3 Stars *An engaging mystery on par with its predecessor, but it doesn’t raise the bar* Like the first book in this series, there were some things I really liked about The Last Mile and other aspects that were bland. There is a noticeable change in the tone and structure of this story. But overall, I think the pros and cons still balanced out to the same level of enjoyment for me. The first book, Memory Man, spent a lot of time setting up Amos Decker’s backstory. His condition of hyperthymesia was one of the things that made the story stand out. But it was also over-explained. Baldacci explained the same exact information so many times that it was insulting. But the groundwork was already laid for The Last Mile, so the sequel spent far less time explaining things. On the downside though, The Last Mile didn’t have nearly as much character development. Learning his tragic backstory in the first book was more emotional and engaging. Decker’s “growth” in the second book has more to do with fixing his life (settling into his new job, taking better care of his health, etc.) than any major emotional growth. And none of the secondary characters had much depth. That made it harder to connect with any of the characters. It really was a one man show. On the plus side, I enjoyed the plot of The Last Mile more. Admittedly, the story started out slow, and at first it seemed like it was going to be predictable and generic. Then the plot went in a different direction than I was expecting. I won’t spoil it, but I liked the second half of the story much more. Though both books are a bit farfetched. The author does have a tendency to be repetitive. The previous book repeatedly explained Decker’s “mental DVR” ad nauseum. In The Last Mile, the repetition has to do with way too much football. I understand that it was the theme. But I am not exaggerating when I say that, other than the women, nearly every character in this book had something to do with football. If Decker walked into a room of one hundred people and only talked to one person, then I would still guarantee that person would turn out to have played college or pro football. By the fourth time a random character was revealed to be a former player, I was definitely tired of hearing about it. It wasn’t bad enough to ruin the story for me, but it was annoying. There was something awkward about the writing in both books. This is most visible when dealing with the female characters – particularly the dialogue. In that regard, reminded me of Thomas Harris’s writing. I can’t help feeling that neither man has spent enough time talking to women to write convincing, organic dialogue. There were some totally cringe-worthy moments in both Memory Man and The Last Mile. It isn’t like he was being overtly sexist or anything… I just got the vibe of too much guesswork when it came to how female characters would talk and act in various situations. I am still left with very wishy-washy feelings about this series. I enjoyed it well enough. There are aspects that I enjoyed. But I’m not excited enough to rush onto the next book in the series. I’ll probably continue with it at some point, but I don’t know when. RATING FACTORS: Ease of Reading: 4 Stars Writing Style: 3 Stars Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars Level of Captivation: 4 Stars Originality: 3 Stars

A perfect thriller. You start with one crime and keep digging till you find some......