Scan barcode
romireads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Violence, and Murder
micasreads's review against another edition
4.0
Detective Cara Elliot is investigating a rash of murders that seem to have nothing in common. Jessica Ambrose is a woman on the run after she is believed to have killed her husband via arson. When Jessica, a true crime addict, recognizes the ongoing murders, she tells her new hero and Detective Elliot's brother, Nate. It becomes apparent that this killer is copying well-known serial killers such as Bundy, Kemper, and Dahmer. Due to this, the media dubs him The Echo Man. As the murders become more depraved, Det. Elliot knows she is running out of time. When the women discover that they have been in contact with the killer their words are upended.
This book was fantastic. While it started off a bit slow the action picked up. I've not read a book with copycat murders so clearly defined. The back and forth between the killer's thoughts and those of the detectives was fascinating. The weaving of so many details and storylines was seamless which made my reading time fly by. As a true crime fan, this novel was right up my alley. The serial killers in this novel are amongst the most infamous therefore easy to identify. If you are a lover of true crime and want to read a good thriller then this would be perfect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
romonko's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
I thought I knew what to expect with this book after I read some of the reviews, but, believe me, they did not prepare me for this bloodbath of a book. After I had read about 1/4 of it, I would have put it away, but it was given to me, so I felt compelled to finish. At that point I would have probably given it 3 stars because it had captured my interest, and I hadn't yet read the 100's of pages of blood, gore and depravity. As I continued the star rating kept going down and when I finally finished it, it was actually barely 1/2 star, but since there is no way to enter that rating,, I left it at one. For those of you who like your thrillers graphic and full of blood and killing, this is the book for you. To me it felt like the author threw everything but the kitchen sink into this mess. I really don't know if he missed any possible depravities, but to me it felt like he didn't. After reading the afterward, I realize that this is a first novel for Mr. Holland, and he followed the advice of his publisher to not stop at anything. The book is about 450 pages long, and with all the repetitiveness, and with the cliffhanger of the ending, I think it could have ended at 150 pages. I think I should have stopped at that point anyway.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Murder
This is a very graphic, depraved and violent book. There is no respite from the violence.arielr's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Vomit
saartjeinwonderbookland's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
teacupsandbookshelves's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
outsmartyourshelf's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Jess Ambrose is bored in her marriage to Patrick, & they are both cheating on each other, Jess via mindless sex with strangers. So their marriage is rocky & has been plagued with troubles so when their house is burned down & Patrick killed in an arson attack, the police immediately seize upon Jess as someone with a motive for wanting her husband dead. Only one person seems to think she may be innocent, Nate Griffin, a cop who is on leave following the death of his wife in a traumatic home invasion. Nate's sister, DCI Cara Elliott, is investigating a series of grisly murders which seem unrelated, but Jess realises that they are copies of murders committed by infamous murders such as the Yorkshire Ripper, & the Zodiac Killer. The media soon nickname the killer 'The Echo Man'.
First of all, warning to anyone who is of a sensitive disposition - this book is extremely graphic in respect of death, gore, & sexual violence. The plot itself is rather good & the fast pace & body count is maintained throughout. I really liked Cara & Griffin, but Jess was just an annoying plot device. I was hoping she would be killed off but no such luck. There are some clichés, especially that the killer that is always a couple of steps ahead of the police etc, but it maintained my interest well enough. The ending made me go "WTH?!" or something every similar. 3.5 stars
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, HarperCollins UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
First of all, warning to anyone who is of a sensitive disposition - this book is extremely graphic in respect of death, gore, & sexual violence. The plot itself is rather good & the fast pace & body count is maintained throughout. I really liked Cara & Griffin, but Jess was just an annoying plot device. I was hoping she would be killed off but no such luck. There are some clichés, especially that the killer that is always a couple of steps ahead of the police etc, but it maintained my interest well enough. The ending made me go "WTH?!" or something every similar. 3.5 stars
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, HarperCollins UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
bookwormdanni's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow, this book is not for the faint hearted!
The Echo Man is brilliantly written with a plot that will shock you from start to finish. The development of the plot is really clever and quick-paced. The writing is brilliant and Sam Holland was not afraid of writing in horrific sometimes graphic detail of abuse and assault.
There is a small group of main characters, each of which have their own personal struggles as they try to work together to find the culprit and bring to an end the horrific attacks and murders of The Echo Man.
While it's not for the faint hearted, it's such a good book that kept me guessing all the way through. It's one of those books where the reader will find themselves questioning nearly every character they meet!
I really enjoyed The Echo Man and definitely would recommend with the advice for potential readers to check the CW's first.
---
Thank you to NetGalley, Sam Holland and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Echo Man is brilliantly written with a plot that will shock you from start to finish. The development of the plot is really clever and quick-paced. The writing is brilliant and Sam Holland was not afraid of writing in horrific sometimes graphic detail of abuse and assault.
There is a small group of main characters, each of which have their own personal struggles as they try to work together to find the culprit and bring to an end the horrific attacks and murders of The Echo Man.
While it's not for the faint hearted, it's such a good book that kept me guessing all the way through. It's one of those books where the reader will find themselves questioning nearly every character they meet!
I really enjoyed The Echo Man and definitely would recommend with the advice for potential readers to check the CW's first.
---
Thank you to NetGalley, Sam Holland and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
abookwormwithwine's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.75
Holy MOLY, I knew The Echo Man by Sam Holland was going to be violent and gory, but I didn't realize the full extent of this until I actually got going. I read Karin Slaughter, so I am no stranger to this in my books, but Holland definitely took things to a whole new level. This isn't a book you are going to want to read while eating, but it was completely fantastic, and I am in both shock and awe that this is Holland's debut novel. The author describes herself as a serial killer nerd and that definitely comes through in the story. I also appreciated that she explained a bit about the serial killers mentioned by working it into the plot, so the reader doesn't have to Google anything. There are about a million triggers in the book, and if you shy away from any type of violence or gore you should NOT read The Echo Man since it is very graphic.
I loved the different viewpoints, and this is a straight-up police procedural but at the same time a whole lot more than that. I really liked having Jessica's viewpoint and the fact that she ends up doing a bit of sleuthing herself. The pacing is very fast which made the book feel way shorter than over 300 pages, and it also helped that the chapters were super short and engaging. The aspect of the copycat killer really got my attention, but I was also completely drawn to the characters. Cara is such a great detective and is the strong and fierce kind of woman I like to have as the lead in the books I read, and I couldn't help but adore Griffin (AKA Nate). I did think it was a little odd that Holland kept interchanging Deakin and Griffin’s first names with their last and do prefer when authors stick to using one or the other, but it was a very small thing in the grand scheme and didn't take away from the story. If you love police procedurals, true crime, serial killers, and crazy twists I HIGHLY recommend you read The Echo Man immediately. I also can't help but hope this isn't the last we have seen of Detective Cara Elliott.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I loved the different viewpoints, and this is a straight-up police procedural but at the same time a whole lot more than that. I really liked having Jessica's viewpoint and the fact that she ends up doing a bit of sleuthing herself. The pacing is very fast which made the book feel way shorter than over 300 pages, and it also helped that the chapters were super short and engaging. The aspect of the copycat killer really got my attention, but I was also completely drawn to the characters. Cara is such a great detective and is the strong and fierce kind of woman I like to have as the lead in the books I read, and I couldn't help but adore Griffin (AKA Nate). I did think it was a little odd that Holland kept interchanging Deakin and Griffin’s first names with their last and do prefer when authors stick to using one or the other, but it was a very small thing in the grand scheme and didn't take away from the story. If you love police procedurals, true crime, serial killers, and crazy twists I HIGHLY recommend you read The Echo Man immediately. I also can't help but hope this isn't the last we have seen of Detective Cara Elliott.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence