Book Review & Giveaway: Walk the Wire

Synopsis:

Amos Decker, the FBI consultant with a perfect memory, is determined to solve a gruesome murder in London, North Dakota. When he and his partner, FBI agent Alex Jamison, arrive in the thriving fracking town, they instantly know that all is not as it should be. The promise of a second gold rush has drawn an onslaught of newcomers — all hoping for a windfall. The little community is growing faster than houses can be built, and the economic boom has brought the predictable slew of problems: drugs, property crimes, prostitution. And now . . . murder.

The body of Irene Cramer was expertly autopsied before being dumped just outside of town. But that’s just one of many oddities. As Decker and Jamison investigate Irene’s past, they are shocked to discover that she was a prostitute by night and a school teacher for a local religious sect by day. And that sect is situated on land that was once part of an adjoining, highly mysterious government facility, the presence of which looms large over the entire community.

London is a town replete with ruthless business owners, shady government officials, and religious outsiders, all determined to keep their secrets from coming out. When other murders occur, Decker will need all of his extraordinary memory and detective skills, and the assistance of a surprising ally, to root out a killer and the forces behind Cramer’s death. . . before the boom town explodes.

Review:

Bestselling author David Baldacci charts another adventure for the Memory Man, Amos Decker, and his partner, Alex Jamison. Walk the Wire is Baldacci’s sixth installment in the popular series.

This time, the two are dispatched to a little town where all the residents know each other, the major local business enterprises are controlled by a few powerful citizens, and the town is undergoing the latest in a series of booms and busts. The current economic growth is the result of fracking, the process of injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks, boreholes, and the like in order to force open existing fissures and extract oil. Because of it, London, North Dakota, is like “the California Gold Rush of 1849, only on steroids.” And “the ordinary rules of civilization don’t necessarily apply . . .” Against that backdrop, Decker and Jamison set out to determine why a beautiful young woman named Irene Cramer was targeted by a killer.

Decker is eager to uncover the secrets that motivate the folks in London, among them the local coroner/mortician who examines Cramer’s body but omits salient details from his report, and the two most successful and prominent businessmen in town. Arch rivals and competitors, their mutual dislike is legendary. Both have survived family traumas, including tragic accidental deaths and suicides. There’s an Air Force station housing a radar array not far from town, outside of which ambulances are lined up. No one seems to know why so many emergency vehicles might be needed or why the state of North Dakota needs two such stations within its borders. It’s adjacent to land owned and occupied by The Brothers, a branch of the Anabaptists. Their lifestyle is somewhat akin to that of the Amish, except they use some modern technology such as vehicles and heavy equipment. But like the Amish they live communally and operate their own school. Cramer was working as a teacher in that conservative environment by day, and serving as an escort by night.

Decker is shocked when he encounters his brother-in-law, Stan, who is working in the oil field. It seems that Decker’s sister, Renee, who resides in California, did not notify Decker about her divorce. But Decker is not good at communicating with his family members. Stan’s presence in the narrative serves two purposes. First, he provides assistance to Decker and Jamison as their investigation intensifies and expands. More importantly, he permits Baldacci to delve further into Decker’s personal life. In prior volumes, Decker’s loss of his wife and child have figured prominently in the story. Decker continues mourning them, even though in Redemption, the fifth book in the series, Decker returned to Burlington and, while visiting their graves, made a conscious decision to live in the present. He still experiences guilt on occasion, acknowledging that with the passage of time, the old adage that “life goes on” is proving to be true. His job keeps him busy and he has made a few new friends. He questions whether he is betraying Cassie and Molly because he “promised them while standing over their graves, that they would be the center of his life until he joined them.” The introduction of Stan and Renee was, according to Baldacci, “a device allowing me to show another side of Decker.”

Once again, it is Decker’s uncanny skill at noticing details and inconsistencies that escape most people that propels the investigation forward. Decker has hyperthymesia, the ability to remember everything and the inability to forget anything. As a young professional football player, he sustained a traumatic brain injury that left him comatose. In addition to attaining perfect recall, his personality was altered. He has trouble expressing emotion and dealing with people, missing social clues. Additionally, he has synthesthesia because his sensory pathways commingled. He sees colors associated with things like death and numbers. Normally, he sees an area where there is a dead body as electric blue, but Decker has noticed his brain beginning to change recently. He has been forgetting things — only momentarily — and as he views a dead body, the room is not blue. “My brain keeps me guessing and I don’t much care for it. No, I hate it,” Decker laments.

Baldacci again demonstrates his ability to deftly meticulously plot a story full of surprising twists, unexpected revelations, and connections between characters that keep readers guessing. The story advances at a steady, unrelenting pace, and is populated with a cast of colorful characters. It is also timely, given the controversy surrounding fracking, a process that Baldacci explains in some detail as he describes the area in and conditions under which the work is performed. Gas flares dot the countryside as pure methane is burned and fills the atmosphere with C02 — to the consternation of environmentalists. But Baldacci’s approach is even-handed, never permitting the narrative to become judgmental or preachy.

Readers of Baldacci’s other series will be surprised and delighted when other beloved characters appear to assist Decker and Jamison when they need it most. Their appearances ramp up the action, and provide a seamlessly logical addition to the intricately imagined tale Baldacci tells.

Walk the Wire is full of intrigue delivered in Baldacci’s signature straight-forward style. Short chapters and snappy dialogue, especially between Decker and Jamison, partners and roommates who know each other well and always have each other’s back, punctuate a thriller that is action-packed, replete with complicated small-town relationships, and completely entertaining.

It is also poignant and touching. Decker continues to be relatable and likable; despite his quirks, he is empathetic because the devastation and loneliness of loss is universally understood, as is hope. “Time did not heal all wounds for him. It barely touched them, in fact. It was like pouring iodine on a cancerous tumor.” But Decker has made a decision to move forward and keep living, even as he never forgets.

Happily, the Memory Man saga does not end with Walk the Wire. Baldacci still has more to reveal about Decker, explaining, “I don’t want to pull the curtain on this guy completely open, because the magic tends to fade.” Fortunately for Amos Decker fans, there is more magic to come.

Also by David Baldacci:

Amos Decker Series

Atlee Pine Series

Archer Series

Travis Devine Series

Standalone Thrillers

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one electronic copy of Walk the Wire free of charge from the author via Net Galley. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. This disclosure complies with 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.