“Shadow Woman” by Linda Howard – The Gifts of Amnesia

Even though the concept of amnesia has been incorrectly represented in movies and literature for God-knows how long (in practically all cases the sufferer forgets something specific as a result of a tremendous shock, rather than losing huge chunks of memory), it has been used time and time again as a plot device which prompts characters to go on journeys of self-discovery to remember their own lives (take the Bourne Trilogy for example).

While the use of this device may feel somewhat clichéd today, I have no doubt that most of you still enjoy it, at least when you are looking to relax for a moment and shut your brain off, and that’s exactly what Shadow Woman by Linda Howard gives its readers.

In Shadow Woman, we are presented with Lizette Henry, a regular woman who wakes up one day, looks in the mirror, and suddenly doesn't recognize herself anymore. What’s worse, she soon discovers that she cannot remember what happened in the last two years of her life. However, things get even weirder when she starts to successfully find well-hidden bugs in her house and her car, and even manages to escape surveillance. 

She then meets a mysterious stranger by the name of Xavier, whose presence prompts Lizette to blurrily and vaguely start to remember a terrible crime which happened in front of her eyes. As if that wasn't bad enough, Lizette then becomes the primary target of unknown assassins.

If you think that you can already figure out the main plot of this book, then you are probably right: on that end, it’s far from being something groundbreaking. However, if that is the reason you use not to read the book, then you’ll be missing out on a lot of things.

In this case, it’s more about the chase than it is about the catch. While the story and the characters may be somewhat clichéd, there are a few twists and turns which will surprise even the most experienced readers. 

Apart from that though, it felt like the world created by Linda Howard had plenty of little mysteries as well as bits and pieces of information that breathe a very special kind of life into everything. The best way I could explain it is by saying that she managed to create world perfect for the kind of story she has come up.

All in all, the plot is somewhat clichéd and a bit predictable in some places, the characters aren't exactly the most memorable of the bunch, and nevertheless, the technical qualities of this book – a fast pace and vivid descriptions – make this a very enjoyable ride up until the end, without forgetting that some of the mysteries are actually interesting and have satisfying conclusions. If you are looking to simply relax and turn off your brain, then I definitely recommend you take a look at Shadow Woman. 

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Linda Howard Personal site Linda Howard born as Linda S. Howington is an American writer whose focus throughout her writing has been placed on romance and suspense novels, which include a number of series such as Rescues, MacKenzie Family Saga, CIA's Spies and Blair Mallory, just to name a few. It should be mentioned that it is only after twenty-one years of writing for her own enjoyment that she finally decided to submit her stories for publication.