THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES

TITLE: THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES

AUTHOR: MARCUS SAKEY

Pages: 388

Date: 14/07/2012

Grade: 4.5

Details: Received from Book Geeks

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On a cold and abandoned beach a man comes to. He is naked and throwing up seawater. He is very cold and has no idea who he is, where he is, why he is there or why he is not wearing clothes. All he knows is that he will have to get warm or he will die.

Dragging his exhausted body across the beach he stumbles upon a beautiful and unlocked BMW. He gets into the car, manages to turn it on and with the heater at full blast slowly gets his body temperature up to a more normal level.

In the trunk of the car he finds clothes and shoes that fit him perfectly and a look through the contents of glove box uncovers an owner’s manual for the BMW in the name of Daniel Hayes as well as a Rolex and a black semi-automatic gun.

Since the man can’t remember who he is no matter how hard he tries he decides that since the clothes fit he might as well assume he is this Hayes person.

The man checks into a cheap motel in the hope that a good sleep will restore his memory but when he wakes up he still has no idea about his past. He does have a strong impulse to turn the television on at six which brings him to a show called Candy Girls and the character called Emily; a girl who brings out strong emotions in him although he doesn’t know what the emotions are or what they mean.

When a policeman, his gun drawn, comes looking for Hayes in his motel room he makes a run for it. And since Hayes has an address in Malibu according to the manual and the BMW has California plates that is where the man sets off for. But while he hopes to be travelling towards answers and clarification he will find himself entering a nightmare, shocking revelations and more questions once he arrives in Los Angeles.

I would absolutely love to be able to share more about the plot in this book but I can’t. Revealing anymore about this story would amount to spoiling this book for future readers. Surprises, twists and unexpected discoveries fill this book from the very first page, and not knowing what to expect is part of what makes this a very good thriller.

The fact that the main character has no better idea about what is going on than the reader does gives this thriller an added edge. The reader can never be sure if the main character, his thoughts or his conclusions can be trusted. The amnesia, which lifts only very slowly, ensures that neither the reader nor Daniel Hayes can be sure whether he’s a good guy or a dangerous criminal.

It is clear from early on in the book that there is another man, one who is looking for Hayes, who is obviously up to no good, but the reader has no idea why and, initially at least, Hayes doesn’t even know somebody is after him.

As Hayes tries to figure out who he is and why he was trying to kill himself in Maine, so far from where he lives, the reader can only hope that his memories will return to him in time to save him from whatever it is that is haunting him. That is of course, if he actually deserves to be saved.

In conclusion I would like to say that this is a great thriller; one that will keep the reader turning the pages to find out what exactly is going on and how it could possibly end on a positive note. The amnesia and the despair that accompanies it are enough to make this a true page turner. The fact that Sakey has added a lot of other mysteries and twists ensures that this is the sort of book that is almost impossible to put down. A book only to be started when you have enough time to just keep on reading.