The Memory Collector (Jo Beckett)

Meg Gardiner creates a perfect action-packed thriller about a forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Jo Beckett, whose case is a man with anterograde amenesia, meaning that he can't create new memories, subsequent to a head injury. This is a rare disorder (as seen in movie, "Memento,"), and, in this book, the question is not why but what. What pivotal information does his memory hold that he is not aware of? How can she create connection with him long enough to discover the truth? His case is clearly linked to dangerous warfare which could drastically affect the world. The Memory Collector is a fun read, perfect for a plane ride, since some of the scenes take place on a plane. It also takes place mostly in San Francisco, and since I've lived there, it's fun to read a book and recognize the streets and location described. I loved the female protagonist, and that the book was riveting enough for my boring 7 and 1/2 hour plane ride. This is not a deep read with character development, but, it is fairly well-written, and gripping. If you're looking for a book which feels like a movie, and is very entertaining, this is it.

Rimington is the former head of Britain's MI6, with several excellent novels to her credit starring smart, resourceful agent-runner Liz Carlyle. Crichton, of course, was the master of creepy science, recently warning readers in PREY about the danger of unbridled nanotechnology. Meg Gardiner goes both of them better by giving us a smart forensic psychiatrist, Jo Beckett, and a chilling plot about an infectious nanobiological agent that robs people of their ability to form memories. The suspense is great, and the plot twists are terrific. All Gardiner's books are good, but this could be/should be her breakout novel. Highly recommended!

Every once in a while a new literary talent who was previously flying under the radar of stardom is "discovered" by a recognized, successful writer and thereby sees his or her career soar. Such is the case with the immensely talented Meg Gardiner, who was the subject of a Stephen King column in Entertainment Weekly in 2007. King had the opportunity to pick up one of Gardiner's U.K. paperbacks during a trip to Europe, hailed her as "the next suspense superstar" and compared her style to such literary luminaries as Michael Connelly, Sue Grafton, Lee Child, Janet Evanovich and Nelson DeMille. Gardiner has the unique background of being an American-born writer who had to find success overseas in Europe before being recognized in her home country --- similar to other U.S. writers of recent years like Donna Leon and Richard Laymon. Thank goodness King "outed" her because she has now realized her full potential in the U.S. by winning the Edgar Award for her paperback original, CHINA LAKE. With her latest novel, THE MEMORY COLLECTOR, she continues with the character of forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett, who debuted in 2008's THE DIRTY SECRETS CLUB. Prior to this, Gardiner had written five books in her Evan Delaney series. The plot centers on an individual suffering from anterograde amnesia, the loss of memory of what happens after the event that caused the amnesia. It is different from retrograde amnesia, where memories prior to the event are forgotten. To a large degree, anterograde amnesia remains a mysterious ailment because the precise mechanism of storing memories is not yet well-understood, although scientists know which regions of the brain are involved. In this case, the victim is the mysterious Ian Kanan. Dr. Jo Beckett is called to the San Jose airport where a plane is on the tarmac having just flown in from London. On board is Kanan, acting erratically and apparently having no memory of where he is or how he got back to the U.S. It turns out that Kanan had been on a mission in South Africa for Chira-Sayf, where he worked as an independent contractor. Beckett, who herself is an independent contractor working with the San Francisco P.D., investigates Kanan's background and finds out his experience included a prior stint with a special forces group called COBRA. Beckett also learns that Alec Shepherd, CEO of Chira-Sayf, is Kanan's brother and very protective of him. Kanan came into direct contact with a substance known only as "Slick," a liquid form of an unstable nanoparticle that was part of a discontinued nanotech project by Chira-Sayf. The bad news is that coming into contact with this substance can cause the rare form of amnesia from which he now suffers. Kanan cannot form new memories and forgets anything after five minutes --- sort of like the Guy Pearce character in the Christopher Nolan film, Memento. Simultaneous to this action, both Kanan's wife Misty and son Seth are kidnapped by some mysterious thugs who seek Kanan and the sample

As a fan of other forensic X (you name it--archeology, psychiatry, ME, etc) novels I had to dive right into Gardiner's latest novel. I have not read the previous book in the series or any of her novels. This is a genre that I normally read and enjoy. Although the first several chapters can be confusing they are perfectly suited for the story--I almost felt like the author was "testing" our short term memory pieces here! Think of the first 1/3 of the book as a jigsaw puzzle where you first have to lay out the pieces and then you can put the puzzle together once you get perspective on it. The rest of the novel--it is like being a race car driver on a track--every twist and turn is upon you almost before you realize it. To me that is very satisfying. There is no down time. I really came to care about the characters and become quite invested in both Kanan and Gabe--to the point when their actions made me say "no way" and "I KNEW it". Oddly enough I was not as invested in Jo herself--more in her interactions with others. There were quite a few "suspensions" of belief required for me---but no problem with that---I'm reading fiction so some liberties are allowed. There were a few times when I thought the explanation of something was not quite complete or came a little too late--and I'd been strung out just that little bit too long--but not enough to lower the rating. Overall if you like thriller's that throw you some twists and keep you reading long into the night you'll love this book. I can only recommend if you are taking this to the beach to make sure you have sunscreen on prior to starting to read it--I don't think you'll want to put it down to get the tube out!

"The Memory Collector" is a great book with non-stop action. I had read and liked the first Jo Beckett book, "The Dirty Secrets Club" but enjoyed this one even more. (Reading that book first would give you more background information on Jo and Gabe, but you could read "The Memory Collector" first and still understand and enjoy it.) The premise of Ian's memory loss is intriguing and different from anything that I have read. The book has many twists and it isn't always obvious who the "good guys" and the "bad guys" are. This kept me interested and also guessing at how the story would unfold. There are no slow parts in this book - each chapter is exciting. This is definitely one of those books that you won't want to put down. I highly recommend it!