Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Echo Man

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Echo Man by Sam Holland

16 reviews

clotalksbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

What. A. Book. It is not for the faint-hearted, and I must admit to it being darker than I expected it to be. But there is so much depth to this story and the characters, the darkness isn't just for shock factor - everything serves a purpose.

I loved the characters, flaws and all. They had so many layers. In terms of the Echo Man I also had multiple suspects, until I think I was accusing everyone. Kept guessing and being surprised til the end. Love that in a book.

If you have knowledge of true crime, I think you will get even more from it. It is just so creepy, and part of me hates how much I loved this book considering how disturbing it is. But hey, it is so well crafted, the writing perfect. It deserves all of the stars!

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romireads's review against another edition

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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

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micasreads's review against another edition

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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.

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ryan_mjm's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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romonko's review against another edition

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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.

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