Shaun Young

Tom Grove published The Pink Herring on 22nd March 2017, a crime fiction thriller based around the exploits of the criminal psychologist, Shaun Young. Young works for the Norfolk Constabulary CID as an independent consultant on difficult cases. He inherited a borderline bipolar disorder from his father, which he struggles to keep under control with a low-dose of prescription-grade lithium. A side-effect of his genetic brain wiring is that he possesses photographic recall, or to be more precise, an eidetic memory. 

eidetic
/aɪˈdɛtɪk/
adjective (psychology)
1. (of visual, or sometimes auditory, images) exceptionally vivid and allowing detailed recall of something previously perceived: thought to be common in children
2. relating to or subject to such imagery

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition 

Eidetic memory is found amongst a very small number of children and more often than not, it does not extend into adulthood. In the few cases that have been documented in children, image memory remains as detailed as the original image for only a relatively short period before fading away. In Young’s case, the phenomenon not only transcended childhood but enhanced greatly over the years. Image retention remains permanently available to him, retrieving archived imagery much like a filing system. In the same way, he also can store the contents of documents, books and articles. Over the years he’d developed the analytical capability to form deductions from the normally unseen connections between disparate information - leads or clues, in common parlance.

This mental filing system was developed by him and his therapist at an early age after he began to struggle with the volume of information retention clouding his everyday thought processes. Without it, he would struggle to see the wood for the trees, making normal life almost impossible. The ability, although undoubtedly a gift, comes at a cost. The process is mentally exhausting and can quite often lead to a headache or a migraine if he tries to analyse too much information at once. 

Unlike his therapist, Young has little intellectual interest in the origins or potential of his ability. He uses it sparingly, as and when a case calls for it since he has an unfounded fear that overuse might somehow increase the severity of his bipolarity - a demon that is hard enough to control even in the borderline case he has inherited.

The Pink Herring was the first in a series featuring Shaun Young and the Norfolk CID team - the sequel The Nor'easter was released in October 2018. Tom is currently working on the third book in the series, The Whistle Blower, which is due for release in 2020.

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