The Blaze

The Blaze by Chad Dundas, 374 pages

Iraq War veteran Matthew Rose was invalided out after an explosion damaged his memory. So when he's forced to return to his hometown of Missoula, Montana, after his estranged father's death, Matt isn't quite sure what to expect other than plenty of awkwardness at not remembering people from his childhood. He's certainly not prepared for a potential arson that sparks a bit of a memory about another fire from his youth. Assisting his old friend, a journalist for the local newspaper, Matt begins to investigate the recent fire, as well as the one from his past, in the hopes that he can track down his own past too.

All too often, amnesia is presented as a quick-to-come, quick-to-go condition, but Dundas does an excellent job of making the memory loss and recovery seem much more real. In fact, most of this slow-burning thriller seems very real, from the motivations of the characters to the setting, which is so dead-on authentic it's amazing. It's probably not the sort of book I'd pick up on my own, but I'm glad I read it. Well worth it.