Redemption by David Baldacci
Publisher: Pan Books (Pan McMillan)
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery /Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Decker is visiting his hometown of Burlington, Ohio, when he’s approached by a man named Meryl Hawkins. Hawkins is a convicted murderer. In fact, he’s the very first killer Decker ever put behind bars. But he’s innocent, he claims. Now suffering from terminal cancer, it’s his dying wish that Decker clear his name.

It’s unthinkable. The case was open and shut, with rock solid forensic evidence. But when Hawkins turns up dead with a bullet in his head, even Decker begins to have doubts. Is it possible that he really did get it wrong, all those years ago?

Decker’s determined to uncover the truth, no matter the personal cost. But solving a case this cold may be impossible, especially when it becomes clear that someone doesn’t want the old case reopened. Someone who is willing to kill to keep the truth buried, and hide a decades-old secret that may have devastating repercussions . . .

Amos Decker has returned to his hometown in Ohio to lay flowers on his daughter’s grave on what would have been her fourteenth birthday. When he is approached by a newly released prisoner who was his first arrest as a homicide detective Amos was not expecting the man to not only insist on his innocence, but for Amos to actually believe him. Drawn back into the old case, can Amos right the wrongs he unwittingly committed all those many years ago?

Even though this is the fifth book in the Amos Decker series I feel many readers should be able to pick this up and still thoroughly enjoy the complicated murder mystery. While this is absolutely the re-looking at a cold case, there is clearly still aspects of the original murder that continues into the present day as people who were peripherally involved continue to be involved and more murders are committed as Amos looks deeper into the issues.

Much of Amos’ past and his connection to the other primary characters – ie the FBI, Alex and Melvin etc – is well explained though it’s quite obvious there are previous books that delve far deeper into these friendships. Readers wanting a fast paced, movie-style action plotline might not find this suits their tastes. There is a wonderfully complicated plot with a number of twists and turns, but the pacing is a bit slower than an action-orientated storyline, and this means many of the items unfold at a slightly slower pace than some readers might prefer. Personally, I enjoyed this slower pace – it made me feel like I was understanding exactly what was happening and discovering things alongside Amos and not trailing behind or lost.

With an interesting plot and plenty of secondary characters in the cast who were part of the investigation this is a solid book and I feel it’s a well-woven plot. This isn’t a fast-paced ride, but I feel it’s more of a complex and inter-woven style of story where untangling everything is part of the pleasure and it’s always interesting to see how Amos’ brain works and all the myriad of smaller things his perfect memory can recall and turn for a new interpretation.

A strong book and a good series I really enjoy.