3.0 out of 5 stars Step away from your computer!
This was an OK thriller that has to do with the bad guys using computer technology to secretly mess with peoples' brains and their memories. But why? The main character, a medical blog writer and former doctor named Nat Idle, and his grandmother Lane are running around San Francisco trying to figure out why her dementia is progressing so rapidly and what memories of hers have been tampered with or altered. Nat is detracted from solving the mystery by suspicious characters at every turn. He can't seem to get answers from the caregivers at the nursing home where Lane lives or from her neurologist, nor from a quasi military type venture capitalist named Chuck who appears out of nowhere to save Nat and his grandmother from an attack by a gun toting man in a Prius.

The action scenes are there and the ingredients for a fast paced thriller are in place, but the story and the main plot really don't go anywhere. The narrative seems to be more a social commentary about the danger to human minds because of multitasking and the internet than a real suspense thriller. The revelations about the "big secret" that Grandma Lane has and the resultant case breaking clues that are finally exposed aren't really very exciting and the story sort of limps to a less than compelling or satisfying conclusion. The moral of the story seems to be that humans should stop using computers and have more face-to-face interactions with their loved ones lest we all forget simple things, ruin our long term memories and our brains.

Fine, escapist beach read -- don't expect a high octane thrill ride because it's not found in these pages.

Share/Like this Review?

Very well written.I couldn't put it down.

Share/Like this Review?

First Line: My big toe is exposed and my companion lost in the world beyond.

Nat Idle is a freelance writer spending most of his time writing blog posts with medical angles. He's got more on his mind than his next post, however. His beloved grandmother, Lane, now in a nursing home, has been having problems with her memory, but those problems have been snowballing. Nat doesn't want to accept the inevitable, and he vows to spend more time with her. He's in Golden Gate Park when he makes that promise, and minutes later he's almost gunned down.

It was no random attack, and as he pursues the truth through a warren of technology and paranoia, he learns that this may all be linked to something called the Human Memory Crusade-- something his grandmother has been participating in at the nursing home. Realizing that-- whether she knows it or not-- Lane holds the key to the mystery, Nat smuggles her out of the nursing home, and they go on the run to find the answers.

Although this is the second book in which the character of Nat Idle appears, it stands completely on its own. There were no annoying references to past events that made me wonder what had happened before.

My favorite character in the book was Nat's grandmother, Lane, but once she is taken away from him, the book almost completely loses its momentum. With the real threat gone, there are glimpses of the evil behind the Human Memory Crusade, but there is no real solution or an attempt at one in sight. The first half of the book was excellent; the last half limped home.

Share/Like this Review?