In this 4th book in the 'Amos Decker' series, the FBI consultant and his partner Alex Jamison investigate a series of bizarre murders. The book can be read as a standalone.
Background: Amos Decker, 6'5" tall and over 300 pounds, was a professional football player until a massive hit ended his career and left him with hyperthymesia and synesthesia. The hyperthymesia gives Decker a permanent detailed memory of everything he's ever seen or experienced - like a combination photo album/video in his head. And the synesthesia makes Decker see things in false colors - like death scenes glowing blue. Unfortunately, Decker's hyperthymesia doesn't allow him to dim the memories of his dead wife and child, who were murdered a few years ago.
On the upside, Decker's phenomenal memory helped him in his career as a police detective, and he now works for the FBI.....on a team that investigates crimes. Decker's FBI partner is Alex Jamison, a woman who understands his problems and has his back.
*****
FBI consultant Alex Jamison decides to use her vacation time to visit her sister Amber, brother-in-law Frank Mitchell, and 6-year-old niece Zoe in the rural town of Baronville, Pennsylvania.
Alex convinces her workaholic partner Amos Decker to come along, hoping he'll get some needed rest.
On a rainy evening soon after the partners arrive, Decker is on the porch chatting with young Zoe, when odd sounds disturb the evening. An unoccupied house on the next block is giving off crackling sounds, accompanied by scraping noises in the street. Decker hurries over to investigate, and finds the bodies of two murdered men, one hanging and one shot.
And that's the end of Amos and Alex's vacation!
Decker and Jamison are soon helping the Baronville police investigate the homicides, and learn that the dead men are John Does, unknown to the authorities. The FBI consultants are also told that two local residents were murdered recently, a banker and a woman who lost her job at J.C. Penney.
It turns out that Baronville is suffering from massive unemployment because coal mining and related industries have dried up. Moreover, the opioid epidemic has hit the town hard. Many Baronville citizens are addicts, and overdoses are common.
All this puts the populace in a dark mood, and most people blame John Baron, the last remaining descendant of the town's founder. The populace believes John's grandfather, a mean-spirited scrooge, let the town die, and they resent the only remaining family member.
When Decker goes into a bar, he meets John Baron, who's living on a shoestring. It seems the family fortune was squandered decades before, and Baron makes do with a small income. Decker takes a liking to the personable man, which impacts later threads of the story.
The one economic bright spot in Baronville is a huge fulfillment center (FC) where orders from online vendors are packed and shipped. In fact Alex Jamison's brother-in-law Frank recently moved his family to Baronville, to become a manager at the FC. The FC provides hundreds of jobs, and is planning a sizable expansion.
Following Decker's suggestion, the two John Doe bodies are identified, which brings the DEA into the investigation. The murder inquiries are now being conducted by three agencies:
- Baronville police detectives;
- DEA agents;
- and Decker and Jamison from the FBI.
The authorities make slow progress, though, and more deaths follow. In fact Decker and Jamison come close to being victims themselves, and are lucky to be alive.
To say more would spoil the step-by-step revelations, but I will say that - like previous Amos Decker mysteries - this one has a convoluted plot. In fact it's so intricate that parts of the book are not believable (in my opinion). Still, this is a good story that demonstrates the softer side of Decker, especially when he shows a fatherly side to little Zoe.
Amos Decker mysteries are always entertaining, and I'd recommend the book to readers who enjoy thrillers, especially Amos Decker fans.
Rating: 3 stars
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