Copyright 2018 by Columbia Rose, Ltd. Published by Hatchette Book Group, New York.

This is #4 in the series (currently 7 in number) of Memory Man novels by Baldacci. The “memory man” is Amos Decker, a former pro football player who, due to receiving a brain injury on a blind-side hit, lost his career and gained a perfect, photographic memory. He could no longer play football but became a first-rate investigator for the FBI because he could retain every minute detail of a complex criminal case.

In this book he and his partner, Alex Jamieson, are taking a short vacation together, visiting Alex’s sister and niece in Baronville PA where her brother-in-law has taken a job in a new fulfillment center (think Amazon). The town was named after John Baron, an 18th-century industrialist who basically built the town to house the workers in his mines and factories. But the town has fallen on hard times – all the mines and factories have closed, along with many other businesses. The fulfillment center is the only major employer in town.

What seemed like a nice, relaxing break for Amos and Alex suddenly turns into an investigative job when two men are found murdered in a vacant house behind sthe sister’s dwelling. The local police grudgingly accept Amos and Alex’s offer to assist as they realize they are overwhelmed. It turns out that these two murders are actually the fifth and sixth recent very odd murders, along with a huge increase in drug overdose deaths.

The evidence seems to point in the direction of the only remaining Baron in Baronville – a lonely and nearly penniless man who still lives in the decrepit mansion at the top of the hill. Is it possible that the scion of the founding family is a serial killer?

It is an interesting question and it frames a complex plot. Amos’ legendary memory doesn’t play a huge role in this installment – and in fact it proves to be somewhat fallible. Key clues are provided by a blind man who lives across the street from where the bodies were found. Amos does eventually figure it all out, of course, and it is far deeper and more evil than anyone could have imagined.

Very entertaining. 8 out of 10.

Copyright 2017 by Marcus Miller. Self-published.

This is the first of a series of 6 “forgotten man” books by Miller. The forgotten man is cast in the image of Jack Reacher – an iconoclast loner who roams the world, carrying few possessions, owning nearly nothing. But trouble finds him and he has an almost supernatural ability to deal with trouble in an ultra-violent way, without repercussions.

The forgotten man is Steve Rawlings, a man with a history of clandestine operations, mostly in Central and South America. Because of his past he is able to get some assistance when needed from his old colleagues in the CIA. That assistance comes in handy in this case.

The story begins with a late-night secret drilling operation in western Wyoming, followed shortly by some strong-arming of the rancher who owns that land. With the assistance of a local banker who calls in the rancher’s loan, some threats from a neighbor that keep the rancher from hiring the help he needs to get his cattle to market and a beating that prevents him from doing it himself, the rancher is facing the loss of everything he owns.

But Steve Rawlings is there to help. With the assistance of his CIA buddies, the bad guys start disappearing. The banker and the other rancher die violent deaths and their bodies are never found, thanks to the CIA’s cleanup team. Then Steve goes after the drilling company. Which turns out to be more than just a drilling company.

The violence is graphic but is balanced by the oh-so-sweet dialog between Steve and the rancher and his wife. Oddly, the book never misses an opportunity to let us know when Steve pees (but never when he poops – maybe he has a blockage?). And the transition from “thanks, ma’am” to an ice pick in the ear is stark.

I find the writing style odd, but the story is interesting. And I learned quite a bit about cattle ranching and horsemanship.

Odd but interesting.

5 out of 10.