Customer Reviews

Amnesia

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Imagine how your world would change if you were to witness your sister's murder, unable to aid her in any way, and that the man responsible got away clean. Then imagine that you have been given the opportunity to set things right. Suppose you have prepared your entire life in order to do so, but instead of bringing the murderer to justice, you find yourself involved in a plot so bizarre and unlikely you suspect you may have gone crazy?

This is the conceit of David Best's latest thriller, "Amnesia". The title is apt, as it deals with the mysteries of human memory, the way we store and process information and, possibly, the ways we may lose it.

Marti Segerson is the young girl, now grown and a psychiatrist
in rural Tennessee. Having taken a job with the asylum where Vernon Odessa, the madman who killed her sister, is incarcerated, she aims to prove Odessa did the deed and ensure that he is punished. The only problem? If Odessa did it, he can't remember. And Marti's memory is starting to develop more holes than a wheel of Swiss cheese.

Having previously enjoyed David Best's "The Judas Virus", I was excited to read this one. I am pleased to report that "Amnesia" is even better. The characters are sharply drawn and individual enough to be believable but without the unbelievable quirks that some freshman authors add as a substitute for characterization. Marti is resourceful and smart, but vulnerable and wounded by her childhood trauma. Her neighbor and landlord, Clay, might be a tad on the superguy side, being a rodeo rider and volunteer fireman, but these traits may be forgiven by his understated demeanor and self-effacing humor.

The plot is laid out like a fine tapestry, with seemingly insignificant occurrences carrying greater weight as the story unfolds. The story is literally plotted like a roller-coaster, with Best bringing us to the point of revelation again and again, only to let the reader slide away in a rush, until the final plunge into the breathless resolution.

This is a fine book, a terrific commute or beach read that will keep you turning the pages. Enjoy!

Beware! this book will draw you in, You will spend your spare time unable to put it down,, sheet I am on page 301 and worried that that my next read won't be this good, this is one fun book to read, waiting what happens to Marti, let alone Marti and Clay and the lockpicker, gueeze, even the minor characters in this book cause personal concern because you feel like you know so much about them. Regards, Bill

The premise of this book is basically that a young child witnesses the death of her sister in the hands of a serial killer. It turns out they catch the guy and place him in Gibson Hospital for the mentally ill.

Fast forward to 18 years later and the little girl is now a psychiatrist with a plan to somehow get to the serial killer and along with some friends get a mental memory image of the event of it on tape.

Its very confusing in the beginning because although the author tries to explain mental memory images to us laypersons, its stilll not really clear.

Anyway, suffice it to say that the scheme backfires and the main character becomes involved in a complicated case of scientific reasearch gone seriously awry.

The story was good (what I could get of it) and there are a few intesting turns in the story which kept me reading. The pace is very good and the author does not get too bogged down in boring details.

The only real problems I had (apart from the scientific part) was that I really did not like the main character at all. Although she was supposed to be a heroine, I kind of felt as though she was kind of portrayed as "me, me, me" and "i want, i want, i want" all the time. It got a little annoying.

Not quite sure what the role of the guy next door was supposed to be either. He kind of floats in and out of the story without giving us a chance to get to know him.

Still, this book kept me reading until the end and while I would not reread it over and over again, it was a good read.

I read Judas Virus by David Best and it was a better book than this one. Marti Segerson suffers the loss of her sister to a deranged killer and eighteen years later, Marti is now a psychiatrist who gets hired to work at the same mental assylum where Vernon Odessa, the killer, is institutionalized. Her motive for going to medical school and becoming a shrink is to exact revenge on Odessa. What a stupid plot to begin with and the execution is just as bad. Once hired by Gibson State, Marti immediately launches into her plan and is so obvious about what she is up to, it ruins any mystery or suspense the author may have hoped to have present.

The characters in this book are transparent and cartoonish. There may have been a way to make the plot and storyline work, but Mr. Best missed the boat. While not a total waste of time, there is much to be desired in this corny story.

A mystery that enthralls you from the beginning. I couldn't put this one down. I'm expecting more great books from this author.