Customer Reviews

Flashback

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The author has written a pharmaceutical thriller that will keep the reader turning the pages of the book until the very last. It is a fairly well-written, suspenseful novel that heralds a novelist whose prose is spare, lean, and taut, moving the story along at a brisk pace. Although it is wholly a plot driven, rather than character driven, book, the two main characters are sufficiently fleshed out. Some of the secondary ones, however, are less so. Although not as good as two of the other books that the author has written, "Elixir" and "Gray Matter", both of which are five star reads, fans of Michael Crichton and Robin Cook will, undoubtedly, enjoy this well-paced thriller, as will anyone who appreciates a good story.

The story line is fairly simple. A young couple with a shaky marriage, Jack and Beth Koryan, are on the brink of changing their lives, but not in a way that they would ever have imagined. On the eve of Jack fulfilling a dream of opening a restaurant with his best friend, disaster strikes. While commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of his mother's mysterious death, Jack has a one in a million run-in with a school of rare jellyfish. Attacked and repeatedly stung by these jellyfish, Jack sustains toxic burns that send poison into his bloodstream, causing him to enter into a comatose state.

Meanwhile, a pharmaceutical lab has created "Memorine", a drug that is believed to be a miracle cure for Alzheimer's disease, and the origin of this wonder drug is the toxin of the same jellyfish that attacked Jack. Drug trials are being conducted on nursing home patients that are suffering from Alzheimer's disease. At first blush, patients are responding favorably to the drug. Some, however, begin having disturbing flashbacks into their pasts that act as a catalyst for violent, and seeming inexplicable, acts committed by these patients.

When a police investigation ensues into a murder committed by one of these patients, Rene' Ballard, a pharmaceutical consultant for a pharmacy responsible for providing medications to patients of nursing homes, is drawn into the picture. Sensing that things are not adding up, she investigates and discovers a web of deceit that has kept her out of the loop and caused patients to be medicated with this miracle memory drug without her knowledge. At stake are the millions that are to be made with the release of this drug into the open market. Rene' Ballard has reservations about the release of the drug, making her a persona non grata to the pharmaceutical lab sponsoring the drug trials.

The parallel stories of Jack Koryan and Rene' Ballard converge, uniting these two protagonists, as it becomes clear that much of what happens to Jack during his recovery lies at the heart of the problem with the drug. As have many of the Alzheimer's patients, he, too, suffers from disturbing flashbacks. For him, however, those flashbacks may enable him to unravel the mystery behind his mother's death.

There are those, however, who do not wish him to do so. They are the same people who will stop at nothing to prevent Rene' Ballard from interfering with the projected release of the drug. Moreover, Jack's personal quest will intersect with the pharmaceutical lab that is hell bent on releasing "Memorine", resulting in a head on collision that causes a pulse pounding series of events to occur. While the ending may come as no surprise to the discerning reader, it is, nonetheless, an enjoyable read.

This novel is multi-layered and well-researched, providing a fairly engrossing read, while proffering a whole host of ethical and public policy dilemmas for consideration. This pharmaceutical thriller provides much food for thought, buried between its lines, and is a book that educates, as well as entertains.

Though an arresting and thoroughly enjoyable book with a scarily plausible premise, my delight was in the word pictures that Mr. Braver so expertly crafted throughout the story: "... a SWAT team of waiters..." and "...geriatric terrarium..." are two of my favorites. In describing those brief flashes of recognition that those with Alzheimer's occasionally have, could it be better worded than to say "...little pilot lights of personality..."? (definition: that essence of a person that remains largely lost to the present yet nevertheless continues to burn at some level now hidden from sight- See how many words it took for me to conjure up what Mr. Braver did with only 5 words?) It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. I would add a codicil: a few well-chosen words can create an amazing picture. My first encounter with Mr. Braver's writing will definitely not be my last.

It's unusual to see a clinical pharmacist as the protagonist in a suspense novel. The profession of pharmacy rarely captures the curiosity of the thrill-seeking public. In Flashback, author Gary Braver opens us to the world of investigational drug research. Quality of life is object of millions of dollars of research with the potential to enhance the bank accounts of the clever scientists who discover and develop a medication for memory. The thrill is in the quirky flashbacks of memory. The science of the novel is meticulously researched. I should know. I am an investigational drug pharmacist who works at a large academic center. In these days of hurried and sloppy inquiries, I admired the accuracy of the facts involved in the description drug development. Research in any field is a labyrinth. The weaving of fact and fiction makes this medical mystery tour unnervingly close to reality.

Flashback reads fast and is full of suspense, and the characters are well-developed and multi-faceted. I identified with main characters Jack and Rene, the Alzheimer's patients, their families, and even those in the pharmaceutical industry. Each character faced complex choices and behaved authentically. I felt both the thrill the patients and their families felt at the improvements in their cognitive abilities, and their terror at being trapped -- or suspecting loved ones were trapped -- in painful memories and flashbacks. I rooted for Jack and Rene all the way and still understood why some people, including ones with good intentions, wanted the drug on the market. This is the ideal thriller -- it has a fast-paced plot with plenty of twists, characters you really care about, and real concerns that linger long after the book is finished. I'm planning to read Gray Matter next (already read Elixir -- also an amazing book), and can't wait for the next Braver thriller.

This really is a terrific book. Although similar to some of Braver's earlier novels, such as Elixir and Grey Matter in that it focuses on medical science, this is a more complex story and has elements of thriller, of mystery and of drama related to medical and corporate ethics. There are really two stories here -- related, but, seemingly distinct. I won't spoil it for others, but, as you might suspect, they do converge -- and in ways that I, at least, didn't see coming. Very enjoyable read, while raising some very interesting ethical questions related to aging and medicine.

Braver has written a thoroughly enjoyable thriller in Flashback. This is the first book of his that I have read and I will definitely be checking out his others. The story evolves around an ethical dilemma faced by a drug company. The company's decisions are certainly not surprising and definitely to be expected. One wonders almost every day whether decisions like this are made by the big drug companies in the world. I think they are. Very interesting storyline to involve alzheimer's a disease which surely we are all afraid of suffering.

Braver joins Lincoln Child, Douglas Preston, Greg Iles, James Rollins, Michael Palmer and others on my list of favourite thriller writers.

I have read all 6 of Gary's books and this one by far is the best. I enjoy the local flavor of his writing being from Massachusetts I have been to a lot of the locations he writes about and that is just an added bonus to his really good story telling.I love the way he puts a thriller together it is such a good read. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a book to read this summer although watch out for the jelly fish on the beach as you read it. Good job Gary!

Lisa

The thing that I found the most interesting about this book was the way it played off the potential to have a whole class of patients (Alzheimer's patients, and their families) threatened by abuses within the pharmaceutical industry. The book highlights doctors who take bribes, who have financial incentives to push their drug through the clinical trial phase, regardless of the risks to the patients. Behind the doctors, are the corporate pharmaceutical interests that care more about profit than people. I don't know if people realize how very close to the bone Gary Braver's tale really hits. A thought-provoking, intelligent book with a unique voice, like all of Mr. Braver's work. If you haven't read ELIXIR or GRAY MATTER, those are also great books. Braver speaks to topical issues of our times in a way that few authors do.

What distinguishes a Gary Braver book from the majority of other thrillers is that they are smart, very well-written, filled with fascinating details and fully fleshed-out characters. In the tradition of the best that thriller stories have to offer, Braver's characters are real people who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. The real kicker is that Braver's books have something vitally important to say about the very foundations of what makes us all human, and they make a thoroughly entertaining study of the human condition. His books are thinking-person thrillers. In fact, they elevate the genre of "thriller" to a literary level. Flashback is no different, and might be his best yet. Flashback, like his other books, would make an ideal motion picture.

A gripping medical thriller wrapped around a mystery, Gary Braver's Flashback will keep you awake until the wee hours. Braver explores the plight of the elderly, the world of medical research, and the pressures of financial incentives in the story of a new drug that returns Alzheimer's patients to full cognitive function, but with disastrous and unanticipated consequences. The high stakes game of medical politics is played out against the very personal stories of the elderly patients who take the drug, as well as a young man whose own brain has shrouded the death of his mother in mystery.

The opening jellyfish scene alone ranks as one of the most horrifying in modern literature.

Gary Braver's vivid writing will transport you and keep you reading long after bedtime. A must read for yourself and a great gift!