Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
This book is well written, but apart from that, it didn't check many boxes for me.
The plot revolves around a crime, but that is not really what the book is about. It is much more of a character study, a study of the psychology of the characters.
The plot, to me, felt a bit all over the place and sometimes the dialogue just went off on a seeming tangent and I became a bit bored.
The plot revolves around a crime, but that is not really what the book is about. It is much more of a character study, a study of the psychology of the characters.
The plot, to me, felt a bit all over the place and sometimes the dialogue just went off on a seeming tangent and I became a bit bored.
Interesting story but a little complicated to understand all the characters and the story line at times.
this is an extremely convoluted, far-fetched story with people jumping to so many implausible conclusions. the connections the main character came to felt like such a stretch especially considering he was a journalist not a detective. also, where this was published in 1997, a lot of the plot lines and language made it feel very dated in a toxic masculinity/misogynistic kind of way. honestly, this was fine to pass some time, but i wouldn’t recommend it.
cw: suicide, sexual assault
cw: suicide, sexual assault
I was disappointed in this book because I've previously read one by the same author and loved it so much I gave it 5 stars. I found the plot confusing and a little tedious in places and although I thought the characters were pretty strong, it just didn't grab me like her other one did. I didn't hate it and I finished it but it didn't rock my world, put it that way.
I’ve had quite a few people recommend this & other Walters books, but for some reason I assumed the books were more romance than mystery. I don’t know why & boy was I wrong! This was a fabulous book. It was well written with an interesting story, although I did figure out the “puzzle” before Walters revealed the answer.
I love Minette Walters. The little misdirects and assumptions make for a interesting journey to the solution of a murder (or two). The narrator has a pleasant voice, well suited to the story.
A lot going on here.
Mrs. Powell finds a dead vagrant in her garage. Then we see three missing persons cases. Lord Lucan who murdered his children's nanny and attempts to murder his wife. Peter Fenton whose wife Verity committed suicide although at first he is suspected of murder. James Streeter who supposedly absconded with a ton of money from the bank he worked for.
Mike Deacon, a reporter, gets the case of why a vagrant would go all the way to Powell's garage to die of malnutrition. Along the way he gets Terry, a street-wise kid, who had been taking care of Billy Blake. Barry the guy at the the paper who is excellent with photos, hates his mom, and is a closet homosexual. Laurence, a retired lawyer.
Poweel is Streeter's wife. She and her lover, DeVries, probably robbed bank and made it look like Streeter did it. Powell kills DeVries who was misogynist and had something on her. Billy was Fenton who knew what Powell had done. Lady who went to fancy restaurant each year was probably Lucan. Billy had killed Verity's first husband or knew she did. He couldn't live with the guild of her death and was punishing himself.
Was good.
Mrs. Powell finds a dead vagrant in her garage. Then we see three missing persons cases. Lord Lucan who murdered his children's nanny and attempts to murder his wife. Peter Fenton whose wife Verity committed suicide although at first he is suspected of murder. James Streeter who supposedly absconded with a ton of money from the bank he worked for.
Mike Deacon, a reporter, gets the case of why a vagrant would go all the way to Powell's garage to die of malnutrition. Along the way he gets Terry, a street-wise kid, who had been taking care of Billy Blake. Barry the guy at the the paper who is excellent with photos, hates his mom, and is a closet homosexual. Laurence, a retired lawyer.
Poweel is Streeter's wife. She and her lover, DeVries, probably robbed bank and made it look like Streeter did it. Powell kills DeVries who was misogynist and had something on her. Billy was Fenton who knew what Powell had done. Lady who went to fancy restaurant each year was probably Lucan. Billy had killed Verity's first husband or knew she did. He couldn't live with the guild of her death and was punishing himself.
Was good.
I have no idea why this book is called The Echo - perhaps I'm terribly dense and missed that part. A mystery centred around the death of a homeless man, and why he chose to starve to death in a certain woman's garage, it is well written but rather confusing - I found myself backtracking occasionally, trying to figure out what was going on as more and more elements of the mystery were revealed. I still have no idea who the woman in South Africa was, but I was too sick of figuring things out to work that one through.
I liked Terry, the young homeless boy, and discovering the personality of Billy, the dead man - but the opaqueness and complexity of the mystery really detracted from the book as a whole. It wasn't the sort of complex story where you sit back and go "Aaaah!" at the end, fascinated at how it all pulled together - just the sort of complexity that makes you go "Huh?". So it was kind of a "Huh?" book for me, even though I enjoyed parts of it.
I liked Terry, the young homeless boy, and discovering the personality of Billy, the dead man - but the opaqueness and complexity of the mystery really detracted from the book as a whole. It wasn't the sort of complex story where you sit back and go "Aaaah!" at the end, fascinated at how it all pulled together - just the sort of complexity that makes you go "Huh?". So it was kind of a "Huh?" book for me, even though I enjoyed parts of it.
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No