4 member(s) found this review helpful.
Not the best, nor a typical entry into the series. I found the flashing back and forth between the two time periods distracting and the pulling together of the two to be overly convenient, but the new characters introduced are very good and the modern day part of the book makes for a good read overall. If you are new to this series, start at the beginning.
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
I had a hard time with this one, it wasn't as interesting as I initially thought it would be.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I found this offer of Nevada Barr to be absorbing and enthralling. I had gotten bored with Anna and dropped the series. But out of boredom one day I picked up Flashback and was instantly engrossed. I loved the duel mysteries that drew you deeper into the fort and the history of the place. It was moody and (like Firestorm) very scary. I loved it.

(
y2pk) wrote on 8/9/2008...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I'm a big fan of the Anna Pigeon mysteries, but found this installment ultimately unsatisfying. In a change to the usual more straightforward telling, Nevada Barr tells two different mysteries in alternate chapters -- Anna's current-day mystery and a second one involving her great-great aunt who lived in the same fort in the 1860s. This second mystery is told in long "letters." I found both mysteries involving and intriguing up to a point, but both had what I felt were pat endings, especially the aunt's tale. In both cases, I had an "is that all there is?" feeling.
I don't know if it's because of or in spite of the changed format, but I don't think Barr did as good a job of introducing characters as she usually does. It was as if she spent all her time drawing comparisons and similarities in the setting, and consequently, characterization got short shrift, especially in Anna's mystery. Three-fourths of the way through, I still couldn't connect names and characters.
In addition, one thing I found particularly irksome was the amount of time Anna spent in a state of undress. She even jokes at times about how she should have worn some panties. Well, yes, I'd agree.
Don't get me wrong, I like the Anna Pigeon series, have read all but one or two, but "Flashback" is what I consider a rare dud by Nevada Barr.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Another great installment in the Ranger Anna Pigeon detective series, this time set in Dry Tortugas N. P. Fascinating interweaving of history with mystery!

Jim M. (
JimMag) wrote on 12/13/2006...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is an interesting mystery story in an historical setting--Fort Jefferson, a lonely outpost in the Dry Tortugas National Park. If you've ever been to the Dry Tortugas, Nevada Barr's descriptions will bring back fond memeories.