Rating: 
Summary: Not the best Nevada Barr
Review: I usually enjoy Nevada Barr's books enormously, but this one sort of bugged me.For one thing, some of the phrasing was just bizarre. Over and over, Barr would write "Anna'd not ..." instead of "Anna hadn't...," which is more typical colloquial language. It was noticeable the first time but after the third time in as many pages it was truly irritating. Why didn't her editor catch it? Also, I thought this one moved pretty slowly. I usually love the detail Barr provides (the caving scenes in "Blind Descent" were riveting and incredibly atmopsheric) but in this book it just seemed to slow the plot down.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining book, lousy editing
Review: I very much enjoyed this novel, although having the nineteenth-century letter writer just happen to write like a novelist seemed problematic. What I did not enjoy was the editing/proofreading, which was terrible! A respectable publisher and intelligent author ought to be able to do better.
Rating: 
Summary: I Really Liked This Book!!!
Review: I've been a fan of Nevada Barr's books--especially the last ones about the Natchez Trace Parkway and Glacier Park in Montana for many years, and this one is sure a winner! There is certainly never a "down time" in her books. Anna Pigeon, the National Park Service Ranger, goes from one perilous adventure to another. I especially liked the way that she wove two stories together--one from the Civil War days at this fort and one from modern times. These two different stories "met" at the end of the book in a satisfying way. I especially liked the setting of this book. Dry Tortugas National Park is a place that I've never heard of before, but I feel now as though I've actually been there. Her descriptions were that good! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery, a good thriller, historical fiction, or just a good read.
Rating:
Summary: "Two Mysteries for the Price of One"
Review: In "Flashback," Nevada Barr gives us two intriguing, interweaving stories that act as a kind of time travel. One story concerns Anna in her new posting at Dry Tortugas National Park; the other, a distant relative in the same locale shortly after the end of the Civil War. The stories are told in alternating chapters and draw the reader in, racing from one mystery to the other. You get a regular, superbly written Anna Pigeon mystery about strange goings on at the park. You also have a Civil War tale of intrigue, starring a female relative whose feistiness (if that's a word) will show up later in Anna's genes. A great read; couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Is Anna becoming a simp?
Review: Like some of the other reviewers, I count the days (months, years) waiting for the new Anna Pigeon books....this wasn't the best that Nevada Barr has ever written but was still very enjoyable. I found no problems with jumping back and forth in time but it did become tedious. Note to Ms. Barr...if you do have Anna get married, I will probably quit reading your books. Marriage always changes the dynamics...the woman is no longer tear-... strong, but has to run home to hubby for advice, hugging, healing sex, help in any way or form. Please don't do that to Anna. Need proof...read "Joanna Brady" before and after...
Rating:
Summary: Almost Five
Review: My girlfriend got me hooked on Nevada Barr. The setting, mysterious coincidences and twist add up to a pretty fun read. Just the ending disappoints a little.
Rating:
Summary: Almost Five
Review: My girlfriend got me hooked on Nevada Barr. The setting, mysterious coincidences and twist add up to a pretty fun read. Just the ending disappoints a little.
Rating:
Summary: Where was the editor?
Review: My interest in reading Nevada Barr is the fun of reading a story in the various National Park settings; learning about the parks while enjoying a good mystery. The Dry Tortugas National Park rivaled Mesa Verde as the best setting for a Nevada Barr book. It was wonderful to be transported to another place and time, both in the present and during the Civil War. The editing of this book however was very poor. My used copy had corrections in ink made by a reader throughout the book. G.P. Putnam's editing department should be paying a bit more attention.
Rating:
Summary: my least favorite of all Anna Pigeon's adventures
Review: My main problem with Flashback is that the characters were too sketchy to be interesting. One was a manly man but loved to gossip, one was an attractive woman but had a bad posture. These features were insufficient to make the characters come alive. The romance between Anna and Paul Davidson also lacked excitement. Piedmont the cat, as depicted in this book, had a ton more personality than Sheriff Davidson, the fiance, infrequently appearing in his sugary telephone persona.
The "two mysteries in one" format of Flashback could be refreshing, if the two mysteries were connected in more ways than the location. The historical mystery, contained in the letters of Anna's collateral ancestress Raffia, was too transparent for me. I guessed right away what caused the abrupt change in the behavior of Raffia's husband Joseph. Something else, although small, bothered me about Raffia's tale. Raffia and Tilly are sisters who have a large age difference. Raffia is 38 while Tilly is 16. I can buy that but then there is another sister, Molly, who is even older than Raffia. When their parents died, Tilly was 5. By that time Raffia must have been 27. Was she still unmarried at 27? I got the feeling that she lived in the same household with Tilly and helped raise her and that Molly, having assumed the role of the family matriarch, oversaw Raffia's upbringing in some way. Unless I mixed something up, these numbers do not add up.
In conclusion, if you are already a Nevada Barr's fan, you won't want to miss Flashback. If you have not read other Nevada Barr mysteries, this book is not the best introduction.
Rating:
Summary: Audiobook Recommendation
Review: Nevada Barr is a recent delightful discovery for me, and I plan to spend my summer "traveling" through our national parks with her well-constructed Anna Pigeon stories. I listened to FLASHBACK and HUNTING SEASON on unabridged CD sets. The narrator, Barbara Rosenblatt, is just amazing! She has the most incredible talent with voices and brings each and every character to life with a different, distinctive voice for each one. Both Barr and Rosenblatt do an excellent job in FLASHBACK as the story switches back and forth from the present day and the end of the Civil War. Fascinating stories brought to life beautifully by narrator Rosenblatt. I highly recommend trying this one in audiobook format.
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