The Fallen (Memory Man, #4) (Amos Decker)

by David Baldacci

Amos Decker and his journalist friend Alex Jamison are visiting the home of Alex's sister in Barronville, a small town in western Pennsylvania that has been hit hard economically. When Decker is out on the rear deck of the house talking with Alex's niece, a precocious eight-year-old, he notices flickering lights and then a spark of flame in the window of the house across the way. When he goes to investigate he finds two dead bodies inside and it's not clear how either man died. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. There's something going on in Barronville that might be the canary in the coal mine for the rest of the country. Faced with a stonewalling local police force, and roadblocks put up by unseen forces, Decker and Jamison must pull out all the stops to solve the case. And even Decker's infallible memory may not be enough to save them.

• ISBN10: 1538713667
• ISBN13: 9781538713662
• Publish Date: 24 April 2018 (first published 17 April 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Grand Central Publishing
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 624
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

Oh this one was a bit depressing, but like in a really good story that makes you feel kind of way. In fact, it was a great story which I buddy read with Anne and with both gave 5 stars. (4/4 books in this series with 5 stars now!)

Amos and Alex are SUPPOSED to be on vacation when they stumble onto a murder investigation. They're visiting Alex's family - her sister, niece, and brother-in-law - at their new home in Barronsville, PA. It's a sad town that's fallen on very hard times - poverty, drugs, and (now) murder are running rampant. They've moved there because the town has a new facilment center that's trying to breathe life into the town with new jobs... but it's clearly failing since death is everywhere from drug overdose to murder. That's the depressing part - these poor people. Yes, bad decisions. Lack of responsibility for their own lives. And yet, gah, what a miserable group of people (not Amber's family but the town).

The investigation was gripping. I was twisted around a bit -- had some good guesses and was right on some counts, but for the most part I was not as clever as Amos (anyone else not shocked? LOL). I found the mystery fantastic, but once again the relationship development with Alex and Amos was the highlight for me. And also some personal growth with Amos specifically. Some real tear jerker moments when he was talking to Alex's niece Zoey.

Such a solid series, with really fantastic narration from Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy. The way they doing the voices separately for male and female characters just makes this so vivid. Can't wait to read more!!

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter



I've really enjoyed the Amos Decker series and The Fallen by David Baldacci didn't disappoint. For me one of the measures of a great author and series is that you forget the author's name and mainly associate with the main character. For example I consistently name Jack Reacher when I am talking about the series that Lee Child authors. I can remember Reacher instantly but have to dig a little deeper into the brain matter for Child's name. Amos Decker and David Baldacci are no different.

Amos and his partner Alex Jamison are vacationing with Alex's sister in Pennsylvania. It's a small little town once ran by the Barons. Yes, those Barons. The town has since been run into the ground by the end of the industrial era. Drugs have seeped in to cover the loses from the factories shuttering.

I'm from the Midwest (not PA though) and also from a small town. I can attest to a lot in this book. It seemed a bit dramatic as I was reading it, but when I think about it, Baldacci did a fair representation of a town hit hard by the slow death of the industrial era. I'm from the IL/IA border and meth is HUGE in our area. I honestly don't know if its more prevalent in the Midwest than in other regions of the country but it is a big issue here for sure. I just don't know if it's as big as a deal as it was made in the book.

The mystery behind The Fallen was brilliant! There were so many layers and trying to determine where it all fit (or if it needed to fit at all!) was perplexing which is exactly what I want in a mystery/thriller. I don't want to go into a ton of detail (I try to leave these reviews as spoiler free as I can) but I will say that I did have some things determined. I still wasn't sure how it was going to all roll out until it was happening. The amazing thing is that Baldacci does SUCH a great explanation that its difficult to find holes in the plot. Not that I would want to but sometimes there are these big gaping issues with mystery plots.

I will say this one took a little longer to sink into. I have a feeling that has much more to do with me than the book. The Fallen by David Baldacci was addictive once I was in and I was shocked by the ending. I have never been disappointed by Baldacci so I've pre-ordered the next book in the series. Thankfully I'll only have a few months to wait as its slated for an April 2019 release!