3 out of 4 stars
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Have you ever watched a science fiction movie that had some of the coolest futuristic gadgets, and wishing you had one? In 1979, while sitting in a movie theater watching “Men in Black,” Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent J (Will Smith) used the Neuralyzer, to erase and implant new memories into those affected. It’s a good thing this only happens in science fiction movies, because this capability could be dangerous in the hands of the wrong person. In Mike Thorne’s “Murder in Memory,” fiction becomes reality and what may seem real, really isn’t.
In the small town of Harper, where the main function of the police department consists of writing parking tickets, police chief Nolan Grady, has the difficult task of catching a killer. Two college students have been brutally murdered on campus. As chief Nolan searches for clues, the lives of the deranged Dr. Henry Andrews - who unethically implants false memories into his patient; Jon Evans – the passive English instructor who is married to conniving Doris - who is cheating on him with David Parker - another policeman, are intertwined in this suspenseful thriller. The author skillfully paints a picture of a typical small town where the community is centered around the college, everyone knows everyone, the spread of gossip is swift, and secrets are nonexistent. The murderer can’t stop killing but knows his time is running out, he is bound to be recognized. A calculating plan to throw suspension on someone else, Dr. Andrews (not a spoiler, because the author reveals the killer by the middle of the book) implants false memories of murder into Jon Evans. In addition, a few suttle hints from Doris, insulating that Jon maybe the killer, has Nolan searching down the wrong path.
“Murder in Memory” is a fast-paced book, with well thought out characters, and a few twists and turns, this book will keep you wanting more. Not a typical murder mystery where the killer is revealed at the end, the author creatively gives the reader a surprise ending. For all the mystery sleuths who love a good, who-done-it novel, I highly recommend this book.
I enjoyed this book because the true to life characters that the author created, allowed me to connect with the story. The fast read and dynamics used in creating attributes associated with a small college town helped guide this book along. What I enjoyed the most about this book was the ironic twist at the end of the book. In spite of the killer’s identity being introduced early on, the author crafted a web of suspense that kept my attention.
There were a few grammatical errors found in this book but did not affect the rating of 3 out of 4 that was given. The one thing that I did not like about this book was the author’s reasoning behind referencing each characters name in a every conversation. It was as if the author was afraid the readers would not remember who was having the conversation. For this reason along, I could not give it a higher rating. All in all, a good piece of work.
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Murder in Memory
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