The Echo Man: A Novel

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Nail-biting suspense matches credible emotional reactions to extreme events in this exceptional thriller.”

DCI Cara Elliot and her working partner and best friend, DS Noah Deakin, are working night and day to solve the murder of the two girls, and they realize that a series of new murders implicate one perpetrator in all the horrific gory crimes. Her team includes DC Toby Shelton, who is assigned to computer searches. Cara is neglecting her husband and two young children because of her hectic work schedule and fears her husband is having an affair with their nanny. Nate Griffins, suspended due to his inability to control his temper, is protecting and hiding Jess from being arrested for her husband's murder. He is Cara's brother and is reassigned to work, with some worry on Cara's part that Noah and the volatile Nate despise one another. It becomes evident that the deranged killer, now known as The Echo Man, is replicating past crimes of the most notorious and evil serial killers, such as Jeffery Dahmer, Peter Sutcliffe, the Manson Murders, The Zodiac Killer, Ted Bundy, the Golden State Killer, etc. I listened to this book with a friend last month. I went in a little nervous about all the hype but was pleased to see for the most part it lived up the hype The Echo Man is a thrillingly paced novel that disturbs and surprises in equal measure—part police procedural and part nightmare.”Jess and Nate are both seriously damaged individuals, with traumatic events in each of their pasts and significant psychological demons haunting them in the present. Together they form an unlikely investigative duo, chasing the dangerous perpetrator in parallel to the official police investigation run by Cara, providing a sort of mutual redemptive comfort to each other in the process. As a remorseless killer approaches ever closer, will they be able to solve the crimes and expose the perpetrator before one or both of them are caught in the deadly web? Was intimacy between Jessica and Nate necessary? I’m not so sure. It was a little far fetched just like jaw dropping and surprising conclusion of the story. Of course not so foreseeable revelations were well executed but some events were a little exaggerated.

The book opens with the horrific scene of a killer setting up a crime scene tableau evoking the murders of Mary Ann Pesce and Anita Luchessa by deranged 1970s serial killer Edmund Kemper. MY THOUGHTS: As much as I wanted to like The Echo Man, I didn't. It was simply too much. The idea was great and at time did I consider abandoning this read, but . . . I have been trying to write this review for two days, since I finished reading, struggling to write what I think without giving anything away. The book is about a duo of detectives who are trying to solve a rash of killers where the victim's head is wrapped in paper and a small tattoo is place on their finger. The killer is making a statement, creating a symphony to be revealed towards the end of the book. It comes to a head on Halloween.Sam Holland's debut is a blend of horror and crime fiction featuring a unidentified serial killer without an iota of humanity as a unheard of bodycount builds to chilling levels and he is far from finished. It begins with DCI Cara Elliot and her right hand man, DS Noah Deakin finding themselves at the scene of a car with macabre contents, the bodies of 2 young women with their decapitated heads, and so begins a nightmare investigation by Elliot's Major Crimes Team that includes DC Toby Shenton. Jess Ambrose is woken up in the middle of night with her home on fire, unable to help her husband, Philip, Jess is forced to jump with her daughter, Alice, injuring both of them. In hospital, Jess overhears a conversation that tells her that she is the chief suspect for the arson, with DS Taylor wanting to arrest her.

I'm talking toe-curling, grimacing, exclaiming expletives whilst listening to it, dark. Not only that though, what a solid mystery; so good! Whoa! This is gruesome, graphic, intense, dark, disturbing, eerie! I’m sold! As darker and smarter the story gets, faster I jump in! I always like to learn something when I read a novel and in this case it was about music. The mentally ill woman Byrne knows plays the cello. Music, the movements of a symphony, etc., play an important part in solving the case. Cara and her brother Griff form a nice tandem during the investigation and I think it could be a good start of a series with these two. I hope so, as at the end we are left with too many questions as how it will all fan out eventually. If a sequel is written, I sincerely hope that the character of Jess will get lost as she was one of the most irritating characters I've read this year: she is selfish, dumb and arrogant and blames it all on a medical condition. My main criticism is the pace. It took some time to get into it & work out how it all got together. Patience was key!Please go into this book with caution, as it contains trigger warnings for just about anything you could imagine. Violence and gore abound, and there are mentions of child abuse, rape, infidelity, etc. that may cause distress to some readers. After finishing the book, I was - again - left with an overwhelming feeling that it is so wrong that we get a a good pass-time on the expense of murder, mayhem, rapes and torture. Why are we, the readers, attracted to such content? I remember my old English teacher stating that we are attracted to horror movies and books, because it shows us that our seemingly dramatic lives could be much worse and that it leaves us with a feeling of contentment and relief that we are spared such abominations. I'll still have to ponder on that. Multiple streets in Anfield were sealed off tonight (August 11) after Merseyside Police received reports of a man shouting at people and carrying a machete. Officers were first called to Arkles Lane just after 5.30pm.

Bold, bloody and brilliant . . .Reminiscent of Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon, The Echo Man is more than unsettling – it’s terrifying.” I love Byrne and Balzano, Richard Montanari's Philadelphia homicide cops. Although this, their fifth outing, has probably been my least favourite so far. The Echo Man is a high-octane suspense-thriller, depicting a series of blood-curdling homage crime scenes and confronting themes around child sexual abuse, internalised trauma and damaged personalities. It's not an easy read, by any means, but it is engrossing and its conclusion fitting, if not entirely satisfying.The plot revolves around a serial killer who is murdering the major suspect in several unsolved murders. Byrne and Jessica are on the case. While Jessica investigates in a traditional way, Byrne is in touch with a woman from his past. She is mentally ill but seems to have insight into the case. To make the plot more complex and confusing, a young woman who was kidnapped as a child is added to the plot. Lucy's story has nothing to do with the serial killer. The only connection, I think, is that Byrne knows her. Nonetheless, she is involved in the suspense at the end of the novel. That was odd as I thought there was no reason for her to be in that location. I'd recommend The Echo Man to readers who seek a level of darkness in their crime fiction, flawed and complex characters and lots of unexpected twists. While the "true crime" aspect might attract some readers to the story, I wouldn't think that an existing knowledge or interest in this subject is necessary for a rewarding reading experience. DS Taylor who catches this case thinks Jess is good for the murder as her fingerprints are found on a watering can that had contained the paraffin that started the fire. But she is an idiot so I always felt that Jess would be easily cleared. DCI Cara Elliott and her offsider DS Noah Deakin are working the other murders which keep on coming. Jess realises she is a suspect and ‘escapes from the hospital. She finds refuge with suspended police officer, DS Nate Griffin (actually Cara’s brother) who is still getting over the brutal murder of his wife a year ago in a home invasion that left him for dead. Jess has a stunning insight when she looks through Griffin’s files on a whole bunch of murders. Yes, they are all different, but the link is that the killer is copying famous serial killers from the past - Manson, Kemper, the zodiac killer and so on.