Long Shadows is the seventh book in the Amos Decker series by David Baldacci and was first published in 2022. Once again Baldacci proves why he is the master of American crime genre writing. Amos Decker does not handle change all that well and it unsettles him when he finds out that his former partner Mary Lancaster has dementia. While she is on the phone to Decker she takes her own life. He knows that things will be difficult for her husband Sandy Lancaster. Decker’s partner Jamison has been transferred to New York and his boss has retired from the FBI. He is summoned to the Washington field office where his new boss John introduced him to his new partner. Special agent Frederica White, a petite black woman from Baltimore and they could not be more different. They are then given a new case and are packed off to Florida to investigate the murder of a federal judge and his body, and the wonder why they are being sent down there when the state already has plenty of FBI agents. When they land in Florida, they have two dead bodied and a host of angry federal agents to deal with along with plenty of questions. With Decker’s brain not quite working as it has, he is quite off with various people more than normal. Both Decker and White cannot get a handle on what is happening in Florida. As the body count goes up so does the number of suspects and Decker knows there is more going on than meets the eye. All Decker and White have to do is put the pieces together. The suspect pool is big, and it seems to be related to events in 1981 and it is only when they start piecing together the answers can they start seeing what they need to do. What they do learn is that nothing ever as it seems in Florida. Baldacci has once again delivered a brilliant thriller.

FBI Consultant Amos Decker received a life-changing brain injury when playing football, as a result of which he now remembers everything, including those things that hurt so much he would love to be able to forget them. In Long Shadows, Decker has a lot on his mind. His close friend is dead. His partner, Alex Jamison has moved on and he’s been saddled with a new partner – Special Agent Frederica “Freddie” White. Decker has also received a letter that’s weighing heavily on his mind. Frederica is a single mother and has fought hard for her place as an agent. It’s a battle she has to fight every day. Decker isn’t great with new situations and especially not at the moment, so the two don’t immediately hit it off. Decker and Freddie White are called to South Florida where a Federal Judge, Julia Cummins and her bodyguard, Alan Draymont have been slain in the judge’s home in a gated community. Killed within a short space of time, the judge stabbed numerous times in a frenzied attack and the guard double tapped with 9mm shots and with something stuffed down his throat. The indications are that this may be a revenge killing. As they methodically work the case, interviewing neighbours, colleagues and the judge’s son Tyler and her former husband, it becomes clear that this may be a more complex case than they first envisaged. For Decker this is not the most auspicious of starts to a new investigation. He’s off kilter because of all the aforementioned events and when he and Freddie get to Florida it is to find out that no-one has told the local FBI that they are coming. It’s a mess and Decker is not happy. To solve this case, Decker and White have to delve into the past. Baldacci lays out a panoply of suspects and motives and it is only by working closely together that Decker and White begin to work together as a team earning each other’s respect in the process. Baldacci delivers another terrific thriller with lots of leads and political shenanigans to get in their way. The short chapters help build the tension and though the case is complex, this is still a fast paced investigation that uncovers secrets and scandals that have stayed buried for many years. Decker is grumpier than usual in this book but that doesn’t stop him from recognising that life still has a lot to offer and as the story comes to a climax you can feel the appreciation he has for his new partner. Verdict: A new direction for Amos Decker and an interesting new character in Freddie White about whom I’d love to hear more. The plot is beautifully layered and suspenseful. Lost Shadows is a great read and a brilliant addition to the Amos Decker series.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Long Shadows’ by David Baldacci. This is the seventh in Baldacci’s series of crime thrillers featuring FBI consultant Amos Decker, known as the Memory Man following a head injury when playing pro football that left him with hyperthymesia, or perfect recall; and synesthesia, which causes him to pair certain things with unlikely colors. In April 2020 I read ‘Walk the Wire’, the sixth in the series, and was so impressed that I went back to the beginning and read the others before the end of the year. Still, background details are always provided for readers new to the series. At the opening of ‘Long Shadows’ Decker is dealing with significant changes in his life that are unsettling him. Add to this he has been assigned a new partner, Special Agent Frederica (Freddie) White. Their first case together has them heading to Florida to investigate the murder of a federal judge and her bodyguard. There was no forced entry and the exclusive gated community where she was living was supposed to be secure. In addition, her ex-husband and teenage son both have strong alibis. Aside from establishing a motive Decker needs to determine why the judge felt the need for a bodyguard as well as the meaning of the cryptic note left behind by the killer. While ‘Long Shadows’ has its share of action, its focus was upon traditional procedural techniques to determine whodunnit. It’s quite a complex case that requires the skills of both Amos and Freddie. Also, Decker’s existential crises, triggered by changes outside his control, is explored. Overall, I found ‘Long Shadows’ an engaging tightly plotted crime thriller. Exactly what I have come to expect from the pen of David Baldacci. I look forward to future cases for Amos Decker and Freddie White.