MARCH 2016 - AudioFile
David Baldacci continues his success with the Amos Decker series. Narrator Kyf Brewer breathes life into Decker and convicted killer Melvin Mars with depth and texture as they search across several states for the real murderers of Mars’s parents. The second narrator, Orlagh Cassidy, portrays a backstabbing Southern belle whose perfectly venomous charm nearly kills the main characters on their quest to find the perpetrators. Together, the narrators provide listeners with a vibrant story of Decker and Mars’s search and the surprising revelations that hit them at every turn. There’s nothing routine in this solid whodunit—just striking performances from superb narrators. E.E.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
02/22/2016
In bestseller Baldacci’s so-so sequel to 2015’s Memory Man, the FBI persuades Amos Decker—a former professional football player, whose career-ending injury left him with some unusual abilities, including an almost perfect memory—to join a new unit that combines special agents and “civilians with special skills” to reopen select cold cases. Decker advocates for a case that appears resolved. Former college football standout Melvin Mars is reprieved minutes from his execution after another convict on death row, Charles Montgomery, confesses to murdering Mars’s parents in their Texas home more than 20 years earlier. Decker feels an affinity for Mars, since the two played against each other once, and Decker also lost family members to a killer. His strong feelings prevail, and his unit looks into whether Montgomery is being truthful and why he waited so long to come forward. Despite his extra brain power, Decker doesn’t leave much of an impression. This entry will work best for readers with a taste for improbable resolutions. Agent: Aaron Priest, Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
"Entertaining and enlightening, The Last Mile is a rich novel that has much to offer...In the best Baldacci tradition, the action is fast and furious. But The Last Mile is more than a good action thriller. It sheds light on racism, a father-son relationship and capital punishment. Both Mars and Decker are substantive, solid characters....Utterly absorbing."—Associated Press
"[Amos Decker is] one of the most unique protagonists seen in thriller fiction....David Baldacci has always been a top-notch thriller writer ...[his] fertile imagination and intricate plotting abilities make each of his books a treat for thriller readers. The Last Mile is no exception."—BookReporter.com
"The intricate details in Baldacci's explosive new novel engage until the final word. He's hit the pinnacle traveling the Deep South and exploring its traditions. Decker and his compatriots are characters to remember long after reading this impressive undertaking."—RT Book Reviews (4 1/2 stars - Top Pick!)
"A compelling mystery with emotional resonance. Just when the story line heads to what seems an obvious conclusion, Baldacci veers off course with a surprising twist. The end result is another exciting read from a thriller master."—Library Journal (Starred Review)
"Baldacci excels at developing interesting, three-dimensional protagonists...Baldacci fans will not be disappointed, and The Last Mile gives good reason to look forward to the next Amos Decker thriller."—New York Journal of Books
New York Journal of Books
Baldacci excels at developing interesting, three-dimensional protagonists…Baldacci fans will not be disappointed, and The Last Mile gives good reason to look forward to the next Amos Decker thriller.”
BookReporter.com
[Amos Decker is] one of the most unique protagonists seen in thriller fiction....David Baldacci has always been a top-notch thriller writer ...[his] fertile imagination and intricate plotting abilities make each of his books a treat for thriller readers. The Last Mile is no exception.
Associated Press
Entertaining and enlightening, The Last Mile is a rich novel that has much to offer…In the best Baldacci tradition, the action is fast and furious. But The Last Mile is more than a good action thriller. It sheds light on racism, a father-son relationship, and capital punishment. Both Mars and Decker are substantive, solid characters…Utterly absorbing.”
Top Pick!) RT Book Reviews (4½ stars
The intricate details in Baldacci’s explosive new novel engage until the final word. He’s hit the pinnacle traveling the Deep South and exploring its traditions. Decker and his compatriots are characters to remember long after reading this impressive undertaking.”
AudioFile
Narrator Kyf Brewer breathes life into Decker and convicted killer Melvin Mars with depth and texture…The second narrator, Orlagh Cassidy, portrays a backstabbing Southern belle…Together, the narrators provide listeners with a vibrant story of Decker and Mars’ search and the surprising revelations that hit them at every turn. There’s nothing routine in this solid whodunit—just striking performances from superb narrators. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
RT Book Reviews (4 1/2 stars - Top Pick!)
The intricate details in Baldacci's explosive new novel engage until the final word. He's hit the pinnacle traveling the Deep South and exploring its traditions. Decker and his compatriots are characters to remember long after reading this impressive undertaking.
Washington Post on Memory Man
It's big, bold and almost impossible to put down...Decker is one of the most unusual detectives any novelist has dreamed up...I called this novel a master class on the bestseller because of its fast-moving narrative, the originality of its hero and its irresistible plot....Highly entertaining.
Associated Press on Memory Man
David Baldacci has written another thriller that will have readers engaged from the first page....Baldacci is a master storyteller...MEMORY MAN works because Amos Decker is an amazing character. Reading how Decker journeys from hitting rock bottom to finding ultimate redemption is nothing short of rewarding.
Library Journal
11/15/2015
In Baldacci's Memory Man, football player-turned-police detective Amos Decker loses his entire family to murder and ends up as a seedy private investigator. His second case is bolstered by a 500,000-copy first printing.
Kirkus Reviews
2016-02-18
Amos Decker, Baldacci's hulking former NFL player and one-time police investigator, is back for a case involving death row inmates, a brutal double murder, and a shattered sports career. When readers first met Amos Decker, he was a socially inept giant mired in the past; his wife, daughter, and brother-in-law were brutally murdered in Decker's own home. Living out of a tiny motel room and working as a private investigator, Decker finally solved their murders and helped the FBI put a relentless killer to bed. Now, Decker has reported for duty at a special FBI unit to work cold cases. Commanded by Special Agent Ross Bogart, the unit includes journalist Alexandra Jamison, clinical psychologist Lisa Davenport, and the sullen Todd Milligan, an FBI field agent. The team reports for their first day of duty and almost immediately travels from Quantico to Texas to work the case of a former NFL shoo-in, Melvin Mars, who—on the brink of the pro football draft—was arrested, charged, and convicted of killing his parents. But on the eve of Mars' execution, another man in another state, also on death row, confesses to killing the pair. Upon their arrival in Texas, the team from Quantico finds the case against Mars makes less and less sense. When readers first met Decker, he was maladjusted and brilliant, his NFL career cut short by a vicious hit that altered his life and left him with perfect recall. And it was his incredible memory that solved his cases. This new, improved, vanilla Decker is less interesting than the damaged hero Baldacci first introduced. And while the case starts out with plenty of potential, Decker's incredible memory really isn't flexed much here, so it's ultimately solved by ordinary detective work. Riddled with implausible situations and light on the research, this plodding tale is for die-hard Baldacci fans only.
