There is a gruesome a massacre of nuns in a French convent.  The murderer is looking for an American woman who is staying at the convent.  It just so happens that the American, Eve, is not at the convent when the murders took place.  The nuns took Eve in a year prior to the massacre because she was recovering from an injury that resulted in amnesia.  There are only 2 clues that point to Eve’s true identity:  her good American dentistry and a ferry ticket from Morocco with some Arabic letters printed on it.  Eve realizes she is not safe must get answers as to who she is so that she does not put anyone else in harm’s way.  And such begins the story of Flash Back by Jenny Siler. 

I purchased the book from Barnes and Noble online when it was on sale because the plot appealed to me.  I enjoy fast paced, action books.  This book did not disappoint. 

I did not except such amazing imagery woven throughout the book.  Siler has a talent for making the reader feel as if they are not only involved in the plot of the book but are also in the setting where the action is taking place.  While I have traveled a good bit in America for business and leisure, I am not really a world traveler.  I have not been to Morocco or to North Africa or to anywhere in Africa.  With this book, I truly felt like I was walking down the crowded city streets or bouncing in train along the countryside of this continent. 

Here are 2 examples that really impressed me with Siler’s ability to describe the scenery:

“Because the streets in the Old City are too narrow for vehicles of any kind, all goods are transported either by human or donkeys. When people die, their bodies are wrapped in white cloth and carried through the medina on the heads of their relatives, floating along above the fray like leaves washed from stream to river to sea.”

While I have seen movies and television with narrow streets in Africa, I never even thought about how the lack of accessibility to motor vehicles would affect the citizens’ ability to move large items or deceased through the streets.  This really made the streets come alive for me.

“. . . I sat down in the desk chair and pursued the utilitarian contents of the room.  It was a place stripped down to its essentials, sleep and waking, and the work that filled the hours in between.   A listening post, Helen had said, but for listening to what?  In Claire’s movies these places were always futuristic, filled with shelves of complicated electronics. . . The rooms were nothing like this one, which was worn and tired and even after years of disuse, still conjured up the creeping pace of boredom.”

Again, the descriptions brought the scenery to life.

Overall, I found Flash Back to be an enjoyable book with a fast-paced action plot.  As a bonus, I was able to learn more about parts of the world I have never seen.

This was one of my books on my Fall Into Reading List hosted by Callapidder Days.  Click to see other participants’ book reviews.

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