The Echo

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Summary: Echo Review
Review: I found myself immersed in this book very quickly, and it was a very enjoyable read. The plot has numerous twists which keep you enthralled as you try to keep up with the plot and its mysterious characters. It is quite amusing and hard to put down until you reach the conclusion. NB to future readers - mark the mind map pages to return to later on in the book, it makes it easier to understand where the new evidence fits in!

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Summary: Thought provoking, extremely enjoyable
Review: I have read and thoroughly enjoyed all of Patricia Cornwall's 'Kay Scarpetta' novels, but lately have found them slow to be released. In despiration I read The Hornets Nest, and soon wished I didn't!!! So I found myself in the bookshop asking when the next Kay Scarpetta novel would be due out, the sales assistant said it would be at least another 7 months!!! And told me of an author who writes in a similar vein as Patricia Cornwell - Minnette Walters - - Now after completing all of Minnette's novels to date - recently finishing The Echo - I dont think I could go back to Patricia Cornwell in a hurry!!! All of Minnette's novels have kept me reading well into the night, and I find the books are read within a weekend!! And her latest novel The Echo has continued this feeling. So many intricate twists and turns, developing every point so that the reader has a complete understanding of every possibility Journalist Micheal Deacon is faced with. Definately scoring a 10! I cannot wait to read her next book!!!!

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Summary: An un-thriller
Review: I have to confess, I started the "Echo" with a bit of prejudice. Even though I quite enjoyed "The Sculptress", there was something suspicious in her previous books. Of course, I did not expect them to measure up to the best British mysteries, but then again, it is hard to compete with P. D. James and Ruth Rendell. But when I was reading the "Echo", I could not believe my eyes: a twisted, unlogical plot, stereotypical, cookie cutter characters, phony dialogues, political correctness in all it's ugliness. It got so bad, that in the middle of the book I stopped following the plot and was only able to pay attention to the stitches.

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Summary: Echo was false for me!
Review: I purchased my first Minette Walters novel with great anticipation. The book cover and back were dotted with outstanding commercial reviews! However, my own read of this book was substantially less impressive. Ms. Walters narrative was so engrossed in UK slang I frequently lost focus on the plot to figure out the use of the slang. Her style of writing using what appears to be "real" non-fictional investigative info pieces along with letters written between some of the main characters towards the end of the book and intertwined with the standard writing style of a mystery writer for me was disjointed. I was glad to get through it and move on to the new Tom Clancy! Sorry, Ms. Walters - it just didn't work for me!

Rating:
Summary: Echo was false for me!
Review: I purchased my first Minette Walters novel with great anticipation. The book cover and back were dotted with outstanding commercial reviews! However, my own read of this book was substantially less impressive. Ms. Walters narrative was so engrossed in UK slang I frequently lost focus on the plot to figure out the use of the slang. Her style of writing using what appears to be "real" non-fictional investigative info pieces along with letters written between some of the main characters towards the end of the book and intertwined with the standard writing style of a mystery writer for me was disjointed. I was glad to get through it and move on to the new Tom Clancy! Sorry, Ms. Walters - it just didn't work for me!

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Summary: If you want to get a headache, I suggest reading this book!
Review: I was a fan of this author, but she may have lost me. The most convoluted mystery I recall reading in a long, long time. So many characters. So many flashbacks. So many twists and turns. The author has a few scenes about a lady in South Africa...and I still can't figure out her connection with the plot. Like Patricia Cornwall, I suppose Minette Walters can screw up once every few books - but it is a shame after her previous books which were all terrific!I will say to her credit, the lady can sure write prose

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Summary: This compelling mystery will keep you thinking.
Review: I'm a fan of Minette Walters' work, but this time she has really outdone herself. The mystery and story are compelling, but become almost secondary to the observations on philosophy, theology and society. The thought-provoking observations will keep you ruminating long after you put the book down. A real page-turner on several levels. I highly recommend The Echo!

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Summary: Great characters, living and dead...
Review: I've never read anything by this author before and was pleasantly surprised to discover her. I thought this was a brilliantly-written novel. For me, good characters make for good reading and this novel is chock full of them, even' the dead ones - the "ghosts" in the machine, so to speak.

I must say the plot was a bit convoluted, and I felt myself constantly pushing away cobwebs to get back to it, but the characters - especially Terry, the 14-year-old 'derelict' and his mentor, the kind of anti-hero, Michael Deacon - kept me turning pages. I loved the old Jewish lawyer and the pudgy pervert and photo expert. Everyone had flaws, pecadillos, like real people. I am so sick of these novels in which people are sort of romanticized, or glorified. This one is, in the parlance of media hype, "gritty." PBS should do it. It would provide work for a number of fantastic British actors.

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Rating:
Summary: A Murder Mystery With No Victim.
Review: I've read a lot of Minette Walter's books now, and I've enjoyed them all. The Echo was the first one I ever read, so I have a soft spot in my heart for it. I was intrigued by an extract of the first chapter, which prompted me to buy the book - something I've never regretted.

The Echo starts with the death of a homeless man - a death by natural cases. I found it odd to read a murder mystery which, for most of the book, has no murder. Minette Walters weaves a large cast of interesting characters, locations and events into a harmonious and satisfying conclusion. A worthy investment, I read this book regularly.

Do I recommend it? Indeed. Not only to anyone who may stumble across this review, but to all my friends and aquaintances. I have lent the book out to so many people, and all have said they enjoyed it. I wish she could write more quickly - there's too long to wait between her books, I find!

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Summary: Minette Walter's entertains while she frightens
Review: Inside the garage of Amanda Powell is found the corpse of a homeless person, allegedly named Billy Blake. Magazine reporter Michael Deacon, whose personal life is screwed up, is investigating the London homeless problem for a potential article. When he hears about the death of Billy, he decides to take a look into what happened to ascertain whether there is something unique to report.... Michael almost immediately finds himself very attracted to the beautiful Amanda. However, that does not stop him from looking beneath the surface of the Blake death. Michael soon starts to wonder if Billy might have been the rich James Streeter, missing for almost a decade. This gives him pause to ponder who the enigmatic Amanda truly is as she was once married to James. Though both have different motives, Amanda and Michael continue to seek answers to what really happened to Billy and, if he is James, what happened to him ten years ago..... THE ECHO is an interesting psychological suspense novel due to the author's in depth depiction of Michael and a large ensemble of support characters who somehow blend into a brilliant serpentine story line. The intricate and multi-layered story line is provocative, dark, and deep. Minette Walters is quickly climbing to the top of the sub-genre as she continues to create believable and heart-stopping dramas within her fascinating mysteries.... Harriet Klausner