Reviews

The Distant Echo by Val McDermid

pjgal22's review against another edition

4.0

Another very good book by Val McDermid. I always find her characters compelling, and her plots have enough twists and turns to keep you guessing all the way through.

dylansr42's review against another edition

4.0

this was like crack, I could NOT stop reading it at all. it's not on the same level as our queen Tana French - some of the early sections dragged, a bit of telling rather than showing - but it's still an engaging if not riveting mystery story. I will be honest, I did not see the twist coming AT ALL.

also it's hilarious to me that in spite of the series being named after Detective Karen Pirie

Spoiler

that lady did 0 detecting in the entire novel. all of the crime solving was done by the poor ppl being framed.

anyways, off to the next instalment.

kirstym25's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Kidnapping, Hate crime, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Rape

macymcbeth's review against another edition

3.0

This was a fun thriller and definitely had me on the edge of my seat wanting to figure it out. However, I expected Karen Pirie to be a central character to this story, but she was only briefly mentioned and enters the story about 200 pages in. The story focuses on the 4 suspects/witnesses who found the body and it was very interesting to read most of the story through their perspective.

McDermid flows very flawlessly through the perspectives and voices of her characters throughout the book and within each chapter. The effect is that you see these different perspectives without ever really knowing who did it or gaining specific clues from a certain character.

Looking forward to reading the rest of this series and hopefully the upcoming TV show does the book justice!

sjrissolo's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars

bracky's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

lmdenney23's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

lellybean_88's review against another edition

4.0

At first I wasn’t too sure what I was reading. I didn’t like the jumping from real name to nicknames and vice versa.
I did find it a bit repetitive from time to time but nearer the end it did pick up the pace a bit and I did get frustrated a little with the characters not being believed etc.

It was a reasonably good book but not one I want to read again in a hurry. It was a shame that we were introduced to the ‘main’ character half way through and she only made a few appearances.

chartsh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

jess_enriquez's review against another edition

4.0

I had to read this in one day for school, and it was actually a fun read! Makes me wonder if all the other books my professor has been recommending are good as well.