The Echo Man – Sam Holland
The murders have begun…
Across England, a string of murders is taking place. Each different in method, but each horrifying and brutal.
But the killer is just getting started…
Jess Ambrose is plunged into the investigation when her house is set ablaze. With her husband dead and the police pointing at her, she runs. Her only hope is disgraced detective Nate Griffin, who is convinced Jess is innocent.
And he’s going to shock the world…
Soon, Jess and Griffin discover the unthinkable; this murderer is copying the world’s most notorious serial killers. And now, imitation isn’t enough. The killer dubbed The Echo Man is ready to create his own masterpiece, and it will be more terrifying than anything that has come before…
I received a review copy of The Echo Man through Netgalley.
Do you like stories about serial killers? You do? Then I would suggest The Echo Man is the book for you as the killer in this story is paying homage to all the most infamous murderers from history and the body count is high. Really high. And Sam Holland isn’t messing around as The Echo Man is one of the darker crime thrillers I have read lately.
Not that I found any of those qualities to be a negative factor. I like the darker edgier stories and this book very much ticked all the boxes for me. But if you’re not a fan of the more descriptive crime scenes then I feel it only fair to warn you that this story may bring some uncomfortable reading moments.
Still with me? Good stuff. The Echo Man is tagged as being Major Crimes Book 1. Very pleasing to know as I liked the team of investigating officers and the author has done a great job of balancing their development and spinning a great murder mystery around them (while also throwing lots of dilemmas, murders and moments of terror into the paths of her principle cast).
Early in the story we meet Jess. She isn’t one of the investigative team but her life is about to radically change when a fire rips through her home and leaves her husband dead. Jess is the police’s primary suspect and when she sees the opportunity to take herself away from possible arrest she runs. But Jess doesn’t run too far and she finds a safe port in her personal storm when she meets Nate Griffin. Nate was a police officer but a year ago he had his own personal trauma and now he can’t be part of the Major Crimes Team – in fact Nate can hardly function such was the impact of his traumatic experience.
Nate does still have connections in the Major Crimes Team (family connections at that) so when events start ramping up and the body count rises he finds himself drawn back to the station and back to face his demons. As the pressure builds so too does Nate’s inability to deal with the investigation in a lucid and rational manner. Tension builds and builds under the careful moderation of Sam Holland and you’ll want to keep reading – I certainly did! It got to the point in the night I knew I could not put the book down until I had reached the end, I just had to know how things were to be resolved.
Great introduction to a new series and I’m very much looking forward to seeing where this may go next.
The Echo Man is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-echo-man/sam-holland/9780008461638