This mystery by Sara Driscoll is a stand-alone story. My previous exposure to her books was in her FBI-K9 series. Echoes of Memory is a different type of mystery/police procedural but equally great reading.
Quinn Fleming, the lead character, is a young woman (in her late 20s or so) who works in a flower store in the Gaslamp District of San Diego, California. The city is located at the southern end of that U.S. state, bordering Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. It is, under most circumstances, one of the most idyllic places to visit and to live. For Quinn, it has become a living nightmare.
Several months before the story opens, Quinn had been brutally attacked by person(s) unknown. She was left for dead. A bartender, on his way home after work early in the morning, finds her battered body and calls for help. Quinn survives, physically, but has memory issues. She can recall most of her life pre-attack but everything since the attack fades from her memory in minutes. In order to survive in her day-to-day world, Quinn writes detailed memos in a notebook she carries in her back pocket. As she had training as an artist as well as flower arranging, Quinn draws things she sees to help her memory. In her one- bedroom apartment, she placed Post-It notes on her kitchen cabinets identifying what is inside them.
She attends weekly group therapy sessions with others who have had a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The therapist is Will Dawsey who is also a victim of a TBI. One woman with whom Quinn is able to befriend in the group is Vivian Gibson. Most of Quinn’s friends from before the attack have deserted her because she has little memory of them or what they did together.
One night after closing the flower shop, Quinn witnesses a murder in the alley behind the store. She sneaks back into the store to call the police and to write down everything she saw before the images leave her mind. The uniformed police officers who arrive after the 9-1-1 call have trouble believing her story because there is no body and no sign of a crime having taken place. The next morning, Detective Nura Reyes from the San Diego Homicide Squad comes to store for a follow up interview. She believes Quinn’s story and starts an investigation.
As the days progress, Quinn has dreams and flashbacks. After each of these “memories,” Quinn is able to draw what she “saw.” Detective Reyes and Will are able to help her interpret these episodes. Reyes realizes that some of what Quinn “sees” is related to the earlier personal attack on Quinn as well as the murder.
Ms. Driscoll is very good at describing TBI, its manifestations and how it can be treated. It is never boring or too technical. Earlier in this review, I called it a mystery and police procedural. The mysteries are twofold. Who attacked Quinn earlier and who was the murder victim/murderer she witnessed. The police procedural part comes from watching how Nura Reyes attacks the two cases. If you are a fan of either type of story, this is a must read for you.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. GO! BUY! READ!
–Jim Harris, retired book sales rep
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