What is it when an author starts the book with a future event, goes on for maybe a paragraph or a page, then stops and returns to the present?
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You might have better luck on r/tipofmytongue. Identification questions are rarely helpful to future visitors. – niamulbengali Jan 16 '21 at 05:35
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1For the downvoters: How would "research" answer this question when one doesn't have access to some rare volume listing literary techniques? – Hot Licks Jan 16 '21 at 13:59
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@HotLicks Agreed. This is one of the less appealing aspects of the site. I am tempted to ask for an old word for "a drop of mucus on the nose" and see if the downvoters argue successfully that I could have done successful research first. – Anton Jan 16 '21 at 16:54
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This is an initial Flash-forward or prolepsis. The device may be used at any point in a tale (except at the end) and applies to your context.
A flash-forward (or prolepsis, also sometimes known as a flash-ahead) in a narrative occurs when the primary sequence of events in a story is interrupted by the interjection of a scene representing an event expected, projected, or imagined to occur at a later time. The flash-forward technique is used less frequently than its reverse, the flashback, or the flash-sideways.
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foreshadowing : an indication of what is to come
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