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Title: read it
Review: I liked the first book in the memory series, "Time Release," a lot, and the second, "Shadow Image," a bit less(though it's still easily better than 90 percent of the mysteries published). In "Straw Men" the author returns to the exquisitely intricate plotting and tormented, morally ambiguous characters that made the first book so great. There's a nice plot twist reminiscent of "L.A. Confidential" (the movie version, not the book), and a subtle but ever-present erotic tension simmering beneath the surface of the story. Jim Christensen is one of the few protagonists in mystery genre who really comes off as an authentic ordinary person. Smart, but not too smart, and far from masterful. He's a genuine soccer dad with coffee stains on his tie who struggles to cope with with the perplexing mysteries of everyday life, as well as the occasional crime.
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