"Telepathy is a funny thing. At least, my telepathy is a funny thing. Some days, the world around me is nothing more than a din, a confusing cornucopia of thoughts that leaves individuals indistinguishable from one another. Some days, I don't hear anything at all. Then, there are the days where one thought stands out."

The Darkest Memories is the first novel in the Impulse Dossier series, a sort of superhero thriller written by Alyse N. Steves. We are going to be following Hadley Gordon, a telepathic and telekinetic who works as part of the Parahuman Agency in San Diego, helping them to resolve crimes with her abilities while trying to survive.

In this world, parahumans (you could also call them superheroes) work together with the police and the government in order to enforce the law and resolve crimes. Our main character, Hadley, is one of those; but she's having a serious problem with missing memories, as she can't remember anything of her first twenty-one years of existence, and on top of that, she sometimes finds herself not remembering details about herself (but with the people aware of it, they more or less can manage it).

"You have no clue who I am, do you?" she asked, standing in a blink.
I pressed my tongue against my teeth and considered my reply.
"I'm guessing you aren't the hooker I hired?" I asked.
Anna rolled her eyes. "Funny every time."

Suddenly, a parahuman is found dead, and Haley's inability to remember the assassin becomes a real problem; with her life threatened as it seems they are going for the parahumans. She must try to find her memories before it is too late.

Hadley is, apart from the main character, also the narrator, something that works marvels in this kind of discovery thriller, as her amnesia makes her really unreliable in that role. As a character, she's mainly moved by how much she cares for the rest, a virtue that will be exploited by others. She's also impulsive, something that will put her in danger several times.
The rest of the cast that accompanies Hadley is interesting, with special mentions deserved to Mark, who acts basically as Hadley's adoptive father, as we can see how he cares about her and her welfare; and the pair of superheroes that become part of Hadley's protection, who are extreme personalities.
Another mention should be made of the main villain, as it is the perfect definition of what a psychopath would be; certainly far from the cartoonish villains that sometimes appear in that kind of novel.

In this world, the existence of parahumans is public; and while they are used for law enforcement, there are people against their own existence (we could interpret this as an elaborated metaphor of what happens with LGTBI+ people nowadays), being the most prominent the Sons of Gaia and the APA; Hadley will suffer multiple situations of rejection due to it.

While parahumans are powerful, they are not omnipotent, as Steves balances pretty well between having powers and certain disadvantages they get: as an example, Hadley tends to lose memories when she uses her telekinesis.

The pacing is fast, something that works perfectly in this kind of thriller plot, making this a book that you can basically devour; once the story starts, it's not going to stop until we find the conclusion.

The Darkest Memories is a great superhero thriller, which can work also perfect for people looking for more sci-fi-like stories. I'm awe to see what more will Hadley Gordon live.