The Memory Ward is a haunting exploration of how our memories make us who we are and to what extent we may go to hold onto them, even the bad ones.
Hank Davies is a postal worker in the quiet town of Bethlam, Nevada. He’s grown accustomed to the routine and mundanity of the people there. But when a chance encounter leads to a discovery that the letters he has been delivering are all empty, he starts to connect the dots between it and many other unsettling moments that he previously brushed up. When adding it all up, it becomes clear something just doesn’t fit in Bethlam. Whether it’s the people, his bedroom wall, or that faintest feeling that no one is who they say they are, Davies goes down a disturbing path of horrific revelations that’ll give you goosebumps for weeks.
Jon Bassoff superbly weaves together stories within stories, like a Russian nesting doll that continues to unwind a twist that you just won’t see coming. Not only do you feel weirded out by the premise, but the details that Bassoff introduces cleverly through the eyes of the characters make it all the more compelling and real, enough to make you feel you may actually grasp the sheer panic off the pages. The prose is masterfully organized to ensure the final reveal hits you like a freight train at the most opportune moment.
Drawing you in one hook at a time before fully ensnaring you into a paranoid frenzy that subtly explores what our memories mean to us and how we are more shaped by them than we imagine, The Memory Ward is a book you’ll be compelled to finish in one-sitting. Imagine reading a cross between The Truman Show and The Stepford Wives, but made even more bone-chilling that fuels your dreams for nights to come.
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