The Last Mile (Memory Man, #2) (Amos Decker, #2)

by David Baldacci

[Berls]

I am THRILLED Anne (she also gave it 5 stars) noticed I had started this series and suggested it as an option for us to buddy read for the mystery readathon, because I had forgotten about it (as happens way too often with good series that I start for book club and then forget about, despite great intentions). I will definitely be catching up with this series this year, and I'm thrilled as I loved this book as much as the last.

I actually read Memory Man in 2019 - so not THAT long ago but I've recently learned I tend to forget a lot about books... so I was really happy when I very quickly remembered Amos and his story. I think some of that was the way David Baldacci left little clues to spark my memory along the way - thankfully without doing a full recap that is annoying when you do remember the details.

The Last Mile pulled me in immediately. Melvin is on death row for killing his parents - a crime he did not commit - and when we meet him it's the morning that he's scheduled to be executed - when he gets an unexpected stay of execution because someone else has confessed to killing his parents. After 20 years behind bars and losing his future as a definite star NFL player, he may be looking at freedom. How can you not get hooked by that? I know I did. And when Amos, a former NFL player who actually played Melvin in one game, hears the story on the radio, he's hooked too. And thank goodness, because the case ends up being quite complex and needing Melvin's unique brain to solve it and secure Melvin's freedom.

The mystery is absolutely fantastic. I always love books where I actually have guessed and dismissed the correct solutions - it means the author did such a good job that I saw the possibility but there were enough other things going on to throw me off the track... and that happened with this book a few times. And when I looked back, it was clear as day. Amos is a fantastic character and I really enjoy the way we're also seeing him develop as a person and the friendships he's developing with his new FBI team. I think there's lots of potential for future great books as well. And I hope we see more of Melvin too!

I listened to The Last Mile, narrated by Orlagh Cassidy and Kyf Brewer. I had forgotten how much I loved this narration, as it has a theatrical style. What I mean is that Kyf does most the narrating, voicing Amos's POV and the male characters and then Orlagh steps in with the female voices. It's an unusual style, probably because I would imagine it's more challenging/expensive, but I find it really immerses me in the book that much more. My only complaint would be that there is also some music at weird junctures (perhaps CD changes from back in the day? When was this originally published? IDK) and it was meaningless and sometimes distracting. But not enough to diminish that I loved the book and the narration equally - 5 stars all around!