I have always enjoyed David Baldacci's books but not so much 'Memory Man'
355335
I have always enjoyed David Baldacci's books but not so much 'Memory Man'.  It was interesting insomuch as the character has this mental capacity to remember everything, but what I didn't like was the gratuitous violence.  Some violence is acceptable but for me this book went over the line, especially right at the end of the book which didn't add anything to the story except another bit of gore.
1541647
This is not the best Baldacci. The basic story line is a little more of a stretch than his usual plots.  However, Baldacci is a great writer and his style held my attention throughout the book.
The book does provide some very believable insight into the back room wheeling and dealing that makes Washington so corrupt and ineffective for the average American.
To put this book in perspective, I desperately miss the "Camel Club."
2527122
This is a great way to be introduced to the Reverend Merrily Watkins and her daughter Jane.  The story moves well and there are a lot of twist and turns, but there doesn't seem to be quite as much paranormal involvement as I've become familiar with in Rickman's other novels.  I love his settings in old Welsh or English towns... even the minor characters prove to be interesting and integral to the plot.  Mr. Rickman also is a wonderful source to finding out more about older Celtic legends, myths and monsters.
I've been a fan of Phil Rickman's work since my sister turned me on to his books a few years ago (specifically DECEMBER, CURFEW and CANDLENIGHT).  I love his lyrical style and attention to detail in those books.  Unfortunately, he just didn't seem to have the same flow in this novel as he did in his others.  I'm not saying that this isn't a good novel... its just not one of his better ones.
4889279
Baldacci is one of my favorite authors but this book was not as interesting.  Hard to explain why -- I loved the rest of the series though.  All other books in series  were a 5 star.
1001543
I've read a couple other true crime books by this author and enjoyed them very much.  I was watching this one, and when the price dropped, I grabbed it, and moved it to the top of my To Be Read pile.  Unfortunately, I ended up being somewhat disapponted.  This book just wasn't quite up to par with the other ones I had read.  There may be good reasons for that, though.  First (and most importantly), this book deals with a 100-year-old murder and trial, which means that information about the investigation and trial may not be as plentiful as for a more modern crime.  The records that do exist may also not be the same 'quality' as what we expect from our investigative and judical systems nowadays.  That can be understood and excused.

However, what really bothered me about this book was how disjointed it appeared.  There were several rather lengthly digressions towads the beginning where the author talked about a record-setting heat wave in the summer of 1911, when events around the Archer Home were first coming to light and investigations were beginning.  The stories of the heat wave were interesting, but they had absolutely no connection to the crimes.  They were 'local color' and 'setting' only.  And, quite honestly, I think they should have been cut from the book - it would have been stronger for that.  In addition about 50% of the pictures included pertained to that heat wave - again, having no discernable relationship to the murders and subsequent events.  Aside from the digressions on the heat wave, the author seemed to 'jump' between different characters and their lives before they entered the Archer Home.  I think that was intended to show how they were all healthy & happy before entering the Home, and that there was no reasonable natural explanation for their deaths, but it made the story hard to follow.  This was mostly in the first half of the book - the 2nd half discussed primarily the investigation and was laid out in a much more orderly progression.

All in all, and negatives aside, I found this a very interesting read.  The events took place just 1 town over from where I live, and the killer (Amy Archer-Gilligan) lived for a while in the same town where I grew up.  I can remember having the house pointed out to me and mentioned in conection with 'Arsenic and Old Lace', though I never knew the whole story.  I would cautiously recommend this book - it's very interesting, but the first half may be difficult to get through with the weather-related digressions and the way the it jumps between characters and their past & present.  The writing is excellent and appears to stick to the facts.

Note on Kindle formatting:  Very good.  The body of the text was perfect, the only oddity is that italicized quotes from documents are right-justified.  They're perfectly readable, but seeing the ragged (indented) left margin is disconcerting).
1936156
I guess I am used to David Baldacci's books with lots of details about the main character and his/her profession. This author moved through the action scenes too quickly, could have had more descriptions of the events and side characters, and got a little sappy toward the end finding religion and romance. That said, it's an easy read - good for a plane ride or on the beach.
43712
I'm not sure why I'm required to have twenty words in my review. The book was okay but not Baldacci's best and not as good as the review summary score indicates. The plot was not particularly believable , to me.
1598928
The book was well written, however the sub plots and the main plot were fairly predictable. I have read better David Baldacci books
1331043
Never read a book by Mr. Baldacci I didn't enjoy.
I really like the Amos Decker books. Keep them coming David.
4111494
One of the things I love about David Baldacci's books is that, although they are thrillers, the action, the underhanded plots, and the talent of his heroes is believable at some level.  Not so for 'The Target'.  If the CIA wanted to kill its agents, wouldn't it cause an "accident"?  Quick, clean, and no worries about performance.  If it wanted to get rid of a world leader, perhaps a sudden infiltration would be plan B?

Parts of this book reminded me of the opening of the James Bond movies, where thousands of bullets are shot at Bond, his train is derailed over a canyon, his parachute is booby-trapped, and the landing zone is filled with mines - and Bond kills all of his attackers and survives without a wrinkle in his tux.

We know that Robie is talented, and thatJessica Reel is damaged but deadly.  But some of their shenanigans are too over the top, and the resolutions too Hollywood in 'The Target'.
2071276
This book did not hold my attention as well as some of his earlier books. I will continue to read, since I enjoy the characters, and places that the story line has.
2160709
I normally read fantasy novels, but have recently hit a slump, so I tried some crime fiction and this was the first David Baldacci book I read. I thought I would get bored with crime fiction but luckily this book kept my attention even in the slower parts of the book. I did think the character Amos and his memory were a bit over the top with how he uses his memory but then again, maybe David Baldacci researched it well enough and then portrayed it in this way to make us understand and feel what Amos is going through. I will definitely be reading more of his books in future. I have only read a handful of crime novels so I am not well versed in this genre (although I think I can be with more reading) but it seems DB is quite popular, not as popular as Lee Child but definitely entertaining. There were a few twists I did not see coming which was good, and the perps were believable. I enjoyed this book and it was a quick read, it did not bog down even in the slower bits.
894160
It was a very good story but I enjoyed some other novels of his better.
2530457
This is a perfectly fine mystery thriller, but in a way, it suffers from how good it's predecessor was. The plot of this book was fairly predictable, although there were a few twists here and there. By the middle of the book, you pretty much knew who was who and what was what. That doesn't necessarily make it a bad read. My real complaint about the book is the characters seemed way underdeveloped. Part of it is that there are way to many of them, so none really get their fair due. The other is that in the first Decker novel, so much time is spent getting to know Decker's mind, and in this novel, you don't really get to know anybody. Each individual seems like they've been put in place to fill the archetypes needed for a mystery novel. I didn't really care about any of them, and I wasn't afraid for any of them. So, it's a fun read, but Baldacci has done much better. This novel felt more like a script. You almost needed actors to exude emotion, otherwise, everybody either felt like they had none, or they were cartoonish. I think it would make a better movie than book.
925800
I like David Baldacci.  His stories are usually page turners, and they are riveting.
This one, follows the same formula.  However, mid-stream, you could figure out exactly where the story was going.  Much of it relies on clich&eacute;s of North Korea, neo-Nazi's, etc.  (although with the disappearance of the North Korean leader the last few weeks, it was a good time to read up on what's going on inside, even fiction).

The characters were interesting, but we didn't get a chance to know them deeply.  Running them through near-death exercises only goes so far in helping me connect to the character.

So, it was good, but not great.
4188112
Vince Flynn is my favorite author, but I was disappointed with Pursuit of Honor.  Perhaps his previous books have set the bar too high -- it just seemed to lack the on -the-edge-of-my-seat suspense that his other books have had.  However, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to his next novel.
2871438
I have to start my review by saying that I am a huge fan of Grisham's.  I have read and like every one of his books but feel that lately he is just churning them out as it is expected of him.  Where books like The Chamber and A Time To Kill (even The Firm) had a story line that made you turn the page and wouldn't let you put them down,  this book and his previous book are merely an interesting story which is a good read but nothing much else.  I liked the story but it wasn't a Grisham book - not the kind we all know and love.