I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
MemoRandom by Anders de la Motte Series: ,
Published by Atria/Emily Bestler Books on December 1st 2015
Pages: 448
Format: eARC
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In the first of two new action-packed thrillers by the internationally bestselling author of the Game trilogy, MemoRandom takes you deep inside the world of police intelligence—where secrecy, betrayal, and deadly competition reign supreme.
David Sarac is a handler at the Intelligence Unit of the Stockholm Police Force, identifying, recruiting, and wrangling anyone who can support the police in their battle against organized crime. And David is very good at what he does: manipulation, bribes, and threats—anything goes, so long as he delivers. Other agents can do nothing but watch jealously as his top-secret, high-level informant, Janus, rockets David to success.
But after David suffers a stroke during a high-speed car chase, crashing violently into the wall of a tunnel, he wakes up in a hospital with no memory at all of Janus or the past two years of his life. David only knows that he has to reconnect with Janus to protect himself and his informants before outside forces bring the whole network crashing down. Fortunately, he has his supportive friends and colleagues to help him rebuild his life…or does he?
From the award-winning Swedish author who has worked as a police officer and IT security consultant, MemoRandom is a stunning thriller and look inside the secret intelligence community, where you never know who’s on your side.
MemoRandom is a novel about David Sarac, an informant handler at the Intelligence Unit of the Stockholm Police. His main priorities are to identify, recruit and manage people who can provide information and tips about organized crime in the city. David is one of the best and he’s been able to recruit one of the nation’s most top-secret and most successful informant, Janus.
When David suffers a stroke and wakes up in the hospital he realizes he doesn’t remember anything about his life from before. He can’t remember who he is, why he is in the hospital or what secrets he knows. Strangely, he keeps receiving visitors asking about a man named Janus and when his life is threatened David must piece together his life from before in order to save himself.
Down the rabbit hole David falls realizing that his preconceptions of who he is may not be correct: is David the bad guy or the good guy? Who is Janus? And can David remember everything before someone kills him for his secrets? Who can he trust and is he actually a rouge agent?
MemoRandom is a slow burn, with plenty of unique characters, intrigue and dark secrets linked to the subterfuge, lies and corruption running rampant throughout Stockholm’s political and law enforcement environments. Everyone has secrets to hide and they will do anything to prevent those secrets from being uncovered. Meanwhile, David struggles to uncover his own dirty secrets while navigating an unknown world of corruption. The stakes are high for David who is walking on a tight rope between salvation and ruin – if he makes the wrong decision his life is over in more ways than one.
I found this novel took a long time to read mostly because it was so slow. Unfortunately, there were so many characters that sometimes I had to stop and think “Wait, who is this? What was his role in all of this?” before continuing on with the dialogue. I think partially overabundance of characters and the slow unraveling of who David actually is made this novel a bit tiresome..
However, once David starts remembering key pieces of information MemoRandom is impossible to put down.
I couldn’t wait to learn why David was in the car the night he crashed, who was actually the bad guy and how all the characters seemed to fit into this story. MemoRandom is a tapestry of narratives that all have a reason for being followed, even if they aren’t entirely clear until the end. What appears to be a meandering and messy novel in the beginning is actually a story where everything is relevant and related.
In the end, I liked MemoRandom more after I reflected on the novel. It’s not a short and easy read with straightforward plot lines – its a novel of complex ideas and sleuth craft. Although there’s plenty of action, a reader has to work towards being rewarded with car chases, fight fights and psychological warfare between handlers. There’s plenty of violence, grit and dark situations to pacify readers who have given the time to get through Anders De La Motte‘s setup. Honestly, it’s worth the patience and book two is going to be awesome.
MemoRandom is a James Bond novel..if James Bond forgot who he was.
This book will appeal to readers who enjoy psychological, cerebral novels that utilize complex plots and a multitude of characters. I definitely recommend this novel to those who enjoy dark, gritty crime novels with focus on corruption and/or criminal undertones. MemoRandom is not for readers looking for a light, fluffy read on a Friday night, but is definitely worth the effort!
About Anders de la Motte
Anders de la Motte (b. 1971) made his debut in 2010 with [geim], which won the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers’ ‘First Book Award’. He is a former Police Officer and was until recently Director of Security at one of the world’s largest IT companies. He is currently an International Security Consultant. With his blend of fast-paced suspense, humor, and informed commentary on IT and social media, Anders de la Motte represents a distinct new voice in Scandinavian crime fiction: wild, playful and full of references to popular culture, including his literary cousin Philip K. Dick.
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