Redemption: David Baldacci

Memories are precious especially when you are Amos Decker who remembers every detail of this life and every situation. Sometimes this can be an advantage while other times it can hamper him. Decker is now facing his most horrific nightmare when visiting Burlington, Ohio where his family namely his wife and daughter are buried. While remembering them he is confronted by Meryl Hawkins the man he convicted of four murders when he was just beginning his career as a detective. Wanting his name cleared he is convinced that Hawkins might be innocent and the evidence that convicted him after he reassess it might have been planted or fabricated.

Hyperthymesia is what Decker has and is why is memory is so sharp and vivid all the time. At different times it comes into play as he stores personal memories and holds them within his mind. Decker teams up with Mary Lancaster and delves into the lives of all four victims but the police provide obstacles along the way. Hyperthymesia, also known as piking or hyperthymestic syndrome, is a condition in which an individual possesses a superior autobiographical memory, meaning he or she can recall most personal experiences and events in his or her life

The Peter Childress the superintendent wants him out of the way and so does Natty Blake whose role 13 years ago in the case along with Decker proves inexperienced detectives can miss the obvious. As they proceed Decker loses sight of himself and shoved aside his partner and the bureau. Threats come from all sides and the death toll rises as Susan Richards disappears or did, she? Rachel Katz owns the American Grill and other businesses but what is behind her success and why did her husband and Ron Richards meet and who wanted them gone.

Decker is even arrested and held because no one wants him interfering and when questions are asked of Merlin’s daughter Mitzi you begin to get an unsettled picture and things progress in a jagged way . When Decker meets Sally Brimmer he realizes that she and Blake are more than part but when she agrees to provide him with information someone decides to silence her on the spot. Added in he is filled, and someone forces him off the road and later in he winds up in the hospital.

With Lancaster’s husband as Rachel Katz’s alibi she can’t work the case and enters Melvin Mars.

Natty and superintendent Childress provide the obstacles as they manage to arrest Decker several times and refuse to allow him to follow the leads he seems to have. When they realize a connection to the murders leads them to Mitzi Gardiner, Hawkins daughter and then Susan Richards goes missing and the circumstances about her missing are suspicious you won’t believe how the truth is falsified and hidden. Rachel Katz is the wife of Daniel victim number one who meet with Don Richards another victim but why did they kill his two children.

When the evidence they realize has been fabricated and one police detective might be involved, when Sally Brimmer tries to help Decker why is she the next victim? Added in her affair with Blake and her partnership might have something to do with the way Susan Richard’s disappearance was made to look.
Things get sinister when we learn more about Daniel Katz and his business dealings and the fact that within the American Grill there is a hidden basement and you won’t believe what they will find.

As the body count rises and the delve into the many construction projects that Katz was involved in and where the money came from you learn the hidden secrets behind Rachel Katz’s success and why she had her hands in so many businesses. As Mars gets to know her better and Decker learns more about Mitzi things take a really sour turn as Earl Lancaster brings to light the hidden lies and deceptions about how projects and buds are accepted and why his company did not get many when a Katz used private people and extreme security. Enter several who are not what they seem and Sally Brimmer is killed and Susan Richards body is found, and someone shoots Rachel Katz and the hidden deception behind Mitzi’s background and her husband’s lies will shock Decker and almost destroyed her.

As Mars gets closer to Rachel Katz and the secrets in the basement are uncovered the link to some sinister connections to Russian communists and a man named Peyton aka Yuri Egorshin. Dangerous and not going to allow Decker and Lancaster along with Mars and Jamison to win this battle the final revelations are astounding as author David Baldacci creates suspense, intrigue and masterfully connects all the threads as Decker learns some hardcore facts about Mary, himself and moving on. As Mary learns about her future and she and Earl give another try, Decker makes some hardcore choices and decisions too. The act of atoning for a fault or mistake . As Decker finds himself looking long and hard at the choices he made, the mistakes he has to face and those responsible for adding to his actions will he and several others atone and find their way to give Meryl Hawkins the redemption he deserved and allow him to be remembered not for his past deeds but for the hope to redeem what others took away from him. A heartbreaking story and yet not so far from reality as sometimes we see what we want to see or others create for us to see and until the dust is cleared and your vision is not blinded you too might not see the hidden lies and so well-orchestrated you won’t see it coming. When everything seems beyond his reach and things started to become cleared Amos Decker must decide on his next road to emotional freedom. Redemption: a word with so many meanings each one of us has his/her own definition.

Fran Lewis just reviews