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Flashback
Desperately searching for a way to recover her memory, a young American woman on the run must unlock a terrible secret from her past
Discovered in a ditch by the side of a country road in France, Eve has only good American dentistry and a ferry ticket scribbled with Arabic letters to suggest her identity. That, and a bullet wound in her brain that she miraculously survives, even as it destroys her memory. Only a few scattered violent images remain—or are they dreams?—along with one undeniable physical she has had a child.
When the nuns who have sheltered her for a year are brutally massacred, Eve realizes that whoever she was in her past life, she had powerful enemies. Just half a step ahead of her pursuers, she lights out for Morocco in an attempt to retrace her steps and discover her past. Away from the convent, she begins to discover things that startle her—among them, her capacity for violence and her facility with guns. Was she a spy? Who is the dying man in her nightmares? As she searches through spice-scented souks and glamorous nightclubs for clues to her past, she has to figure out who is after her, and why—before it’s too late.
Within scenes of heart-stopping terror, Jenny Siler’s lyrical writing and memorable images stand out. As Marilyn Stasio said of Easy Money in The New York Times Book Review , Siler’s is “a voice that gets your attention like a rifle shot.”
Discovered in a ditch by the side of a country road in France, Eve has only good American dentistry and a ferry ticket scribbled with Arabic letters to suggest her identity. That, and a bullet wound in her brain that she miraculously survives, even as it destroys her memory. Only a few scattered violent images remain—or are they dreams?—along with one undeniable physical she has had a child.
When the nuns who have sheltered her for a year are brutally massacred, Eve realizes that whoever she was in her past life, she had powerful enemies. Just half a step ahead of her pursuers, she lights out for Morocco in an attempt to retrace her steps and discover her past. Away from the convent, she begins to discover things that startle her—among them, her capacity for violence and her facility with guns. Was she a spy? Who is the dying man in her nightmares? As she searches through spice-scented souks and glamorous nightclubs for clues to her past, she has to figure out who is after her, and why—before it’s too late.
Within scenes of heart-stopping terror, Jenny Siler’s lyrical writing and memorable images stand out. As Marilyn Stasio said of Easy Money in The New York Times Book Review , Siler’s is “a voice that gets your attention like a rifle shot.”
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 13, 2016
As was the case with her first three novels, Jenny Siler's fourth book features a strong, independent, courageous and intelligent female protagonist. Unlike the first three books, however, Flashback is set overseas, mostly in Morocco.
The story opens in Burgundy. A group of French nuns has found a badly injured young woman lying in a ditch. The woman has been shot in the head and has lost all memory of her past life. She remembers how to do a great many things, but she has no idea of her personal past. A scar indicates that he once gave birth to a child, and her excellent teeth strongly suggests that she is an American. Otherwise, the only clue to her past is a ticket from a Tangier ferry with some letters scribbled on it.
The nuns name the young woman "Eve" and take her into their convent where she works in the kitchen while working with a doctor to try to recover her memory. Then a tragedy drives her out of the convent and sends her on the run. With nothing to guide her but the ferry ticket which she found in her pocket, she heads to North Africa in an effort to find the woman she once was.
This will be no safe or easy task, and it quickly becomes clear that, whoever she was in her past life, "Eve" had pissed off some very dangerous people. The story is more than a little reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock movie in that neither Eve nor the reader can tell friend from foe as she pursues her quest and the suspense heightens at nearly every turn.
Siler writes beautifully and her descriptions of North Africa are nearly poetic. "Eve" is a well-drawn and very believable character; the puzzle she confronts is an engrossing one, and this is a book that will appeal to any reader who enjoys a compelling thriller with a dash of international intrigue.
The story opens in Burgundy. A group of French nuns has found a badly injured young woman lying in a ditch. The woman has been shot in the head and has lost all memory of her past life. She remembers how to do a great many things, but she has no idea of her personal past. A scar indicates that he once gave birth to a child, and her excellent teeth strongly suggests that she is an American. Otherwise, the only clue to her past is a ticket from a Tangier ferry with some letters scribbled on it.
The nuns name the young woman "Eve" and take her into their convent where she works in the kitchen while working with a doctor to try to recover her memory. Then a tragedy drives her out of the convent and sends her on the run. With nothing to guide her but the ferry ticket which she found in her pocket, she heads to North Africa in an effort to find the woman she once was.
This will be no safe or easy task, and it quickly becomes clear that, whoever she was in her past life, "Eve" had pissed off some very dangerous people. The story is more than a little reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock movie in that neither Eve nor the reader can tell friend from foe as she pursues her quest and the suspense heightens at nearly every turn.
Siler writes beautifully and her descriptions of North Africa are nearly poetic. "Eve" is a well-drawn and very believable character; the puzzle she confronts is an engrossing one, and this is a book that will appeal to any reader who enjoys a compelling thriller with a dash of international intrigue.
March 9, 2016
FLASHBACK starts off with a nun performing an evening ritual in a chapel at a French Benedictine convent. But any notions that this book will start slowly and quietly are swiftly put to rest when the nun gets grabbed by a man--one of a band of armed thugs who creep up on the chapel in the gathering gloom and massacre all the nuns (all except the nun who's grabbed, but breaks free and gets away). While he has her, the man briefly questions the nun about a woman the convent took in--an American who's lost her memory, who they refer to as Eve.
Fortunately, Eve's with her shrink at the time, trying to deal with her memory loss issues and strange dreams that suggest she's perhaps not the nicest person, that she may have a sordid past that's possibly too painful for her to want to recall. Her memory loss was caused by a bullet shot through her brain. (That's a bad sign of some sort.) She can recall language skills, rudimentary tasks and other practical things. She just can't remember who she is or how she ended up in a field in France, with a bullet in her head.
Eve returns to the convent and is horrified to learn of the massacre. She talks to the sole surviving nun, who tells her, They came for you. These words send Eve off and running, with the reader happily following along. She can't stay at the convent, but must find out who she is. Her only clue is a Moroccan ferry ticket (scribbled with strange Arabic letters) in her pocket. So, Eve grabs a dead nun's passport, dyes her hair to match the photo and it's off to Morocco she goes. Where she meets a number of interesting, but not always friendly, people, including another American named Brian, who's . . . well, really interesting.
Jenny Siler, who also writes as Alex Carr, has an uncanny knack for capturing the feel--the sights, sounds and smells--of the exotic locales where Eve ends up. Her evocative descriptions of each place from Morocco to Bratislava are sometimes so thick with foreign place names, you may find it mentally tongue-twisting. But she can nail a scene with a single well-crafted phrase. Her sardonic sense of humor also stands her in good stead--especially when she writes about the American expatriate crowd. And the plot takes so many twists and turns, I thought I'd get mental whiplash. It's a story that keeps you guessing and turning the pages. Keeps raising the question: who can Eve trust?
The entire review is online at http://thebookgrrl.blogspot.com/2009/...
Fortunately, Eve's with her shrink at the time, trying to deal with her memory loss issues and strange dreams that suggest she's perhaps not the nicest person, that she may have a sordid past that's possibly too painful for her to want to recall. Her memory loss was caused by a bullet shot through her brain. (That's a bad sign of some sort.) She can recall language skills, rudimentary tasks and other practical things. She just can't remember who she is or how she ended up in a field in France, with a bullet in her head.
Eve returns to the convent and is horrified to learn of the massacre. She talks to the sole surviving nun, who tells her, They came for you. These words send Eve off and running, with the reader happily following along. She can't stay at the convent, but must find out who she is. Her only clue is a Moroccan ferry ticket (scribbled with strange Arabic letters) in her pocket. So, Eve grabs a dead nun's passport, dyes her hair to match the photo and it's off to Morocco she goes. Where she meets a number of interesting, but not always friendly, people, including another American named Brian, who's . . . well, really interesting.
Jenny Siler, who also writes as Alex Carr, has an uncanny knack for capturing the feel--the sights, sounds and smells--of the exotic locales where Eve ends up. Her evocative descriptions of each place from Morocco to Bratislava are sometimes so thick with foreign place names, you may find it mentally tongue-twisting. But she can nail a scene with a single well-crafted phrase. Her sardonic sense of humor also stands her in good stead--especially when she writes about the American expatriate crowd. And the plot takes so many twists and turns, I thought I'd get mental whiplash. It's a story that keeps you guessing and turning the pages. Keeps raising the question: who can Eve trust?
The entire review is online at http://thebookgrrl.blogspot.com/2009/...
August 25, 2007
FLASHBACK (Suspense-Europe-Cont) – Good
Siler, Jenny – Standalone
St. Martin's Minotaur, 2004- paperback
An American woman, named Eve by the French nuns who found her, has no memory of her past. Her only clue is a ferry ticket with Arabic writing on it. When the nuns are massacred and the men were looking for "the American," it sets Eve on a search for the reason she's hunted and her past.
*** The story starts out well enough but soon becomes a mass of coincidences and a travelogue. The book moved quickly and sense of place was excellent. However, I never really had a sense of Eve's character and even less for the supporting characters. She's tough, she's capable of taking care of herself, lots of people die around her, but I wasn't involved enough to really care. So, while I thought it was good, it was far from great.
Siler, Jenny – Standalone
St. Martin's Minotaur, 2004- paperback
An American woman, named Eve by the French nuns who found her, has no memory of her past. Her only clue is a ferry ticket with Arabic writing on it. When the nuns are massacred and the men were looking for "the American," it sets Eve on a search for the reason she's hunted and her past.
*** The story starts out well enough but soon becomes a mass of coincidences and a travelogue. The book moved quickly and sense of place was excellent. However, I never really had a sense of Eve's character and even less for the supporting characters. She's tough, she's capable of taking care of herself, lots of people die around her, but I wasn't involved enough to really care. So, while I thought it was good, it was far from great.
Read
October 23, 2008Rightly or wrongly, I always feel a little bit guilty when I read a book--like this one--that seems written to play like a film in my mind's eye, but every now and then I can't resist. (And when I read Dorian's review of Flashback here on goodreads, it sounded intriguing.) I enjoyed the way in which this thriller made women characters--not only the main character, but also a variety of supporting characters--so central to its plot and emotional core. It didn't feel contrived in that regard (which I appreciated), but by the end Siler moved her female heroine away from international intrigue and closer toward personal concerns, and I thought that was unfortunate (because typical). Personally I wish Siler had spent more time with the nuns in the course of the novel and placed less weight on mother/daughter relationships. The community of nuns becomes a kind of temporary replacement for biological bonds between women, and yet Siler's careful depiction of the convent and its women suggests to me that it could be seen as something other than a substitute for traditional family ties. But as the main character recovers more memories of her mother and her child, she shares fewer rich recollections of her time with the sisters, and I regretted that trade-off.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2016
I seldom rate books with 5 stars; I'm a tough grader. But Jenny Siler is not just a good writer, she's a great writer. "Flashback" kept me on pins and needles from the beginning, breathlessly waiting to read what happens next. Siler is a gifted storyteller who effortlessly created a fast-paced plot full of complex characters who could seemingly walk right off the pages. "Flashback" begins with Eve and the Benedictine nuns who took her in years before, living peacefully in a convent in the French countryside. Eve has complete amnesia, due to a gunshot wound to her head which should have killed her. She remembers nothing - not her name, not who she was before she was shot, nothing. Then suddenly and horrendously, her past catches up with her, taking a terrible toll. She again barely escapes with her life, seeking to find her identity and why she's being hunted. Siler paints glorious and sometimes shocking pictures with words, tantalizing readers with hints of what's to come. I'd never read Siler before, but she's quickly moved to the top of my list of favorite authors. Thanks to James for his tip about Siler in his reviews!
July 7, 2019
If I'd known this was a spy-thriller, of sorts, I'd never have picked it up. I find spy stories, the few I've read, with their frequent assumption that the Americans, and the CIA, are "the good guys," politically inexcusable, and I become too angry to read. And the "action" is usually so wild and absurd that I can't suspend disbelief enough to read the novel for what it is. In this case, the blurb about murder, amnesia and a woman's search for identity grabbed me.
The action was predictably over the top. The assumptions were present. But the story itself did focus on a woman's efforts to find out who she is, to find her past and, perhaps, her future. It didn't reach into my heart, so to speak, but it was interesting.
The action was predictably over the top. The assumptions were present. But the story itself did focus on a woman's efforts to find out who she is, to find her past and, perhaps, her future. It didn't reach into my heart, so to speak, but it was interesting.
September 6, 2010
If I had a choice, I would have given it something like 3.4. There was a bit too much travel for me and I got mixed up as to where the story was and what the character's name was at the time, as she had a few aliases .... and in the end I was still not certain that I knew what happened. There were a few laughs along the way and I did learn some things, which I enjoyed.
October 25, 2012
I listened to an audio version of this story. Started off really well, but lost me towards the end. I liked the sense of place in the story, but the characters didn't really keep my interest - I kept losing track of who was who and if they were good or bad. I guess that was part of the storyline but was lost in translation in the audio version.
June 16, 2013
I enjoyed this book - it was a tad bit too fast at the beginning - I had to concentrate and remember all the names, etc...but the plot line is solid and I ike the female protagonist. It's different then most thrillers as this protagonist is trying to remember who she is. I would recommend and I will continue to read Jenny Siler.
July 2, 2016
This book started really well but became bogged down with travel descriptions and dialogue. I found it hard to really form a clear picture of Eve and the almost romance between her and Brian was a disappointment. Although I didn't pick the ending, I couldn't really get involved in this book to care about how it finished.
July 15, 2018
I picked this up free at the recycle rockbridge table during the festival. I was surprised to see it was signed and also by a local Lexington author! I got it because it was free but now I want all of her books! Such a fun read. Very fast-paced.
Read
December 18, 2013Not a bad book. There were a few parts that I got confused with, mainly the countries and cities that the main character visited. But the end and the way the author tied everything together worked very well.
January 3, 2008
I felt like I was reading an episode of Alias.
July 7, 2009
The story was good for a day at the beach, but the evocation of Morocco during Ramadan made me want to visit--badly.
July 11, 2010
Awesome. Siler's stories are always different, unusual settings with very strong female leads.
December 6, 2016
Flashback. my second audio book. was enjoyable if a little hard to follow at times. That may have had something to do with dodging traffic and keeping track of the story at the same time! I would like to have read the book prior to hearing the audio version. However, it was more interesting than some of the drive time radio.
November 5, 2018
Ok I am up to chapter twelve and it's just not doing it for me.
It's a story yes, but just a story and the descriptive words are used far too much.
Betty BOBBITT is reading this audio book and well she is not that good either.
Sorry, would not recommend.
It's a story yes, but just a story and the descriptive words are used far too much.
Betty BOBBITT is reading this audio book and well she is not that good either.
Sorry, would not recommend.
January 14, 2008
December 2004
August 3, 2012
A good read, fast paced and enough suspense to be a page turner
February 9, 2010
December 2004
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews