Death Echo [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Lowell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 8, 2010

New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell cuts a new edge in suspense with a thrilling tale of passion and international intrigue.

Emma Cross abandoned the blood, guilt, and tribal wars of CIA life for the elite security consulting firm St. Kilda's. Now she's tracking the yacht Blackbird, believed to be carrying a lethal cargo that will destroy a major American city . . . in just seven days.

Emma's partner, MacKenzie Durand—a former special ops killer well-honed in the world's nastiest regions—is more dangerous and unpredictable than the worst enemy she's ever faced. And other eyes are watching Blackbird as well—cold and calculating, looking to alter the geopolitical balance through violence and terror.

In a deadly game where the rules change without warning, Emma and Mac must find answers or watch the innocent die in unthinkable numbers. The race is on—and there's no telling who will cross the finish line alive . . .

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Lowell's well-crafted fifth St. Kilda Consulting thriller (after Blue Smoke and Murder), Manhattan operative Emma Cross travels to Seattle, Wash., where Blackbird, a yacht purported to contain enough explosives to destroy a major U.S. city, is being offloaded from a container ship. Posing as the representative of a buyer interested in the yacht, Emma connects with MacKenzie Mac Durand, Blackbird's transit captain, who's supposed to deliver the boat to a commissioning yard in the San Juan Islands. Emma and Mac, who has a background in special ops, wind up becoming unlikely allies on a dangerous sea journey in which they find themselves succumbing to their mutual attraction. Forced into a high stakes encounter with a pair of Russian spies, they come to realize that the scope of their mission is much greater than they at first assumed. Lowell's primary focus on espionage rather than on romance is a major change from earlier novels, albeit a pleasing one. (June)
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From Booklist

A couple of missing yachts is not a case that would ordinarily involve the private security firm of St. Kilda Consulting. But when an identical double of one of the yachts turns up—and a high-placed U.S. government official believes there is a connection to an upcoming terrorist plot—it does become St. Kilda's latest assignment. Which is how Emma Cross, former CIA agent and current St. Kilda operative, finds herself in Seattle trying to finesse her way past transit captain MacKenzie Durand and get onboard the Blackbird. With the clock ticking, Emma doesn't have time to deal with a cranky, yet incredibly sexy, captain, but fortunately it doesn't take much to convince Mac to become St. Kilda's newest employee. Working together isn't going to be easy for Emma and Mac, and once desire is injected into the equation, their mission becomes even more volatile and urgent. The latest thrilling addition to Lowell's St. Kilda series is another white-knuckle, adrenaline-drenched tale of danger and desire from one of the true masters of romantic suspense. --John Charles

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1 edition (June 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061629758
• ISBN-13: 978-0061629754
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #499,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

NEW YORK TIMES Bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell has numerous historical and contemporary novels in print, including her four-book series of suspense novels featuring the unforgettable Donovan family--AMBER BEACH, JADE ISLAND, PEARL COVE and MIDNIGHT IN RUBY BAYOU. Ms. Lowell's current release, DEATH ECHO, is Book 5 in her St. Kilda Consulting series and features twin yachts, international gangsters, and plenty of romantic-suspense. There are more than thirty million Elizabeth Lowell books currently in print. Ms. Lowell lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but predictable, May 9, 2010

By 

bijou2311 "bijou2311" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Death Echo (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

I will give a very short review of the story, because the synopsis Amazon has is actually pretty decent. This is another one of Lowell's St. Kilda books, and it is similar to her others. This book finds Emma Cross, a former CIA agent partnering with Mac Durand, who led Special Ops missions for the military. Emma must convince Mac she and St. Kilda are the good guys, to prevent a terrorist attack on US soil. Oh, and they have seven days to do convince Mac and stop the attack and are not getting much help from government agencies.

First, what I liked about the book - I liked both Emma and Mac. They are strong characters who don't feel the need (or perhaps just don't have the time) to try and one up each other as you sometimes see in books like this. Both Emma and Mac are very capable and know their limits. They are interesting characters. If you have read and liked other Lowell books, you know her writing style can pull you into the most boring book - which this definitely wasn't. It was pretty fast paced, especially with the time restraints. It was an exciting book that kept you entertained and anxious to find out what would happen next.

What I didn't like was the short period this book took place in. Seven days seemed way too short for all that happened. It also made everything feel sort of rushed - which I guess was the point. However, I felt it took away from the story. We also didn't get as much background on Emma and Mac as I might have liked. The seven days also made their attraction to each other seem much more like a reaction to the high stress situation and all the adrenaline than actually feelings for each other. Because of this, the book wasn't one of my favorites by this author. I normally re-read books, but I don't think I will be re-reading this one anytime soon - not with all the new releases coming out soon.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to Lowell fans, just don't expect it to be her best. It is an entertaining read for someone who is looking for a fast paced thrill and doesn't mind a bit of chemistry between the two main characters. Definitely a good book to read at the beach, by the pool or on a plane.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Predictable, May 20, 2010

By 

feysidhe "feysidhe" (Mount Kisco, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Death Echo (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Once upon a time, Elizabeth Lowell was an automatic buy for me. I still like her better than many other romantic suspense authors out there, but this is definitely not her best. The story is fairly basic (ie: not a lot happens), but that's okay. Not a lot *has* to happen if the characters and tension keep readers involved.

Unfortunately, that can't happen in this book because Lowell completely overwhelms readers with details. All those details get in the way of either identifying with the characters or feeling the suspense. The majority of the story takes place on a boat, and all the descriptions of the boat and the terminology and the way things work on boats...it created a major distance between the reader and the story.

This isn't an awful book by any means, but it's not great, either. It's a mediocre effort by a writer who can--and has--done better.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Where has Elizabeth gone..., June 18, 2010

By 

JAC "JAC" (Hanover Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death Echo (Hardcover)

hopefully not the same place as Judith McNaught, Julie Garwood and Linda Howard... all of these ladies seem to have forgotten what brought them to the party!! I guess it just too much to expect them to sustain the quality of their earlier works forever.

Well, that's OK because nothing lasts forever and, I have their earlier works and I'll just keep reading them over & over.

As to Death Echo, I really had trouble finsihing it and, I can't believe anyone could actually read it twice! I was numb from all the boat BS, it was just boring.

What little romance there was in the story was almost embarrassingly bad, had no passion, just blah,

Sorry, JMHO. I know everyone has to judge for themself but I would recommend saving your money and checking it out at the library.