I've really become a fan of this author since reading my first book of her's a year ago, and immediately finding and reading the rest.
This book started a little slower and throughout there's less action, more emphasis on the suspense. I still got drawn into the story. I found myself suspecting every person Quinn meets. Who was the murderer? Who was her attacker? Are they connected? What's the motive? Plus the discussions on brain function, memory, and TBI management were very interesting.
I particularily liked Detective Reyes. And it was a nice touch the way the author used the characters of Will and Reyes to help Quinn. Even though they're coming from two totally different sides, both have a unique perspective on the human mind based on their professions and experiences.
In the beginning I was thinking I might have liked to see some flashbacks to Quinn before the attack, or meet Quinn's friends or see more of Jacinta, just to get a sense of her personality before. By the end I don't know if it really mattered.
This has nothing to do with anything but that donut place Quinn and Will go to- wow. I absolutely need a donut now.
The motive is not kept a secret, you're following along with Reyes as she figures it out, but it's not something I would have saw coming in the early chapters. Great final confrontation between Quinn and the killer.
I know this is supposed to be a standalone, but I wouldn't mind seeing Reyes on another case someday.

I have enjoyed many of the Sara Driscoll K9 series (see my reviews of Still Waters, Under Pressure, Leave no Trace) so thought I’d give this stand alone novel a chance despite probably not having the dog character who drew me to her other books. In Echoes of Memory (Kensington Books 2024), Quinn Fleming is attacked while walking home, left for dead, survives but with a debilitating brain injury that causes her short term memory to disappear long before it is saved as long term. That means much of what she knows is from prior to the attack. Her work around until memory returns is to write everything down in a notebook. If she reviews events enough, they eventually transfer to memory. Quinn's life trundles along like that until the day she witnesses a murder. She records everything, shares it with the police, but they don't believe her because she can't remember anything without her notes. Only one police person does and they work together to find the killer.  The murderer suspects she is a witness to the crime, doesn't realize she has a flawed memory, and sets out to get rid of that loose end.

The story is fascinating. The author goes into a lot of technical and medical detail about this sort of injury, but wraps it well into the story so I was always engaged and never wished for less medical stuff. Highly recommended as a unique take on the usual murder-detective mystery.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this stand alone. I love all of Jen’s/Sara’s series. It was so very good! Just as nail biting, edge of your seat that I’ve come to expect from her series. I kind of wish this was a series as I would love to see how Quinn continues to make progress. I look forward to lots more great writing whether series or stand alone!

ECHOES OF MEMORY
BY: SARA DRISCOLL

About 3.5 Stars!

This mystery-thriller explores how a woman who works in San Diego, California who works as a florist witnesses a murder during one evening when she is alone in the back alley taking out the trash. She is hiding while it takes place hoping that the perpetrator doesn't see her. There is a big problem for Quinn Fleming. She is suffering from traumatic brain injury and can't store new memories so she has to depend on what she writes in her notebook. She is a sympathetic and likable main female protagonist who it's easy to identify with her efforts to try to heal. She has reported the crime to the two male responding police officers who insist that Quinn tells them what she saw, and they don't want her to refer to her notebook.

At home she has notes everywhere reminding her what she needs to do in order to get by. She saw the killer get in a white van taking the male victim with him. So there is no body along with no crime scene. Lucky for Quinn she gets interviewed by an understanding female detective Reyes who writes her name down in Quinn's notebook and tells Quinn to call her anytime day or night if she remembers anything. Quinn can remember everything before she was injured she just can't remember anything that happens in the present so she has to write everything down. She goes to a support group where there are others who are suffering with similar issues and a trained group leader who informs the reader while he explains to Quinn how the brain works and how someone suffering from that condition memories are affected.

Quinn's life is in danger by someone who knows what she witnessed and doesn't want her to implicate them. She has flashes of the crime that comes to her in dreams and while she is trying to get on with her life hoping to recover and remember everything new that happens day to day in her life as she slowly heals. She is someone who I rooted for her to have a break through towards recovering and I worried for her being in danger. She is a talented sketch artist who took drawing lessons before she was injured and that's what she does in her sketch book that with repetition helps her to remember her present day life. She lives alone and doesn't seem to have anybody in her life besides the woman who owns the florist shop, Detective Reyes and Will who is the leader of the support group.

What I liked most about this novel is learning how memory and the brain functions after suffering what Quinn has and how she gets by trying to overcome what she's dealing with.

"Life can change in the blink of an eye. For Quinn Fleming, the attack took not only months of her
life as she recovered, but also her memories. Those from the time of the assault, but also her
ability to form and retain new memories. New snapshots of a life well lived, of family and friends.
Of a lover and a career, of goals and plans. All gone. Leaving only a terrifying blankness.
Taking the words of Robert Frost to heart--the only way out is through--Quinn learned to put one
foot in front of the other, finding ways to compensate and falling back on skills retained from before
the day the life she knew ended. Because to surrender to the darkness was more terrifying than
trying to force her way through it."

"Doctors told her about the amazing recuperative power of the brain--'neuroplasticity' as they called
it, having the ability to literally rewire itself in response to a trauma or a stroke. The first six
months were crucial and her recovery might be bumpy or uneven, something she could attest to--
how could she remember the word 'neuroplasticity' when she couldn't remember what she ate for
lunch that day without looking at her notebook? Now, almost three months later, she was beginning
to dread that the majority of her healing and rewiring was complete, and this was going to be her life
forever--an almost entirely blank page, punctuated by only the most mundane and repetitive acts,
creating, essentially, a single collective memory."

I already knew about the not so recent discovery about the brains neuroplasticity, which has to do with a persons ability to change their way of thinking by creating new neural pathways to the brain by thinking different thoughts that don't serve you. If a person continues to focus on a negative experience it reinforces an analogy of a superhighway as opposed to reinforcing new neural pathways of a new way of thinking about a negative thought or experience. I didn't know that neuroplasticity was possible for victims of assault that suffer from traumatic brain injury or a person recovering from a stroke.

I found the sections about how the brain can use neuroplasticity to retrieve memory loss to be the most interesting aspects of this novel. I thought that Quinn's character and her methods of moving forward and her efforts to heal and help solve the crime and save her life to be the most interesting. The middle point of this novel seemed to lose its momentum with a huge slow down of pacing and it became less intriguing. I was not as invested in the slow development of Detective Reyes procedure of discovery about the victim and found her methods tedious and the less informative part of this novel. I read to learn something new or for entertainment and hope to see something that has not been done before with my objective to learn a fresh approach and not material that I've seen done more times than I care to revisit while reading. So my favorite parts of this were the sections involving Quinn and her journey. The Detective slowly investigating was a disappointing aspect and I felt that at 45 percent into reading this I grew bored. I also believe that the trajectory of writing should increase the compelling content the further I read. I believe that this got bogged down towards the middle and was the opposite way of captivating my attention.

Somewhere deep in Quinn's subconscious lies her buried memories about the crime she witnessed, also her assault that happened to her to be in this predicament. Will she remember everything that happened for her to regain her former lifestyle? Will Quinn be able to survive the entity that wants to eliminate her? She is the only witness to a murder that she can't remember due to post traumatic amnesia. All she has is her notes and her razor sharp wits to elude a killer and solve a crime that has put her life in jeopardy.

Publication Date: July 23, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Sara Driscoll and Kensington Books for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#EchoesofMemory #SaraDriscoll #KensingtonBooks #NetGalley

This was a slow one. I found myself bored and noticed I was at the 30% mark. This is also told in third person. I’ve gotten so used to multiple POV’s in first person. I find myself rushing through when it’s read like this.

One night Quinn, a florist witnesses a murder. Or so she thinks. However, there’s no body. What’s worse is she can’t recall memories. She was attacked a while back that left her with a brain injury. So, she keeps a notebook where she writes everything down. Including details of what she saw that night.

I think if you are already a Sara Driscoll fan, you will enjoy this. It was my first by her. I would definitely categorize this as a slow burn.

I’d like to that Kensington Books, NetGalley and Sara Driscoll for the opportunity. All opinions are my own. Publication date July 23, 2024
3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Echoes of Memory is another riveting novel with characters that will steal your heart. This stand-alone suspense/thriller hits the full spectrum of emotion with its everyday hero who is battling not only the loss of her short-term memory resulting from an assault but also threats to her life. How do you protect yourself when you don't remember anything that happened an hour ago?
Author Sara Driscoll takes us into Quinn Flemming's life and draws us into her struggles and leads us to feel awe at the steps she takes to survive the devastation in her everyday life and with the new greater challenge.
Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for allowing me to read an ARC of this fabulous novel. I loved Echoes of Memory as I have loved every book that I have read by Sara Driscoll, and I can't wait to share it with all of my friends and followers.  

#NetGalley #KensingtonBooks #SaraDriscoll #EchoesofMemories

This was an outstanding book. From the first page I was hooked.its an amazingly detailed book. Quinn, the major character, has a traumatic brain injury. She only remembers what happened before her assault and then new memories only last less than hour before they are hone. The whole concept of this was so intriguing. There’s a lot of medical jargon that was perfectly explained that I was left feeling confused. I loved Quinn. She’s a fighter and doesn’t even realize it. I was left on the edge of my seat many times. The whole book just blew me away. One of the top books I’ve read this year.