Review
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Title: Flashback
Author: J. Michael Hunter
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Genre: Fiction
Year Published: 2008
Number of Pages: 245
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-59811-508-6
Price: $15.95

Reviewed by Jaymie Reynolds

Laura McClain is not the stuff of which a heroine is made. Because Laura's mother was overly protective and Laura was forced to lead an extremely sheltered life, she is also scared of her own shadow and anything more frightening than that. While working as a kindergarten teacher in St. Louis, Laura gets word that she has inherited a large plantation house in Virginia and the enormous fortune that goes with it. However, there is a catch. She must take up residence and remain there for three years. Laura's comfort zone is her little box of an apartment. The thought of leaving it has induced almost overwhelming panic attacks. At the same time, Laura's recurring, childhood nightmare seems to have returned with the letter that informs her of her inheritance.

As a child, Laura often woke up screaming. In her nightmare, she sees herself running down a hallway and being pushed down the stairs, ultimately lying in a twisted, broken heap on the floor. The nightmare finally subsided as Laura grew older. It returned briefly after the death of her mother. Now, her dreams are haunted yet again by visions of death. Coupled with this fact is Laura's fear that the strange man whom she sees everywhere she goes is everywhere because he is stalking her. The final straw is when she realizes that someone has broken into her apartment and has been reading her diary.

Laura's roommate, Megan, convinces her that going to Virginia is a great way to step out of her comfort zone and discover who she really is. Laura embarks on her journey armed with contact information for a local, up and coming lawyer who, although she doesn't know it, is conveniently young, gorgeous and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, just like Laura. She immediately falls in love with her new home and begins to remember the early years of her life that were spent there. As the pieces fall slowly into place, she is able to uncover the past that she couldn't remember and the twenty year old murder mystery that was never solved.

This book is easy to read. It flows smoothly and is a quick read. Most people who enjoy the mystery genre will enjoy this book. In future books, I would prefer to see a female lead that is not quite so frothy. At the beginning of the book, Laura comes across as very flimsy and insubstantial. There is not enough depth to her character to pull her off of the page and transform her into a real person. As the book goes on, though, the author does a good job of pulling Laura outside of herself and forcing her to grow into a capable adult. Overall, if the reader is looking for something light to read and has a craving for murder, mystery, and mayhem with a little bit of romance thrown in on the side, Flashback, by J. Michael Hunter, is a good place to look.