Forensic psychiatrist Jo Beckett’s specialty is the psychological autopsy—an investigation into a person’s life to determine whether a death was natural, accidental, suicide, or homicide. She calls herself a deadshrinker instead of a headshrinker: The silence of her “patients” is a key part of the job’s attraction. When Jo is asked to do a psychological autopsy on a living person—one with a suspect memory who can’t be trusted to participate in his own medical care—she knows all her skills will be put to the test.
Jo is called to the scene of an aircraft inbound from London to help deal with a passenger who is behaving erratically. She figures out that he’s got anteretrograde amnesia, and can’t form new memories. As his thoughts drift away like tendrils of smoke, Jo finds herself racing to save a patient who can walk and talk yet can’t help her figure out just what happened to him. For every cryptic clue he is able to drag up from his memory, Jo has to sift through a dozen nonsensical statements. Suddenly a string of clues arises—something to do with a superdeadly biological agent code-named “Slick,” missing people, and a secret partnership gone horribly wrong. Jo realizes her patient’s addled mind may hold the key to preventing something terrible from happening in her beloved San Francisco. In order to prevent it, she will have to get deeper into the life of a patient than she ever has before, hoping the truth emerges from the fog of his mind in time to save her city—and herself.
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"My favorite of the 3 Jo Beckett books. I like the premise that her nemesis has been infected by a biological weapon/virus that makes it impossible to form new memories (basically every 5 minutes his brain resets). It's a very interesting device that she carries through very well through the whole thriller. Very fast paced."
— Jennifer (4 out of 5 stars)
" Not my normal type of book to read.... scientist's and goverment secrets... but it was a good book. Didnt really care for the ending... wish it would have ended better. "
— Leslie, 2/19/2014" This is one of the most high-octane mystery/thrillers that I have read in awhile. I'm really liking this series in general, but this particular episode had a lot at stake. "
— Sarah, 2/19/2014" I thought this was a fun crime novel where science fiction becomes real. Yes, it gets a bit out there at the end. Still, a fun read. "
— Cheryl, 2/18/2014" Absolutely terrible. The story was all over the place. The different arcs were completely disjointed, making it hard to even realize that the plot line had shifted from one to the next to the next. So bad, I just got bored with attempting to follow along, let alone understand what the heck was going on. I really enjoyed Gardiner's first book. This one ... not so much. "
— Rachel, 2/13/2014" An interesting read although the subject matter is rather technical since it speaks of this strange substance which affects people's memory, the book is spellbinding, often weird, sometimes characters seem to be too many that one needs to take a break and reaquaint yourself with who is who, it has some major twists, rather gory in parts, enough said, I don't want to tell the whole story in order to spoil it for you. "
— Neil, 1/27/2014" Enjoyed but Jo Beckett series not quite as good as the Evan Delaney series. "
— David, 1/16/2014" Loved it! Great plot, fantastically written! "
— Tiffany, 12/27/2013" The second in the Jo Becket series. I liked this one even more than the first one (The Dirty Secrets Club). It's much more of a balls-out thriller that hits the ground running and never lets up. "
— Kurt, 12/11/2013" Fun read for the bus. Allows me to both read a book and keep an eye on the two guys screaming at each other in the back. "
— Jessica, 10/21/2013" Another quick, fun read about a forensic psychiatrist who tries to help a man find his family who have been kidnapped because of something he has. Except what he has destroys his current memory -- he can only remember events for about five minutes. I enjoyed it. "
— Diane, 10/6/2013" Good suspense with twists that weren't expected. "
— Marla, 7/4/2013" Pretty standard thriller. I liked it. "
— Laura, 6/21/2013" First book by Meg Gardiner that I've read. It was good, not great, interesting but a little slow at times. The best part was the end....never expected it and it was emotional. I would like to read another by Gardiner. "
— Ruth, 2/10/2013" I'm not sure why I liked this book - the premise was ridiculous and the dialog was terrible. In retrospect, I think the only thing I enjoyed was Ferd, but I guess that must have been enough. "
— Petula, 1/12/2013" Great read. Plot, unfortuantely, is not all that unplausable. "
— Charles, 8/2/2012" Listened to this. A reasonable thriller with lots of twists and turn. Improbable scenario. I found the memory loss backbone hard to believe/deal with. Enjoyed the setting in San Francisco area. "
— Joanne, 7/24/2012" interesting scifi "
— Beth, 5/20/2012" Best part of this thriller is the concept of not being able to retain one's memory. I initially had a problem with the narrator (Susan Eriksen also narrates J. D. Robb's "In Death" series) but quickly got drawn in to the fast paced story. "
— Pr, 1/5/2012" Book on CD. This author used similes like cats in a barn. "
— Marianne, 8/26/2011" This is a terrible book. Don't read this. Don't make the same mistake I did. "
— Kayla, 7/26/2011" First book by Meg Gardiner that I've read. It was good, not great, interesting but a little slow at times. The best part was the end....never expected it and it was emotional. I would like to read another by Gardiner. "
— Ruth, 5/8/2011" Fun read for the bus. Allows me to both read a book and keep an eye on the two guys screaming at each other in the back. "
— Jessica, 4/30/2011" It is set in San Francisco. It has lots of twists in the plot with a Nanotecho biological virus invading the Bay Area. It was a fun read. "
— Gaurett, 4/25/2011" Every series thriller should read like this: fast paced, well-plotted, and characters that involve and entice the reader to want more. "
— Lynn, 4/18/2011" An okay read, some interesting aspects, I may read others in the series, not sure. "
— Janice, 4/10/2011" I had seen this book on a couple of must-read lists at the library and so I tried it. I thought it was just an okay book. The plot was stretched out too much and I got bored. Its not a series that I would go for. "
— Jill, 1/4/2011" like the character of jo beckett well enough to keep reading the series. however, this story seemed to drag a long before it got going....almost as if the idea was better than the execution of the ideas. "
— Aleisha, 12/20/2010" The second in the Jo Becket series. I liked this one even more than the first one (The Dirty Secrets Club). It's much more of a balls-out thriller that hits the ground running and never lets up. "
— Kurt, 10/1/2010Meg Gardiner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of a number of critically acclaimed novels. Her thrillers have won the Edgar Award and been summer reading picks by the Today show and O, the Oprah Magazine. In August 2022 her novel, Heat 2, coauthored with Michael Mann, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. A former lawyer and three-time Jeopardy! champion, Gardiner lives in Austin, Texas.
Susan Ericksen is an actor and voice-over artist. She has been awarded numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. As an actor and director, she has worked in theaters throughout the country.