2026 Book Review #22:The Memory Thief

 

I had never heard of this author until I was browsing our library bookshelves and came across this novel.  The title is what drew me.  The photo art has nothing to do with the story, however. It's rather odd since it's set in Boulder, CO in the mountains. At any rate, it was a very different kind of story..... very original and very  creative.  

STORY SUMMARY

Aiden James (A.J.) is a mountaineer.  He rock climbs, ice climbs, and is a huge risk taker. He's married to Madeleine (Maddie)  Kimble and they have a 4 year old little boy named Gabriel (Gabe). Maddie is a writer. They live in Boulder, CO. 

Aiden and his best friend J.C and a couple of other friends are planning on climbing Mount McKinley's south face.  (the highest mountain in North America and located in Alaska).  Before Aiden leaves, he makes a vow to Maddie: "I will come back to you".  Maddie does not feel good about him going. 

And sure enough....late one night..she gets the dreaded phone call that Aiden has died in an avalanche.  She is left alone to care for Gabe.....and Gabe has a very big secret.   The phone call is from J.C and he is feeling survivor's guilt......he also feels something more.  He has loved Maddie for years.  But he resigned himself to the fact that Maddie belongs to Aiden. And now, J.C. feels guilty that he couldn't save Aiden.  He always wanted a chance with Maddie but certainly not at the cost of his best friend's life! 

Meanwhile, across the country, Nicholas Sullivan wakes up from a coma from a motorcycle crash and he has absolutely no memory of his life before the crash.  The crash happened on the same day as the avalanche:  June 7th.  Nicholas has dreams and they are very haunting.  They are about a mysterious woman and her little boy....but Nicholas has never met them! He feels like he knows them however, and he is determined to figure out who they are and leave everything to go and find them. 

What Nicholas discovers will demand a leap of faith that will change off of their lives forever. 

MY THOUGHTS

This was a really different book from what I typically read.  It's a drama with a bit of mystique and a kind of "super-natural" bent but not in a Satanic kind of way.  More like an other wordly, angels among us kind of way. 

It's definitely very original and very creative! It's a bit haunting but not spooky. It's also very emotional. 

The character development is quite rich and the setting is so well described. I felt like I was on the mountain! I loved all of the characters except Grace who was so utterly annoying.  But maybe that was the point! (Grace was Nicholas'  girlfriend). 

This book is about memory, friendship, love, loss/grief, forgiveness. 

I had to keep turning page after page to find out what exactly was going to happen!

The ending is beautiful.  Sad...but beautiful. and yet happy.  All of those emotions that make for an excellent read. 

The one thing that was a turn off for me, was the very explicit s*x descriptions.  I understand why the author chose to write this explicitly but I find it to be a turn off. That part read like a cheesy, steamy  romance novel. 

I found only a couple of editing errors in this book. 

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some explicit descriptions of s*xual encounters).  

On a scale of 1-10, I rate  this an 8. 

From the descriptions of the author's other novels, I probably won't read any more of her books. They're not my type of genre.