Series: Major Crimes #1
By: Sam Holland
ISBN: 978-1639103874
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Publication Date: 02/07/2023
Crooked Lane (paperback)
Format: Audiobook
My Rating: 4 Stars
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…
My Review
Sam Holland's debut, THE ECHO MAN is a dark, twisted, disturbing spine-chilling thriller about a serial killer copycat. The first in the Major Crimes series—a cross between cop procedurals, serial killer, murder, and psychological thriller.
Detectives Cara Elliott and Noah Deakin are on the case of a series of unconnected murders; each carried out differently—all BRUTAL. However, as the body count rises, they are similar to famous serial killers of the past.
He is dubbed as THE ECHO MAN since his crimes echo famous serial killers of the past. The murders are getting close to home. He is always one step ahead. He is cold, calculating, intelligent, and knows too much about police procedures.
Jessica Ambrose is on the run. Who targeted her house? There was a fire, and her husband was left dead. Her young daughter was injured and sent to the hospital. Why isn't she cooperating with the cops versus going on the run?
Cara's brother, Detective Nate Griffin (has been suspended and disgraced) and has a dark history. He is helping Jessica and hiding her. He is a mysterious character—smart, and edgy. What is his story?
Jess soon learns there is a link between her case and the copycat killer.
Terrifying, dark, gory, raw, brutal, and twisted!
AUDIOBOOK: 🎧 I purchased the audiobook and enjoyed the narrator, Jodie Harris, which I am a fan—a fabulous job with all the voices for an engaging performance.
Jessica was an intriguing character. From the beginning of the book, she feels the cops are blaming her (SUSPECT) for her husband's death in the fire. Jessica decides to go on the run. She misses her daughter.
Nate and Jessica make for an interesting pair. They start their own investigation. Both are trouble souls with a back story. They are deeply damaged and broken with traumatic histories. Nate is still not over his wife Mia's death (I felt for him and his traumatic past) and he self-medicates.
Jessica self-mutilates and feels guilt for not saving her husband and being separated from her daughter. Both have lost much. I was as interested in Nate and Jessica as in the serial killer. I also liked Cara, a good detective.
However, the book was pretty gruesome, harrowing, and bloody. Not for the faint of heart. I did not care for the serial killer's psychotic/demented POV and tried to fast-forward over those parts. However, I was glued to the audiobook to figure out the serial killer's identity and learn Jessica/Nate's fate. For fans of true crime and author Chris Carter. A huge twist at the end leads to the second in the series, THE TWENTY.
I wanted to read THE ECHO MAN before I started reading the ARC (which I have) of Sam Hollands The Twenty, coming May 2, 2023 (Major Crimes #2).
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Feb 07, 2023
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Praise
“Nail-biting suspense matches credible emotional reactions to extreme events in this exceptional thriller.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Debut novelist Sam Holland has produced a harrowing plot . . . The numerous plot twists along the way will keep you engaged and guessing as you try to figure out exactly what is going on.”
—BookReporter
“Echoes, yes: echoes of Lisa Gardner, of Jeffery Deaver, of Stuart MacBride – The Echo Man evokes that same classic, satisfying, red-blooded fear. But Sam Holland’s stellar debut is very much its own beast, wily and brawny and dangerous: a lethal new predator in an alluringly old-school skin.”
—AJ Finn, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
“Dark, disturbing and totally addictive. A first class serial killer thriller from a bold new voice.”
—Chris Whitaker, award-winning author of We Begin at the End
“The Echo Man is a thrillingly paced novel that disturbs and surprises in equal measure—part police procedural and part nightmare.”
—Scott Phillips, bestselling author of The Ice Harvest
“Grisly and graphic, Sam Holland is on disturbingly good form in The Echo Man . . . will keep you gripped.”
—Jo Furniss, Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Last to Know
“The Echo Man is all at once captivating and terrifying. Sam Holland gives the darkness a full embrace in this violent and disturbing exploration of a serial killer and the broken people he leaves in his wake.” —Kate Myles, author of The Receptionist
“What a delightfully dark, wildly fun and highly original take on the serial killer thriller. Everyone should read it!”
—A. J. Park, author of The First Lie and Don’t Speak
“[An] absolute page-turner . . . shocking, clever, and utterly frightening. ”
—Elle Croft, author of The Guilty Wife
“A twisted killer, an impossible case and all too human heroes trying to solve it; The Echo Man is a page turner that will prove irresistible to crime thriller readers. Simultaneously macabre and deeply empathetic, it somehow manages to both chill your blood and warm your heart, often in the same scene. Unmissable.”
—Gabriel Bergmoser, author of The Hunted and The Inheritance
“From the first page this book will grip you by the throat, hold you suspended and let you down with bang. It’s a dark rollercoaster of a read.”
—Rachael Blok, author of The Scorched Earth and Under the Ice
“The Echo Man delivers everything you want with a psycho thriller . . . Absolutely first class!”
—James Delargy, author of 55 and Vanished
“The Echo Man takes serial killer thrillers to a new level. A deliciously dark descent into a deranged mind. Nobody is safe. This one will stay with you long after the last page.”
—Robert Scragg, author of End of the Line and What Falls Between the Cracks
“Keeps you suspended through nail-biting twists and turns until its darkly thrilling conclusion.”
—Amy McLellan, author of Remember Me
“Intelligent writing, brilliant relatable characters and a kick-arse twist in the tail.”
—Alison Belsham, author of The Tattoo Thief and The Embalmer
"Bold, bloody and brilliant . . . Reminiscent of Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon, The Echo Man is more than unsettling - it's terrifying."
—Heather Critchlow, contributor to Afraid of the Light and Afraid of the Christmas Lights
“A bonkers book that is all the more worthwhile for being bonkers . . . The Echo Man doesn't simply show the kind of sadism that is born in moral barrens, it depicts it as a reflection of real world violence that has been entered into our popular culture.”
—Dominic Nolan, author of Past Life and After Dark
About the Author
Sam Holland is the award-winning author of the Major Crimes series, following detectives as they investigate murders committed by brutal serial killers in the south of England.
Her debut, The Echo Man, shocked and enthralled readers and reviewers alike with its sinister depiction of a serial killer copying notorious real-life murderers of the past.
The Twenty is her second novel and is out in May 2023.
