the number 1 and the big prime number itself. Nothing else can be divided into 990,377,764,891,511 and return a whole number.I'm not anywhere near Savant - not even very good at math - but you can give me a prime number with millions of digits and the answer is the same - always.Another prime number trick - how do I know that 990,377,764,891,511 is actually a prime number in the first place? Add all of the digits - in this case that comes to 76. Divide 76 by 3 and if you get a whole number it's not prime. 76 divided by 3 = 25.33333333 so it IS a prime number.I'm a savant! No, I need a higher rating - what's higher than savant? Idiot Savant of course.

I just started reading David Baldacci’s novels a month ago. I have been looking for a writer of detective novels that could replace Michael Connolly after reading all of his Bosch series. Started with Baldacci’s Aloysius Archer books and enjoyed them and immediately started on Amos Decker (Memory Man) novels.I enjoyed the character that Baldacci created in Amos Decker. A former NFL player whose career was cut short on the first play of his NFL career by a thunderous hit to the head that scrambled his brain and left him with the inability to forget or put differently, a perfect memory. A wonderful gift to have as a investigator examining seemingly unrelated mass murders but also a bit of a curse when it comes to dealing with others with a personality that can be a bit brusque or antisocial as a result of the blow to his brain.I enjoy Baldacci’s story writing and the way he builds suspense and mystery throughout usually leading to a climax that is unexpected.

Gripping brilliant read

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

Loved the book and character of Decker

I couldn't stop reading! It catches your attention all the time. Each chapter involves you in a way that you can not leave the book aside!