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The Echo
A shattering new novel by Edgar Award-winner Minette Walters, The Echo unveils the secrets and betrayals, past and present, that always come home to haunt the ones who try to bury them. A destitute man has been found dead on the property of a wealthy socialite. Who is he? Why did he go there to die? A reporter investigates the man's identity--and is swiftly ensnared in a web of deception as tangled and complex as the hearts and minds that spun it...
--back cover
--back cover
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 17, 1997
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About the author
Minette Walters
72 books1,373 followersMinette Walters (born 26 September 1949) is a British mystery writer. After studying at Trevelyan College, University of Durham, she began writing in 1987 with The Ice House, which was published in 1992. She followed this with The Sculptress (1993), which received the 1994 Edgar Award for Best Novel. She has been published in 35 countries and won many awards.
The Sculptress has been adapted for television in a BBC series starring Pauline Quirke. Her novels The Ice House, The Echo, The Dark Room, and The Scold's Bridle have also been adapted by the BBC.
The Sculptress has been adapted for television in a BBC series starring Pauline Quirke. Her novels The Ice House, The Echo, The Dark Room, and The Scold's Bridle have also been adapted by the BBC.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 236 reviews
June 6, 2021
2.5 "mildly entertaining, moderately unsatisfying and highly implausible" stars !!!
Oh Minette, Minette, Minette. What a cute name that is !!
I did enjoy this mystery novel but with soooo many reservations. I have wanted to try one of these mysteries for a very long time and this one was passed onto me by a friend that reads a few hundred mysteries a year. She said this was half decent. I disagree but I did find it quite entertaining.
Some of her characters are well drawn out and others not at all. The psychological motivations are far-fetched and the conjectures of made in the case of this complex mystery plot are way more than a stretch....they are like me trying to squeeze into a 32 inch waist pair of jeans.....not ever happening again in this lifetime !!
I really liked some of the dialogue and the interactions between the characters though and I appreciated some of the humor which I usually abhor in my mysteries but then again it was often very funny.
Anyways Minette or shall I say Ms. Walters I will try you again as I know you have a lot of talent otherwise you would not be Britain's Queen of Mystery but then again there is Danielle Steele and don't get me started about her.
So, in short, mildly entertaining, moderately unsatisfying and highly implausible. Sort of like Jaidee trying to stop at only two slices of Pizza !!
Oh Minette, Minette, Minette. What a cute name that is !!
I did enjoy this mystery novel but with soooo many reservations. I have wanted to try one of these mysteries for a very long time and this one was passed onto me by a friend that reads a few hundred mysteries a year. She said this was half decent. I disagree but I did find it quite entertaining.
Some of her characters are well drawn out and others not at all. The psychological motivations are far-fetched and the conjectures of made in the case of this complex mystery plot are way more than a stretch....they are like me trying to squeeze into a 32 inch waist pair of jeans.....not ever happening again in this lifetime !!
I really liked some of the dialogue and the interactions between the characters though and I appreciated some of the humor which I usually abhor in my mysteries but then again it was often very funny.
Anyways Minette or shall I say Ms. Walters I will try you again as I know you have a lot of talent otherwise you would not be Britain's Queen of Mystery but then again there is Danielle Steele and don't get me started about her.
So, in short, mildly entertaining, moderately unsatisfying and highly implausible. Sort of like Jaidee trying to stop at only two slices of Pizza !!
March 23, 2017
Minette Walters has long been a favourite author of mine - they even do a decent job of producing her books as mini-series.
I cannot recall reading the Echo before, though I suppose I might have when it first came out. There are things I loved about this book, and things I disliked. As usual Walter's characterisation is great. Michael the tenacious journalist, Terry the homeless boy who had been a friend of the deceased 'Billy Blake', Lawrence the elderly and lonely solicitor, Barry who is controlled by his mother, Amanda.....well the list just goes on. The plot is well constructed.
What I didn't like was the reliance on letters and newspaper articles to provide information essential to the plot. There was a lot of stuff in them that just wasn't relevant and I don't feel that they added to the story.
A homeless man who called himself Billy Blake is found dead of starvation in the garage of an expensive home near London's Thames, right next to a freezer full of food. Who was Billy Blake and why did he pick this particular place in which to die? Is there a connection between Billy and Amanda Powell, the owner of the house and who discovered his body?
3.5 stars from me for The Echo.
I cannot recall reading the Echo before, though I suppose I might have when it first came out. There are things I loved about this book, and things I disliked. As usual Walter's characterisation is great. Michael the tenacious journalist, Terry the homeless boy who had been a friend of the deceased 'Billy Blake', Lawrence the elderly and lonely solicitor, Barry who is controlled by his mother, Amanda.....well the list just goes on. The plot is well constructed.
What I didn't like was the reliance on letters and newspaper articles to provide information essential to the plot. There was a lot of stuff in them that just wasn't relevant and I don't feel that they added to the story.
A homeless man who called himself Billy Blake is found dead of starvation in the garage of an expensive home near London's Thames, right next to a freezer full of food. Who was Billy Blake and why did he pick this particular place in which to die? Is there a connection between Billy and Amanda Powell, the owner of the house and who discovered his body?
3.5 stars from me for The Echo.
November 21, 2007
I have no idea why this book is called The Echo - perhaps I'm terribly dense and missed that part. A mystery centred around the death of a homeless man, and why he chose to starve to death in a certain woman's garage, it is well written but rather confusing - I found myself backtracking occasionally, trying to figure out what was going on as more and more elements of the mystery were revealed. I still have no idea who the woman in South Africa was, but I was too sick of figuring things out to work that one through.
I liked Terry, the young homeless boy, and discovering the personality of Billy, the dead man - but the opaqueness and complexity of the mystery really detracted from the book as a whole. It wasn't the sort of complex story where you sit back and go "Aaaah!" at the end, fascinated at how it all pulled together - just the sort of complexity that makes you go "Huh?". So it was kind of a "Huh?" book for me, even though I enjoyed parts of it.
I liked Terry, the young homeless boy, and discovering the personality of Billy, the dead man - but the opaqueness and complexity of the mystery really detracted from the book as a whole. It wasn't the sort of complex story where you sit back and go "Aaaah!" at the end, fascinated at how it all pulled together - just the sort of complexity that makes you go "Huh?". So it was kind of a "Huh?" book for me, even though I enjoyed parts of it.
May 6, 2020
Minette Walters has been one of my favorite standalone mystery writers since I discovered her a few years back. I rank her up there with Margaret Millar in my list of favorite mystery authors. The Echo, originally published in 1997, was no exception. It was a perfect little gem; well, almost perfect as I only rated it 4.5. But I could easily have rated it 5 out of 5.
The body of a drunk homeless man, Billy Blake, is discovered in the garage of a wealthy woman after he'd been in place for a few days. She is shocked by the discovery. The police investigation reveals that he seems to have just waste away, possible suicide. A reporter, Michael Deacon, doing an article on homelessness is tasked to interview the woman, Amanda Powell, to possibly provide a perspective for the story. She had paid for his cremation and burial and seemed to be interested in discovering more about Billy.
The beginning of the story features excerpts from a book (fictional, of course) about Unsolved Mysteries of the 20th Century, specifically about two missing men, Peter Jensen and James Streeter. What Michael Deacon begins investigating is whether these disappearances might be related to dead Billy Blake. His investigation becomes more interesting when he discovers that Amanda Powell is also Amanda Streeter.
We meet a fascinating cast of characters, including both Deacon and Amanda Blake. There is Terry a 14 year old homeless boy who lived with Billy (with a group of homeless persons) near Amanda's home who attaches himself to Deacon. There is Barry Grover, a strange reclusive employee of the same newspaper who helps Deacon with the investigation but also has his own secrets. There is Lawrence Greenhill an elderly lawyer who assists Deacon with legal issues and then there is DS Harrison who gets involved with the investigation. The characters all are well-developed and you find yourself drawn to them. And who is the mysterious lady who appears periodically in South Africa?
The story is a rich, textured tale and just so fascinating. The intricate ways Walters draws the various threads together makes it so appealing. The interactions between the characters are excellent and enhance the story. The ending was satisfying for the most part as well. I continue to enjoy Walters and I'm glad I still have stories of hers to read (4.5 stars)
The body of a drunk homeless man, Billy Blake, is discovered in the garage of a wealthy woman after he'd been in place for a few days. She is shocked by the discovery. The police investigation reveals that he seems to have just waste away, possible suicide. A reporter, Michael Deacon, doing an article on homelessness is tasked to interview the woman, Amanda Powell, to possibly provide a perspective for the story. She had paid for his cremation and burial and seemed to be interested in discovering more about Billy.
The beginning of the story features excerpts from a book (fictional, of course) about Unsolved Mysteries of the 20th Century, specifically about two missing men, Peter Jensen and James Streeter. What Michael Deacon begins investigating is whether these disappearances might be related to dead Billy Blake. His investigation becomes more interesting when he discovers that Amanda Powell is also Amanda Streeter.
We meet a fascinating cast of characters, including both Deacon and Amanda Blake. There is Terry a 14 year old homeless boy who lived with Billy (with a group of homeless persons) near Amanda's home who attaches himself to Deacon. There is Barry Grover, a strange reclusive employee of the same newspaper who helps Deacon with the investigation but also has his own secrets. There is Lawrence Greenhill an elderly lawyer who assists Deacon with legal issues and then there is DS Harrison who gets involved with the investigation. The characters all are well-developed and you find yourself drawn to them. And who is the mysterious lady who appears periodically in South Africa?
The story is a rich, textured tale and just so fascinating. The intricate ways Walters draws the various threads together makes it so appealing. The interactions between the characters are excellent and enhance the story. The ending was satisfying for the most part as well. I continue to enjoy Walters and I'm glad I still have stories of hers to read (4.5 stars)
September 8, 2023
A bit over complicated and completely implausible. I liked the characters of Deacon the reporter, Terry the homeless boy and Billy the schizophrenic. The story for me was all over the place. Amanda was weird a femme fatale who as an architect you would think she could plan ahead.
Good characterizations for several of the characters but also vague outlines of others. Still an entertaining and at times some funny dialogue.
Good characterizations for several of the characters but also vague outlines of others. Still an entertaining and at times some funny dialogue.
June 22, 2016
In my limited experience, Minette Walters's output is very up and down. The best of them (for me, so far, The Shape of Snakes, Disordered Minds and The Chameleon's Shadow) are tremendous -- just about as good as crime fiction gets -- but, on the other hand, there's, well, The Echo.
Journalist Michael Deacon is writing a story on the fates of the homeless, and his editor insists he interview Amanda Powell, a wealthy architect who, a few months ago, discovered that a homeless man, known on the street as Billy Blake, had died of malnutrition in her garage. Attracted to Amanda -- whom he soon discovers is really Amanda Streeter, whose husband James vanished a few years back under mysterious circumstances while suspected of a massive bank fraud -- Michael is soon likewise attracted to the story of Billy Blake. As he investigates further he gathers around himself an unlikely group of friends and allies. Between them they uncover old crimes and some modern brutalities.
Even Walters's least satisfying novels are generally extremely readable, and this is no exception: the pages turned like calling cards at a cathouse. At the same time, it gives the impression of being an early, unpublished work that Walters stuck in the drawer before writing The Ice House, her first published novel, then was persuaded to dig out once her career had fully kicked into gear.
(a) The worst single bit by far is that, months after Billy's death and cremation, Amanda's house begins to stink overwhelmingly of death and decay, because it's the supernatural's way of telling her to focus on her own sins. Implausible? "There are more things in heaven and earth . . ." one of the characters observed as I started to beat my head against the floor.
(b) Almost equally bad is the dialogue spoken by Terry Dalton, a young homeless person who gives Michael some help and is then offered lodgings over Christmas by the journalist (because soft-hearted journalists are always doing this kind of thing); the copious effing and blinding aside, Terry sounds like one of those working-class characters you come across in 1930s novels whose authors thought they were being affectionate in the depiction rather than drearily inauthentic and desperately patronizing -- "Coo, blimey, guv, 'e were a proper corker, strewth, wot the old Bill knew fancied anuvver man's well trouble and strife, 'e did" sort of thing. It's painful to read.
Some of the other dialogue's pretty ropy, too. Time and time again people come out with sentences or even paragraphs whose wording is that of not spoken but written English, as if the characters were citing passages from books.
(c) In places Walters seems to be trying to shock us with gratuitous profanity and smut, apparently wanting to prove she can be every bit as unsuitable for a vicarage tea party as some of her male counterparts. I'm pretty inured to cussing and scatology, gratuitous or otherwise, but here it's too often like one's pre-teen daughter trying to impress the grown-ups by scattering the conversation with four-letter words and dick jokes. As an example, one character is nabbed by the old Bill (good lord, it's infectious) while wanking (Walters's repeated term) over a photo of Amanda, so excited was he by having spied on her having sex the day before. Fair enough . . . except that the, er, wanker in question is gay.
(d) There are several digressions in the story that seem to have nothing whatsoever to do with either the plot or the creation of the characters. There's a longish section, for example, where Michael takes Terry to visit Michael's battleax old mum, who takes a real shine to the illiterate young teenager, bats not an eyelid at his effing and blinding (op cit), and has a middle-aged Irish nurse who, unsurprisingly, is called Siobhan and could talk the hind legs off a donkey, sure she could. The visit may or may not serve to heal the rifts within Michael's fractured family; by the end of the book we still don't know if they have . . . so the section's just a bridge to nowhere.
(e) The last oodle or three of pages is taken up with overlapping explanations of the underpinnings of the plot -- who killed whom, beat up whom, raped whom, committed suicide, etc., and why they did so. By the end of these explanations what I'd formerly found fairly followable -- although perhaps a paragraph or two of clarification might have been nice -- was suddenly going all opaque on me, so that now, less than an hour later, I'm wholly uncertain as to most of the motivations in the book.
There's more I could whinge about, but I won't. My purpose isn't to slam Walters or even this book but to reassure those whose first dip into her work this novel might have been, and who're consequently baffled as to what all the fuss is about, that The Echo is very much less than Walters at her best. She's a mightily talented writer; please, please persevere. This is the sort of Amazon Createspace version of Walters: highly readable, full of promise, but crying out to be smacked into proper shape.
Journalist Michael Deacon is writing a story on the fates of the homeless, and his editor insists he interview Amanda Powell, a wealthy architect who, a few months ago, discovered that a homeless man, known on the street as Billy Blake, had died of malnutrition in her garage. Attracted to Amanda -- whom he soon discovers is really Amanda Streeter, whose husband James vanished a few years back under mysterious circumstances while suspected of a massive bank fraud -- Michael is soon likewise attracted to the story of Billy Blake. As he investigates further he gathers around himself an unlikely group of friends and allies. Between them they uncover old crimes and some modern brutalities.
Even Walters's least satisfying novels are generally extremely readable, and this is no exception: the pages turned like calling cards at a cathouse. At the same time, it gives the impression of being an early, unpublished work that Walters stuck in the drawer before writing The Ice House, her first published novel, then was persuaded to dig out once her career had fully kicked into gear.
(a) The worst single bit by far is that, months after Billy's death and cremation, Amanda's house begins to stink overwhelmingly of death and decay, because it's the supernatural's way of telling her to focus on her own sins. Implausible? "There are more things in heaven and earth . . ." one of the characters observed as I started to beat my head against the floor.
(b) Almost equally bad is the dialogue spoken by Terry Dalton, a young homeless person who gives Michael some help and is then offered lodgings over Christmas by the journalist (because soft-hearted journalists are always doing this kind of thing); the copious effing and blinding aside, Terry sounds like one of those working-class characters you come across in 1930s novels whose authors thought they were being affectionate in the depiction rather than drearily inauthentic and desperately patronizing -- "Coo, blimey, guv, 'e were a proper corker, strewth, wot the old Bill knew fancied anuvver man's well trouble and strife, 'e did" sort of thing. It's painful to read.
Some of the other dialogue's pretty ropy, too. Time and time again people come out with sentences or even paragraphs whose wording is that of not spoken but written English, as if the characters were citing passages from books.
(c) In places Walters seems to be trying to shock us with gratuitous profanity and smut, apparently wanting to prove she can be every bit as unsuitable for a vicarage tea party as some of her male counterparts. I'm pretty inured to cussing and scatology, gratuitous or otherwise, but here it's too often like one's pre-teen daughter trying to impress the grown-ups by scattering the conversation with four-letter words and dick jokes. As an example, one character is nabbed by the old Bill (good lord, it's infectious) while wanking (Walters's repeated term) over a photo of Amanda, so excited was he by having spied on her having sex the day before. Fair enough . . . except that the, er, wanker in question is gay.
(d) There are several digressions in the story that seem to have nothing whatsoever to do with either the plot or the creation of the characters. There's a longish section, for example, where Michael takes Terry to visit Michael's battleax old mum, who takes a real shine to the illiterate young teenager, bats not an eyelid at his effing and blinding (op cit), and has a middle-aged Irish nurse who, unsurprisingly, is called Siobhan and could talk the hind legs off a donkey, sure she could. The visit may or may not serve to heal the rifts within Michael's fractured family; by the end of the book we still don't know if they have . . . so the section's just a bridge to nowhere.
(e) The last oodle or three of pages is taken up with overlapping explanations of the underpinnings of the plot -- who killed whom, beat up whom, raped whom, committed suicide, etc., and why they did so. By the end of these explanations what I'd formerly found fairly followable -- although perhaps a paragraph or two of clarification might have been nice -- was suddenly going all opaque on me, so that now, less than an hour later, I'm wholly uncertain as to most of the motivations in the book.
There's more I could whinge about, but I won't. My purpose isn't to slam Walters or even this book but to reassure those whose first dip into her work this novel might have been, and who're consequently baffled as to what all the fuss is about, that The Echo is very much less than Walters at her best. She's a mightily talented writer; please, please persevere. This is the sort of Amazon Createspace version of Walters: highly readable, full of promise, but crying out to be smacked into proper shape.
March 18, 2010
I found this to be interesting, but rather convoluted. A homeless man was found in a rich woman's house, dead from starvation while lying beside a full freezer. The woman seems to have no connection to the man, but a series of connections appear as the plot winds on. Some of the characters are engaging and well drawn, but others never quite develop and the reader has to keep flipping back to the front of the book to identify them. There are elements in the plot which are really good, especially when the homeless boy comes to live with the reporter, but others, like Barry, never come to any full conclusion.
The main premise of the books is suffering and repentance, but it is presented in a vague and convoluted way. The evil deed in Billy's life is hard to bring into focus and, like others, I can't figure out who the woman in South Africa was. She is like a character from a play who keeps wandering in and out of the set of an unrelated performance.
The main premise of the books is suffering and repentance, but it is presented in a vague and convoluted way. The evil deed in Billy's life is hard to bring into focus and, like others, I can't figure out who the woman in South Africa was. She is like a character from a play who keeps wandering in and out of the set of an unrelated performance.
September 4, 2018
Appreciate the complexity of the characters, the poetry quoted, and the scenes of homeless people in London. Would rate it about 3.6, which appears to be the Goodreads average. Escapist fare from the public library's shrinking large print collection.
Started several other books by author that were dnf and deleted from my GR-collection.
Started several other books by author that were dnf and deleted from my GR-collection.
September 3, 2007
Listened to the audiobook from Recorded Books
Narrated By: Simon Prebble
Best-selling author Minette Walters captivates mystery aficionados throughout the world with her evocative, multi-layered novels, which have been translated into 22 languages. In The Echo she spins a finely-wrought web of secrets and betrayals, love and guilt that entangles everyone who touches it. A homeless man has been found dead of starvation—huddled next to a food-filled freezer—in a London socialite’s garage. When journalist Michael Deacon interviews the wealthy woman, he suspects she is hiding something. His search for answers leads him on a perilous journey through unsolved crimes of the past and the shadowy world of London’s down and out. Edgar Award-winner Minette Walters grips her readers’ emotions with her ever-heightening psychological suspense. British actor Simon Prebble’s dramatic performance will keep you enthralled throughout the sinuous plot and the shattering finish.
Narrated By: Simon Prebble
Best-selling author Minette Walters captivates mystery aficionados throughout the world with her evocative, multi-layered novels, which have been translated into 22 languages. In The Echo she spins a finely-wrought web of secrets and betrayals, love and guilt that entangles everyone who touches it. A homeless man has been found dead of starvation—huddled next to a food-filled freezer—in a London socialite’s garage. When journalist Michael Deacon interviews the wealthy woman, he suspects she is hiding something. His search for answers leads him on a perilous journey through unsolved crimes of the past and the shadowy world of London’s down and out. Edgar Award-winner Minette Walters grips her readers’ emotions with her ever-heightening psychological suspense. British actor Simon Prebble’s dramatic performance will keep you enthralled throughout the sinuous plot and the shattering finish.
October 25, 2011
This is my second Walters book and while I enjoyed it, I found the conclusion a bit confusing and far fetched. Yes, I realize this is fiction but the reason for Verity's suicide made no sense to me and Peters need of redemption even less sense. I will be reading more of her books though.
November 11, 2017
Not bad, but after a while I did feel like I was covering the same ground over and over again.
July 27, 2009
Another crime novel from the prolific pen of Minette Walters. A fascinating tale of disappearances, murders (plural), and suicides, with a varied cast that runs the social gamut from multi-millionaire business men to street people. The death of a homeless man in the garage of a well-heeled woman attracts the interest of a newspaper man looking for an angle on a story about homelessness. The derelict bears an uncanny resemblance to the woman's husband, who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances some years previously. By the time the tale is finished the connections and coincidences leaves one dizzy. We always know who may have been responsible for the crimes in Ms Minette's novels, but we don't always see the perpetrator brought to justice. And that real-life twist is what keeps this reader coming back for more.
September 7, 2016
I know I have read this before but I couldn't remember any of it, which is unusual. Dealing with the issues of the expendability of the vast population of the homeless on the one hand and of Redemption (with a capital R) on the other, it is yet in some ways Walters' weakest book to date as I was over halfway through before I got hooked. There seemed to me to be a bit too much reliance on minor fortunate coincidences - and I don't believe in coincidence - but that is the closest I can come to articulating why I found it less satisfying than usual.
August 1, 2019
I’ve had quite a few people recommend this & other Walters books, but for some reason I assumed the books were more romance than mystery. I don’t know why & boy was I wrong! This was a fabulous book. It was well written with an interesting story, although I did figure out the “puzzle” before Walters revealed the answer.
January 25, 2010
The first 100 pages were a good read, then the next 200 and I was becoming a little confused. I found the whole story very convoluted and extremely far-fetched. If I read a book in which I have to keep going back to the first few pages to check up on things then it is a no-no. Confusing, contrived and who the hell was the woman in South Africa?
Sorry not a patch on some of her other work.
Sorry not a patch on some of her other work.
August 11, 2014
A really rather confusing plot but intelligently well written, leaving me glad to tag along as the hero did the journalist who just can't stop digging along with his wacky sidekicks. The sculptress by the same author was much better.
July 20, 2016
There seems to be something missing in this story of Minette Walters'.Its not really one of her best works I should say!The story is good enough but at most times one feels lost in its myriad plot lines
November 3, 2016
Awesome book! A pleasant surprise for me as I've not read anything by Minette Walters prior to it and this book had me going from the get-go. I loved how she takes some pretty rag-tag characters and really makes you like them as the story progresses. Great story and great writing!
March 7, 2022
The Echo, is the only novel I’ve read from Minette Walters, and while I never found it earth-shattering, I did find it relatively enjoyable. It was an exciting read, fast-paced and I really did want to know what happened next. Overall, it was just good for me.
July 3, 2014
Not my favorite Minette Walters, but a goo dstory none-the-less.
October 16, 2021
I'd say about 3.5 stars but I did find parts of it confusing, but maybe that's just me.
They characters were well done and the descriptive passages.
I'd definitely read more of this author.
They characters were well done and the descriptive passages.
I'd definitely read more of this author.
January 5, 2021
Η Minette Walters είναι η αγαπημένη μου απο γυναίκες συγγραφείς αστυνομικών μυθιστορημάτων.
Σε αυτό της το βιβλίο ωστόσο, κάπως με απογοήτευσε. Ή καλύτερα, δεν με ικανοποίησε οπως είχα συνηθίσει.
Η ιστορία ξεκινάει με αρκετό ενδιαφέρον και θα έλεγα με ασυνήθιστο τρόπο. Ως συνήθως, η συγγραφέας καταπιάνεται με οικογενειακά, απλα φαινομενικά ζητήματα και τα μετατρέπει σε εγκλήματα με αριστοτεχνικό τρόπο. Παρόλα αυτά, εδώ νιώθω οτι η ιστορία έγινε λίγο φλύαρη χωρίς ιδιαιτερο λόγο. Υπήρχαν σημεία που αναλύθηκαν υπερβολικά άνευ λόγου, ενώ δεν συνδέονταν με κάποιο συμπέρασμα ούτε έδιναν τροφή για σκέψη.
Βεβαια, η γραφή ειναι για άλλη μια φορά εξαιρετική, συνθέτει δυνατούς χαρακτήρες και δεν κουράζει με τον τρόπο αφήγησης. Απλώς, θεωρώ οτι έλειπε το αίσθημα μυστηρίου που υπάρχει και στα άλλα βιβλία της, λόγω της φλυαρίας σε αρκετά μέρη του βιβλίου κατά την γνώμη μου. Σίγουρα, πάντως, δεν πρόκειται για χάσιμο χρόνου, αλλά ίσως για ένα βιβλίο που απευθύνεται περισσότερο στους φαν της.
Σε αυτό της το βιβλίο ωστόσο, κάπως με απογοήτευσε. Ή καλύτερα, δεν με ικανοποίησε οπως είχα συνηθίσει.
Η ιστορία ξεκινάει με αρκετό ενδιαφέρον και θα έλεγα με ασυνήθιστο τρόπο. Ως συνήθως, η συγγραφέας καταπιάνεται με οικογενειακά, απλα φαινομενικά ζητήματα και τα μετατρέπει σε εγκλήματα με αριστοτεχνικό τρόπο. Παρόλα αυτά, εδώ νιώθω οτι η ιστορία έγινε λίγο φλύαρη χωρίς ιδιαιτερο λόγο. Υπήρχαν σημεία που αναλύθηκαν υπερβολικά άνευ λόγου, ενώ δεν συνδέονταν με κάποιο συμπέρασμα ούτε έδιναν τροφή για σκέψη.
Βεβαια, η γραφή ειναι για άλλη μια φορά εξαιρετική, συνθέτει δυνατούς χαρακτήρες και δεν κουράζει με τον τρόπο αφήγησης. Απλώς, θεωρώ οτι έλειπε το αίσθημα μυστηρίου που υπάρχει και στα άλλα βιβλία της, λόγω της φλυαρίας σε αρκετά μέρη του βιβλίου κατά την γνώμη μου. Σίγουρα, πάντως, δεν πρόκειται για χάσιμο χρόνου, αλλά ίσως για ένα βιβλίο που απευθύνεται περισσότερο στους φαν της.
November 28, 2024
She’s great at this!
December 26, 2012
A homeless man, Billy Blake, dies of starvation in the garage of a wealthy architect, Amanda Powell. The location could have been an accident but a journalist, Michael Deacon, wonders if there was more to it than that. He sets about trying to figure out a) what lead to Blake’s death b) and what lead to it in that particular location. While researching his life as a vagrant, Deacon meets a young boy of fourteen who knew him better than anyone else in the months before he died. He eventually succeeds in piecing together the past not only of Blake but also of Amanda Powell and the connections between them.
The author has a habit of creating documentation to support her narrative, ranging from newspaper articles to letters. These have the effect of shedding light on events but also of slowing the pace at which the story unfolds. In this title, after the usual narrative beginning, the reader is faced with many pages of newspaper articles. They are relevant to the plot, but also deal with people we have not yet met and people we will never meet. The result is a sudden drop in dramatic immediacy. You start your journey at a reasonable pace and before you know it elderly vicars are overtaking you on bicycles.
The young lad Deacon meets, Terry, as described by the author, is a combination of native intelligence failed by inadequate education. (Deacon sets himself the task of teaching him to read). Some of their conversations strain credulity to breaking point, one example being their joint exegesis of poems by William Blake. While this is not impossible, I didn’t believe a word of it. And why were they doing this in the first place? Because Billy (William) Blake was not the dead man’s real name.
The plot of this book is complicated, and keeping track of a complicated plot isn’t easy when we never meet certain characters at all and others change their names.
The author has a habit of creating documentation to support her narrative, ranging from newspaper articles to letters. These have the effect of shedding light on events but also of slowing the pace at which the story unfolds. In this title, after the usual narrative beginning, the reader is faced with many pages of newspaper articles. They are relevant to the plot, but also deal with people we have not yet met and people we will never meet. The result is a sudden drop in dramatic immediacy. You start your journey at a reasonable pace and before you know it elderly vicars are overtaking you on bicycles.
The young lad Deacon meets, Terry, as described by the author, is a combination of native intelligence failed by inadequate education. (Deacon sets himself the task of teaching him to read). Some of their conversations strain credulity to breaking point, one example being their joint exegesis of poems by William Blake. While this is not impossible, I didn’t believe a word of it. And why were they doing this in the first place? Because Billy (William) Blake was not the dead man’s real name.
The plot of this book is complicated, and keeping track of a complicated plot isn’t easy when we never meet certain characters at all and others change their names.
December 9, 2012
After a recommendation from a friend, this is the firdt Minette Walters book I have read but I think this is the start of many more to come.
'The Echo' follows a small time journalist, Michael Deacon, as he looks into the issue of homelessness for the political paper he writes for. When looking at the death of a homeless man, who died of starvation in a local womans garage, Deacon uncovers more than he bargained for, and solves the mystery of the disappearance of two missing men from many years ago.
There were two main qualities of this novel. The first is the plot, which is full of mystery and intrigue from the outset. There are continual questions about who the homeless man really was, how his life came to such a tragic end and what his motivations were during his life. Walters leads the reader down many paths before pulling the mystery together brilliantly during the last few chapters.
Secondly, the characters that Walters creates are imediately interesting and have you asking questions about them and wanting to know what happens next. There's Deacon himself who seems to take on various personas throughout the novel, being determined reporter, wannabe detective, fatherfigure to a 14 year old homeless boy, and unsuccessful husband and son. The characters that Deacon interacts with throughout the novel bring to life all of his different sides with real ease and create a really interesting central figure that you really want to read about.
I also liked Walters style in that there were various snippets of newspaper articles and diary entries which break up the text and add some interest to the page.
I will be searching out other Walters novels having read this one as as a fan of crime fiction, I am irritated that I have deprived myself of her writing for so long!
'The Echo' follows a small time journalist, Michael Deacon, as he looks into the issue of homelessness for the political paper he writes for. When looking at the death of a homeless man, who died of starvation in a local womans garage, Deacon uncovers more than he bargained for, and solves the mystery of the disappearance of two missing men from many years ago.
There were two main qualities of this novel. The first is the plot, which is full of mystery and intrigue from the outset. There are continual questions about who the homeless man really was, how his life came to such a tragic end and what his motivations were during his life. Walters leads the reader down many paths before pulling the mystery together brilliantly during the last few chapters.
Secondly, the characters that Walters creates are imediately interesting and have you asking questions about them and wanting to know what happens next. There's Deacon himself who seems to take on various personas throughout the novel, being determined reporter, wannabe detective, fatherfigure to a 14 year old homeless boy, and unsuccessful husband and son. The characters that Deacon interacts with throughout the novel bring to life all of his different sides with real ease and create a really interesting central figure that you really want to read about.
I also liked Walters style in that there were various snippets of newspaper articles and diary entries which break up the text and add some interest to the page.
I will be searching out other Walters novels having read this one as as a fan of crime fiction, I am irritated that I have deprived myself of her writing for so long!
February 24, 2017
Amanda Powell, a woman apparently abandoned by her husband after his embezzlement of millions of pounds, finds a derelict dead from starvation in her garage. Known as Billy Blake to the police, the derelict is a fixture among the homeless. A journalist, Michael Deacon, investigates as part of a story he's working on about the homeless, but his interest is piqued when he learns that Mrs. Powell pays for the man's cremation and is trying to learn more about him. Deacon's own investigations lead him to the warehouse where Billy Blake lived with other homeless, including Terry, a young teen who knew him well.The problem is, no one knows who Billy Blake really is and why he would want to die in Mrs. Powell's garage.
Deacon's investigations turn up several possible identities for Billy Blake, including Mrs. Powell's missing husband, but none seem to fit. Deacon seeks the help of Barry Grover, head of photography at the newspaper where both men work, but even Barry doesn't seem to be able to identify Billy Blake.
Walters is skilled at taking a fairly straightforward story and twisting it in a dozen different directions, and this novel is no exception. In this instance she uses documents and news reports to fill in certain steps in the plot line, and overall the story is satisfying. I wasn't entirely convinced of the motives behind the man who presented himself as Billy Blake, but overall this is a compelling read written in Walters's enthralling style.
Deacon's investigations turn up several possible identities for Billy Blake, including Mrs. Powell's missing husband, but none seem to fit. Deacon seeks the help of Barry Grover, head of photography at the newspaper where both men work, but even Barry doesn't seem to be able to identify Billy Blake.
Walters is skilled at taking a fairly straightforward story and twisting it in a dozen different directions, and this novel is no exception. In this instance she uses documents and news reports to fill in certain steps in the plot line, and overall the story is satisfying. I wasn't entirely convinced of the motives behind the man who presented himself as Billy Blake, but overall this is a compelling read written in Walters's enthralling style.
May 3, 2021
Always a problem when I wait too long to write about a book. What I remember about this one:
Billy, long time homeless, is found dead inside the garage of a woman who denies knowing him. Just found a place to get out of the weather and died there. As the police investigate, however, they find more complications than were originally apparent.
As with many other of her books, Walters makes use of newspaper articles and other documents to fill in blanks, but they don't constitute a large part of the book. It's a complex story with many interesting characters.
Billy, long time homeless, is found dead inside the garage of a woman who denies knowing him. Just found a place to get out of the weather and died there. As the police investigate, however, they find more complications than were originally apparent.
As with many other of her books, Walters makes use of newspaper articles and other documents to fill in blanks, but they don't constitute a large part of the book. It's a complex story with many interesting characters.
March 13, 2017
konnte mich von der Thematik leider nicht überzeugen
October 14, 2019
Read this back in 1997 when it first came out. My comments at the time were:
Not quite up to the standard of her earlier titles, (as The Dark Room wasn’t, when you went back and read the early ones), though intriguing, as always. Just a touch too complicated at times – extracts from newspapers and police reports and pathologists’ reports and so on. Good characterizations though, as ever, and interesting people – though perhaps it was difficult to be totally comfortable with the main character, a reporter.
Not quite up to the standard of her earlier titles, (as The Dark Room wasn’t, when you went back and read the early ones), though intriguing, as always. Just a touch too complicated at times – extracts from newspapers and police reports and pathologists’ reports and so on. Good characterizations though, as ever, and interesting people – though perhaps it was difficult to be totally comfortable with the main character, a reporter.
September 5, 2021
Endlich fertig! Also die Geschichte ansich ist generell eine gute idee aber für mich war es sehr verwirrend und langweilig geschrieben. Die Auflösung war auch nicht rund abgeschlossen, ich nehme durch das Buch mit : das ich ein Buch abbrechen werde wenn es mich ab Seite 100 immer noch nicht packt und quäle mich nicht durch die restlichen 300 Seiten um dann zur selben Erkenntnis zu kommen. NICHTS FÜR MICH!
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