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Amnesia
What brings psychiatrist Marti Segerson to the isolated asylum in rural Tennessee? The madman who killed her sister years ago. Marti never forgot the horror--or her need for revenge. But in this strange institution, something else is happening--mind games that cross the line between illusion and reality. And not even murder is what it seems.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 7, 2004
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About the author
David Best
2 booksDavid Best also writes under the names D.J. Donaldson, Don Donaldson, and Don J. Donaldson.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 12, 2010
Imagine how your world would change if you were to witness your sister's murder, unable to aid her in any way, and that the man responsible got away clean. Then imagine that you have been given the opportunity to set things right. Suppose you have prepared your entire life in order to do so, but instead of bringing the murderer to justice, you find yourself involved in a plot so bizarre and unlikely you suspect you may have gone crazy?
This is the conceit of David Best's latest thriller, "Amnesia". The title is apt, as it deals with the mysteries of human memory, the way we store and process information and, possibly, the ways we may lose it.
Marti Segerson is the young girl, now grown and a psychiatrist
in rural Tennessee. Having taken a job with the asylum where Vernon Odessa, the madman who killed her sister, is incarcerated, she aims to prove Odessa did the deed and ensure that he is punished. The only problem? If Odessa did it, he can't remember. And Marti's memory is starting to develop more holes than a wheel of Swiss cheese.
The characters are sharply drawn and individual enough to be believable but without the unbelievable quirks that some freshman authors add as a substitute for characterization. Marti is resourceful and smart, but vulnerable and wounded by her childhood trauma. Her neighbor and landlord, Clay, might be a tad on the superguy side, being a rodeo rider and volunteer fireman, but these traits may be forgiven by his understated demeanor and self-effacing humor.
The plot is laid out like a fine tapestry, with seemingly insignificant occurrences carrying greater weight as the story unfolds. The story is literally plotted like a roller-coaster, with Best bringing us to the point of revelation again and again, only to let the reader slide away in a rush, until the final plunge into the breathless resolution.
This is the conceit of David Best's latest thriller, "Amnesia". The title is apt, as it deals with the mysteries of human memory, the way we store and process information and, possibly, the ways we may lose it.
Marti Segerson is the young girl, now grown and a psychiatrist
in rural Tennessee. Having taken a job with the asylum where Vernon Odessa, the madman who killed her sister, is incarcerated, she aims to prove Odessa did the deed and ensure that he is punished. The only problem? If Odessa did it, he can't remember. And Marti's memory is starting to develop more holes than a wheel of Swiss cheese.
The characters are sharply drawn and individual enough to be believable but without the unbelievable quirks that some freshman authors add as a substitute for characterization. Marti is resourceful and smart, but vulnerable and wounded by her childhood trauma. Her neighbor and landlord, Clay, might be a tad on the superguy side, being a rodeo rider and volunteer fireman, but these traits may be forgiven by his understated demeanor and self-effacing humor.
The plot is laid out like a fine tapestry, with seemingly insignificant occurrences carrying greater weight as the story unfolds. The story is literally plotted like a roller-coaster, with Best bringing us to the point of revelation again and again, only to let the reader slide away in a rush, until the final plunge into the breathless resolution.
August 6, 2011
Found this little gem tucked away on the shelves of the library. I picked it up because of the title and back blurb.
The thriller takes place in a mental institution. Dr. Marti Segerson has come there for her own reasons. But her personal mission is side-tracked by another doctor known for his work on memories. She discovers poor care of some patients (neglecting one woman with diabetes, another one on the wrong medication, and even one with a frontal lobotemy from years past) and even one patient who doesn't belong behind the walls.
Marti has to decide what's more important to her--her mission or uncovering the truth about the mental hospital and why there are so many memories missing--including her own.
A no-holds barred thrill ride. Plenty of suspense and medical terms. A tiny bit of fantasy about the memory movies (which the author admits in a note) but it's fascinating all the same. You won't want to put this book down until the end.
The thriller takes place in a mental institution. Dr. Marti Segerson has come there for her own reasons. But her personal mission is side-tracked by another doctor known for his work on memories. She discovers poor care of some patients (neglecting one woman with diabetes, another one on the wrong medication, and even one with a frontal lobotemy from years past) and even one patient who doesn't belong behind the walls.
Marti has to decide what's more important to her--her mission or uncovering the truth about the mental hospital and why there are so many memories missing--including her own.
A no-holds barred thrill ride. Plenty of suspense and medical terms. A tiny bit of fantasy about the memory movies (which the author admits in a note) but it's fascinating all the same. You won't want to put this book down until the end.
April 29, 2014
I stumbled across this book at an old bookstore and decided it would be my vacation read. I am so lucky that I found it. It has been a very long time since a book has held my interest so much so that I couldn't wait to finish it. I am now looking to read the rest of David Best's work and Don Donaldson (the other name he is under).
August 3, 2015
This book is fine for a quick, predictable read. I stuck it out until the end because I thought there would be a brilliant twist ending. The twist is that there was no twist, and it was as predictable as I'd anticipated.
September 23, 2011
This was a great psychological/medical thriller. It kept me turning pages frantically, wanting to see what would happen next.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews