toellandback 's review for:

The Echo Man by Sam Holland

4.25

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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A new author to me and what a start! From the brutal opening, it's a fast paced, twisty ride that's most definitely not for the squeamish and not one to leave on aunt Edna's chair!! DCI Cara Elliott and her team are thrust into an investigation which, it's soon realised, sees the killer recreating crime scenes from historic serial killers and when some past cases are linked, it's clear that this has been going on for too long! 
Part of the story is from the investigation viewpoint, however we also follow the character of Jess whose life is a mess despite being married with a young daughter and it soon gets worse as she becomes prime suspect in an arson attack. 
As you'd expect,  the two stories are linked and the reader finds out why very early on and we are then left to figure out who, why and when regarding the spate of violent murders and the twists in the later stages are really something unexpected!
This certainly won't be for everyone due to its graphic nature and many potential triggers, but if you can stand that, then it's a relentless story that will shock and most likely stay with you for a while and I'll be continuing with the next book to see what happens next.