REDEMPTION

5 stars out of 5

The author is one of my all-time favorites (meaning anything he writes, I want to read). And from the start four books ago, his "Memory Man" series was a big hit with me. This one, the fifth, adds another five-star entry.

Detective Amos Decker is a very intriguing character; as a result of a football injury, he developed hyperthymesia, which causes him to remember every detail of every single day (whether he wants to or not) as well as synesthia abilities - associating colors with people and objects. But I have to admit my initial attraction was at a far more human level: He played football at THE Ohio State University (go bucks!!), and the aforementioned football injury that ended his sports career happened on the first play as a member of the Cleveland Browns (yep, my favorite NFL team - needless to say, I live in Ohio).

Earlier in the series, Decker's wife and daughter were murdered (imagine being forced to remember every detail of that for the rest of your life), and in this book, he's returned to Burlington, Ohio, to visit the cemetery as he always does on his daughter Molly's birthday. An aging, tattered and battered man interrupts Decker, who realizes it's Meryl Hawkins, his first arrest for murder back when he was a newbie on the force. Released from prison because of a terminal illness, Hawkins knew of Decker's annual cemetery visits, thanks to information from Decker's former partner, Mary Lancaster. When he gets Decker's reluctant attention, Hawkins insists he was not guilty as charged and pleads with Decker to prove his innocence.

That's not a project Decker wants to undertake, given that it could mean he was instrumental in putting an innocent man behind bars. Besides that, Decker's boss back at the FBI isn't happy that he's thinking of going rogue yet again - and he orders Decker's current partner, Alex Jamison, who's with him in Burlington, back to the office (as an aside, another personal coinkidink: My mother's maiden name was Jamison).

But when evidence turns up that Hawkins might have been wrongly convicted, Decker (and his memories) can't walk away even if it jeopardizes his FBI work. Complicating matters further is that a personal connection means Lancaster, who was willing to help out, is forced to recuse herself from the investigation - leaving Decker pretty much on his own. On the plus side, Jamison contacts Decker's old friend Melvin Mars, who insists on helping despite Decker's protests. The two make a great combination, and that makes for a great story that's both complex and exciting. 

For the record, this book stands well on its own, but I have no doubt I enjoyed it more because I'd read its predecessors (which I recommend that others new to the series should do as well, not only for that reason, but simply because they're all so enjoyable). As for me, I say keep 'em coming!

Redemption by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing, April 2019); 433 pp.