Book review: Echoes of Memory by Sara Driscoll

Echoes of Memory by Sara Driscoll was more suspenseful than I was expecting. It wasn’t that I was overly invested in the fate of our protagonist – though I was [invested] – rather Driscoll cushions her in a supportive environment and the cynical (reads-too-much-crime-fiction) me expected that one of her confidantes or friends would end up being a baddie. As a result I held my breath for much of this, wondering which one of the handful of helpful support cast members would have a hidden agenda or ultimately let us her down… obviously breaking my heart disappointing me in the process!

After surviving a terrible attack, Quinn Fleming has recovered in every way but one—her ability to retain new memories. Now, months later, it appears to the outside world as if the San Diego florist’s life is back to normal. But Quinn is barely holding on, relying on a notebook she carries with her at all times, a record of her entire existence since the assault. So when she witnesses a murder in the shadowy alley behind the florist shop, Quinn immediately writes down every terrifying detail of the incident before her amnesia wipes it away.

By the time the police arrive, there’s no body, no crime scene, and no clues. The killing seems as erased from reality as it is from Quinn’s mind . . . until the flashbacks begin. Suddenly, fragments of memories are surfacing—mere glimpses of that horrible night, but enough to convince Quinn that somewhere, locked in her subconscious, is the key to solving the case . . . and she’s not the only one who knows. Somebody else has realized Quinn is a threat that needs to be eliminated. Now, with her life on the line and only her notes to guide her, Quinn sets out to find a killer she doesn’t remember, but can’t forget . . .

Some of this hit a little close to home as my father suffered from dementia and wasn’t able to retain short term memories. And my darling mother (although now 80 years of age) is becoming forgetful. Like Quinn, mum is diligently writing down everything she needs to remember. Which is good of course. It wasn’t something we’d put in place with dad… who never knew if he’d eaten lunch or what he’d just finished doing.

Quinn writes down things she needs to remember while they remain with her for about an hour before disappearing and she knows to re-read what she’s written on a regular basis. Driscoll actually includes quite a lot of useful (and interesting) information here about the way we process memories, simplifying everything including what we mean by ‘memories’ versus ‘remembering’. Quinn uses repetition to familiarise herself with things and people and discovers it’s working. Which of course is problematic for the person she witnesses killing a journalist.

My only gripe with this book was with its opening (apologies for letting the pedant in me escape!). I felt like the paragraphs needed rearranging. The way it started made me feel like I’d come in part-way through something and I think it could have been done a little more deftly by kicking off with the fourth or fifth paragraph which is more action-focussed – though realise it’s not as impactful as the current opening… ‘Life can change in the blink of an eye’ .

That aside, this is a different take or approach to crime fiction, a different way of piecing things together which I very much enjoyed. Quinn uses dreams and art to recover memories and, though we’ve seen similar in SJ Watson’s Before I Go To Sleep or similar, I enjoyed the way she works with Detective Reyes and Will (who leads her group therapy sessions) to make sense of the those memories.

I’m not a visual person at all. I never picture characters or scenes but there was something vivid about this and I can imagine that it’d translate well onto the big or little screen.

Echoes of Memory by Sara Driscoll (aka Jen J Danna) was published by Kensington Books (UK) and is now available.

I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.