4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting; however the ending is too convenient, January 22, 2006
This review is from: Memory (Paperback)
I like psychological thrillers and this is an exceedingly interesting concept. To take a drug that releases the memory of your ancestors embedded within your DNA seems a compelling premise and this section of the book is handled expremely well. The characters themselves are not particularly well drawn, and the book feels more like a screenplay to me. (This is not surprising as the the author is a scriptwriter) The ending is a major let down. Every single loose end is ticked off by the last paragraph but the coincidences are just too convenient for my liking. With a re-jigged ending this might make a cracking modern film noir; apparently it has been made into a film. It will be interesting to see what they did with it.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
exciting thriller, January 5, 2007
This review is from: Memory (Paperback)
Near Manaus, Brazil, Harvard graduate student William Terrel spends time with the dangerous Yanomano tribe when he stupidly steals a powder the natives use in rituals. Nearly dead, he is brought to St. Augustine's Hospital in Manaus where Dr. Costas performs an MRI whose results stun the physician.
In New England, medical researcher Dr. Taylor Briggs seeks a cure to Alzheimer's that is killing his once brilliant mother and he fears will one day him. When he sees an email of Terrel's MRI, Taylor decides immediately to visit the ailing man, whose brain's activities make no sense.
In Brazil, Taylor learns that Terrel died and was cremated, but Dr. Costas, assuming he is from the American consul, gives him the deceased's backpack. Inside Taylor finds a strange powder as he brews tea. He soon "hallucinates" about his father's car. Not long after that in New England he sees a painting by S. Jacobs of a man wearing a coat that reminds him of his dad. After meeting the artist Steph, he has memories of girls being killed that are not his; he believes the powder has enabled him to "recall" the memories of a serial killer genetically linked to him.
This exciting thriller will grip readers from the first memory that Taylor envisions when he loses his shoe in the muddy bank of a river while still in his Manaus hotel room. The story line is loaded with twists of memories that can become difficult to follow for the reader and the hero who finds red herrings, death, and love; the latter is a fascinating concept as Taylor ponders if he is in love or is he feeling someone else's memory. Suspense fans will enjoy Bennett Davlin's tense thriller that focuses on what is a real memory (I have seen the movie so cannot comment on it).
Harriet Klausner
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Rollercoaster, January 2, 2007
This review is from: Memory (Paperback)
I loved this book!!!!!It was fast-paced and a great read. The characters are unique and provocative. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to get lost in a great book and who loves a good twist. Think Sixth Sense
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