This was a very creative and dark book. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to read more from T.S. Nichols.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.

“The Memory Detective” solves crimes by having the memories of the victim transferred into his brain. ( I assume this is fiction!) He has become expert at extracting clues out of the victim’s memories as a key piece of his murder investigations. When the memories of an unidentified female victim are transferred into Cole’s brain, neither he nor his colleagues are prepared for the Pandora’s box that he is about to open. The plot has some fun twists and turns that I shan’t detail so as to not spoil other reader’s fun. The premise of the story is great, the settings felt real and came alive with the author’s descriptions, and the narrative moved smoothly with a quick pace. Unfortunately,

An interesting concept and a reasonable story, however it didn't hold my attention the way that I would have wanted.

loved it! wish there was a sequel. Looking forward to more from this author. Interesting with great character development. .You can just see yourself in this story.

First, let me say I hope the author continues this as a series. I loved the blurb, I started the book and was a little iffy but quickly got sucked in and was captivated (Its the geek in me).

Overall, The storyline was great, it gave just enough details to understand what was happening, but wsn't overwhelming. Fast paced and while not a lot of action or suspense, it good detective story with the fascinating bit o having other people's memories.

“The Memory Detective” follows a police detective who solves crimes by having the memories of the victim transferred into his brain. Cole is the detective that the other detectives try to avoid getting partnered with. The scientists say that a person should have no more than 2 memory transfers, but Cole has had more than a dozen. He has become expert at pulling the crucial clues out of the victim’s memories and bringing murderers to justice. But this skill comes at a cost to his personal relationships. When the memories of an unidentified female victim are transferred into Cole’s brain, neither he nor his colleagues are prepared for the Pandora’s box that he is about to open.

I found the idea of memories being transferred from one person to another to be fascinating and the author did a great job of exploring how that would feel and affect the individual receiving the transfer. The story also has some great twists in it to keep you alert while you’re reading. My only problem with this book is the characters. I didn’t feel like I really connected with any of the characters. The premise of the story is great, the settings felt real and came alive with the author’s descriptions, and the narrative moved smoothly with a quick pace. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t feel the characters.

The premise of The Memory Detective is excellent and leaves you with the question, would you want someone else's memories? The police officer, Cole, allows the downloads of crime victims memories. Whether he becomes addicted to the rush of other people's lives, or to the addiction of adrenaline that comes from solving their murders, is unclear. Either way, Cole loses his own life in the process. The side story in this tale is that a corporation has found a way to become wealthy by selling the memories of the short lives which they've designed and then discarded. The story was intriguing, but none of the characters, not even Cole, seemed to be "fleshed out". And had I known that this was the first in a series and would end with a cliffhanger, I probably would not have read it. That said, the author is a talented writer and it will be interesting to see where he goes with this series. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I loved The Memory Detective. What a great plot with a lead detective readers are going to enjoy. For those who love a good mystery thriller with a little sci-fi thrown in, this is the start to a great series!

T. S. Nichols’ The Memory Detective takes place in a near future or alternate world where life and technology are pretty much the same with one difference–the memories of people who have died can be transferred in a medical procedure to family, loved ones, or if they have been murdered and the family agrees, to homicide detectives who can use those memories to solve their murder. Cole, the Memory Detective, is unique, though, in being able to absorb the memories of multiple victims. Not only do they not drive him insane, he has become addicted to memories.

Meanwhile, there is Fergus, a Mephistopheles traveling the world making and fulfilling Faustian bargains. Imagine him coming to you in your twenties and offering endless wealth and freedom for ten years to live the richest, most glorious life you can. After ten years, you will die and your memories will be sold to wealthy people to enrich their lives. Would you take that deal?

The story begins with Cole getting the memories of a Jane Doe. In investigating her murder, he gathers some incidental information that becomes useful when he begins investigating another mysterious death, one that links to mysterious unidentified bodies around the world.



The Memory Detective is an inventive and clever idea and the problems and possibilities of such a technology are ably explored. The Faustian contracts are within the realm of possibility. I can imagine people making that deal when they are young and feel immortal. Wealth and opportunity can be tempting to a few people, though I think most folks would choose a less-privileged and longer life because they want love, friends, and family more than wealth and privilege. Of course, we don’t see many people choosing love in this book, even Cole, the detective, cannot imagine choosing love over his work.

I think this was an imaginative story, but it was marred by making the villains such omnipotent super-villains. There is a comic-book quality to the villains that undercuts the credibility of the overall story. Cole is interesting, the dilemma of losing oneself in others’ memories is compelling. It is also fascinating how memories are used to solve murders. Contrary to what one might expect, they are not instant solutions. They must be analyzed for clues and used to see real, physical evidence that can be used in court. They are incomplete and sometimes frustratingly incomplete.

In the end, I think the idea that animates The Memory Detective is effective, intriguing, and a great conceit, but its execution is marred by a comic-book villain.

I received an e-galley of The Memory Detective from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Memory Detective at Penguin Random House | Alibi
T. S. Nichols on GoodReads

The Memory Detective
by T.S. Nichols
M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review
Feb 02, 2018 · edit

really liked it

Fast-paced riveting thriller! Fun read!..... main protagonist is Cole a homicide detective whose life is immeasurably altered when he starts receiving "memory transfers" from murder victims. Apparently science/ medicine have discovered the presence of neuroproteins in the frontal lobes that house our memories .... and have developed an operative technique allowing for their successful extraction shortly after death. Thus Cole is able to utilize the victims memories to help solve the homicide ... however, the presence and mixture of all these memories are not without consequence.
Cole becomes addicted to acquiring more memories ... thus leading to unfortuitous changes to his personality and personal relationships.
In his quest to solve the crimes, he stumbles across the existence of a company utilizing these memory transfers for nefarious and very profitable purposes.
As a neurosurgeon I couldn't help but notice the inaccuracy of the author's harvesting technique.
Such a procedure , as outlined in the book , would lead to the cerebellum ... and not the frontal lobes. Regardless, I still immensely enjoyed this book . I appreciated his adept plotting and prose which swept me away to devour this morsel in two seatings. Thanks to Netgalley & Penguin/ Random House for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

Immersive is the key word for this book: Cole, our protagonist, is addicted to the literal memories of crime victims as he seeks to solve their murders; and readers of THE MEMORY DETECTIVE will find this is one book that is impossible to pull away from once begun. The world it creates is so compelling and dynamic that reality easily fades away. The book posits a near future where memories can be removed with quick brain surgery and inserted into someone else. With some modest sensory prompting, the memories come alive in the new host and are experienced as real. As might be expected, someone has figured out a way to financially exploit this experience and the detective wouldn’t be the only one with an addiction to new memories. This tale is fantastic with a hint of a sequel at the end. Sounds like a great idea. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

This book is extremely thought-provoking. It deals with the issues created by a medical technique that allows memories to be transferred from one person to another. This capability is displayed for both good and evil, but the line between them blurs as the story proceeds. The characters are interesting, if a little far out, and the style of writing keeps the story up front in the reader's mind. Danger and suspense lurk behind every page, leading up to a most unusual ending. The book will stay in your mind long after you finish reading.

This book was just ok for me. The whole memory transfer and the writing didn't knock it out of the park for me. If you like a different type of serial killer book then this book is for you.

Review published on Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read Blog on January 23rd.

Admittedly, this isn't the type of thriller that I would normally pick up, and I was a little worried about the medical side of this tale getting too technical and bogged down in the details. Thankfully, that wasn't the case at all. The author gives just enough of the medical side for the reader to get what's going on and follow the story. The idea of going in for a procedure that gives you a dead person's memories was thoroughly chilling to this reader, especially when The Company's purpose is revealed. The story does drag at times, particularly when memories are being "remembered." While the way remembering worked for the recipient is an important part of the story, I felt that a complete play by play of every memory was a bit much. That aside, the story did keep me turning pages to see what would happen next, right up to the jaw-dropping conclusion. About 95% of the way through, I completely expected a cliffy - either that or the ending would have to be a rush job - but that didn't make it any less shocking when I got there. On the whole, this is a solid debut novel for Nichols and I'll be anxious to see what's next for the Memory Detective.

Thanks to NetGallley for the opportunity to preview this book. A good story, but the ending seemed a little weak. Still recommended.

Interesting premise about the possibilities of becoming addicted to memories. Good character development.

Memory transfer is an interesting concept as a way to solve crimes but to be honest, I like IZombie better ( possibly because of the live action engaging characters.). If you haven't watched Zombie, in that one, the brains are eaten by Liv, a doctor who works in the coroner's office after having been turned into a Zombie. She takes on the characteristics of the victim before solving the crime. Cole isn't a zombie but he's definitely carrying a huge burden doing this. The conspiracies that surround him are different= not better, not worse, just not zombie (for one thing.). To be fair this is well written and carefully plotted (gotta watch those twists). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Recommend for sci-fi detective fans (I know, narrow market) and to those who would like to try something different.

In order to do his job, Cole undergoes surgery to receive the implanted memories of murder victims. After he recovers from the eight hour operation, he can remember the thoughts of someone else - right up until the moment of their death that is. Sometimes these memories are fuzzy, but others are perfectly clear. Cole's cases completely consume his every waking moment, leaving him without much of a personal life but that's how he prefers it. He will do whatever it takes to solve the case and track down the killer. While Cole is working his most recent case, however, he begins to suspect that someone else is using the memory-transfer tech for another purpose altogether. Cole isn't far off, in fact, he's the only one standing in the way of a ruthless company harvesting people's most intimate memories and eliminating anyone standing in the way.

The Memory Detective by T.S. Nichols has so much potential. The concept behind it is absolutely fantastic, but it never quite hits that mark in execution. I liked getting a look into this author's take on near future technology. I was particularly interested in the consequences of the memory-transfer surgery. Everyday people can receive only one sometimes two transfers, but Cole is the exception to the rule due to his detective skills. He's had many more transfers than the average person could ever hope to receive - and the consequences are high. Think insanity. Unfortunately, I couldn't really connect with Cole because he feels too distant and a little flat. If this novel were told in the first person, I think that would have definitely helped get us into his head. I don't know about you, but with the memory subject matter I think that could only be a good thing. Also as much as I enjoyed the tech, there were moments when I was left wanting more when it came to some of the details regarding how the process all worked. During my entire reading experience, I totally had iZombie in the back of my mind. It's a very similar concept - aside from the zombies and brain eating part, of course.

Overall, The Memory Detective features a good mystery and intriguing near future sci-fi elements. The cast of characters could definitely afford to be more well drawn and developed in order to connect better with them on the whole. The story has a lot of potential to be great, but it doesn't quite hit the mark, plus it isn't terribly unique. You may want to give T.S. Nichols first novel a try if you enjoy iZombie and Total Recall.