Customer Reviews

Death Echo

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I like EL's books but this one is definitely a disappointment. My eyes are crossing over all the yacht and boat terminology, how to neatly stow a line of rope, how the navigational equipment works, docking a boat, it goes on and on. A touch of yachting terminology to set the scene is fine, but half the book is how to work the boat. You could use the book as a beginner's text for yachting.

Characters are poorly developed and they don't pull you into the story. The cardboard romance feels as if it was thrown in so it could be categorized romantic suspense, which leads me to say there really is no suspense. Supposedly the world is about to have some horrible disaster visit it if they don't get this yacht somewhere but everything is so vague and implausible, nothing makes sense. I wasn't able to suspend my disbelief on this one. The political background is typical EL Pacific Rim/Russian bad guys and it is getting old.

I am only halfway through it on my Kindle and can barely wait to just be done with it. I am skimming at this point. Don't waste your money on this one. Hopefully Elizabeth Lowell will write an interesting story with developed characters instead of a textbook next time.

This is not a romance novel, this is a romantic suspense novel. I wanted to knock points off Death Echo for failing to be a romance before I realized that wasn't really fair. Death Echo doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is. Judged on those merits, it excels. Despite setting up a very short time frame (a week), an almost excessive number of players (you need a cluster for a - well, you get the idea), a high level of information dumping (all about luxury yachts and the operation of them) Lowell delivers a tale with real suspense. There might not be any doubt that St. Kilda's team will prevail, but there is plenty of doubt about how. Death Echo reads like a Bond movie and it requires the same suspension of disbelief as governments creak into action and resources appear seemingly without restrictions. However, the abilities and motivations of Emma and Mac easily pass the plausibility test.

Where I might fault Death Echo is in character development. Emma and Max meet each other, like each other, and get on with the adventure. There's not going to be any soul searching going on here. They've got a week and they've got a lot to do so there's no time for angst. Also, the humanizing of Joe Faroe via a small child with a teething cookie goes on far too long (The side character is a family man. Got it. One day our hero could be just like him! Got it. Faroe is gruff but he loves kids! OK! Let's move on!) while hints at the history of St. Kilda's wheelchair bound leader are scattered lightly about without any resolution.

Overall, I really enjoyed Death Echo. I found myself annoyed when I had to set it down to attend to my actual life. I'd love to see a film version of this book. There's just something very Big Screen about it.

Lowell USED to be an automatic buy for me, I was happy with her romance novels, now that she's entrenched in romantic suspense I have become less and less enamored of her work. This is another St. Kilda consulting thriller with Grace, the former judge and husband Faroe having major parts. The books hero, Mac, and heroine, Emma, are former military and CIA agents respectively. Both have become very disenchanted, to say the least, with working for the government. Mac handles boats and Emma, now working for St. Kilda, has been investigating the disappearances of yachts. The romance in Lowell's thrillers is very formulaic and not the main drive of the story. Though it takes place around the San Juan Islands don't expect another Love Song for Raven. If you are happy with espionage (I got bored and started skipping large chunks) and are happy with a quick read (the action takes place over a week) and like to learn about boats, fuel, lines, diesel fuel, docking etc. this might be the book for you. Lowell's quippy dialogue is still here in spades and it's what kept me reading the book. Emma is strong, resourceful, and bad ass. Mac, tortured by scenes from Afghanistan, squashes his flashbacks and gets on with his life.
I suppose I like some of Lowell's earlier books better because they are more character studies, and also deal a bit with the landscape. Here it's all about the boat and the characters are rather cardboard.

Elizabeth Lowell used to be a reliable romance read. The Donovan series of books were a nice combination of romance and thriller but this book is all thriller and no romance or even a pretense of it. To make matters worse, its not even a good thriller. Its boring.

The characters are flat. The romance is not romantic. The book goes on (and on and on) and yet never really draws you in.

Sometimes it seems that Elizabeth Lowell is aspiring to be Nora Roberts. She just doesn't write a Nora Roberts book as well as NR does. She should go back to writing Elizabeth Lowell styled books.

This is the last time I buy an Elizabeth Lowell book simply by observing a new title is available.

Bottom line..this book is a big disappointment. Save your money.

It started out ok and then quickly went down hill. Neither the characters, the plot, nor the plot development were worth my time or money.

A former CIA agent, and a mighty effective one, Emma Cross had enough of hair breadth escapes. So, she joined St. Kilda's Consulting believing some private investigating would be a piece of cake. Readers of the mega best selling Elizabeth Lowell know that's never going to happen.

We find Emma gripping "the round chromed bars of the pitching Zodiac's radar bridge..." Zodiac is a small rubber craft tossing its way across Puget Sound as she tracks Blackbird, a yacht which is a twin of another ship that disappeared. Whatever Blackbird's cargo may be it is lethal, and Emma has all of one week, seven days, to find out exactly what it is or there will be unprecedented mass destruction.

She's paired with Mac Durand who once led a special ops team in Afghanistan only to see it lost thanks to bad intelligence. That was a lifetime ago and now Mac captains boats. Only one mention of his "dark eyes" by Emma and we know they'll be more than assigned partners....and often. Romance aside others are watching Blackbird - among them is Taras Demidov who notes the difference between Russians and Americans by thinking "Russia accepted a world of good and evil. Americans believed only in good." Demidov is evil incarnate, and his belief might be his undoing.

As is her wont Lowell's plot moves swiftly but for this reader it is sometimes hindered by a cast of characters that is hard to keep straight - just who is a friend and who is an enemy? We read, "Too many agencies. Too many secrets. Too little real cooperation, because budgets depend on delivering departmental success stories." It would seem if the threat is ultra dangerous that the FBI would cooperate with the CIA and vice versa.

Nonetheless DEATH ECHO is as fresh as today's news with its focus on transnational crime - a world without borders. There's a wealth of description re living aboard and crossing dangerous waters in a 42 foot boat plus ultimately a satisfying finish. Lowell fans will relish this journey.

- Gail Cooke

Elizabeth Lowell has always been one of my favorites but apparently she thought by making the female lead talk tough and trashy she might appeal to tough male readers. Smart, sexy banter makes a book interesting and fun...but not low class trashy talk.
I was determined to finish the book...and was happy when I finally did.