Customer Reviews

Echoes of the Dead: A Supernatural Thriller

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I would slot this into the horror genre more than the supernatural. It reminded me of S.Kings short stories, which I find slightly more haunting than his longer work. The concept is perfect for a movie, which I would never go and see, because I choose not to live in permanent fear that a psycho killer or haunted house is going to do away with me. When people start going missing in a house that is in the middle of nowhere you just know it isn't going to end well. It was a creepy read that managed to stay interesting without cutting any heads off or boiling any bunnies.

With the Hollywood cameras running, the cast in this novel seeks to recreate aspects of an eerie tragedy that occurred at the same isolated farmhouse years ago. Shrouded in mystery, the script writers pretend to have found meanings for both the death and the disappearance which occurred in the prior event.

Unanticipated, however, the farmhouse itself lives and breathes, and not in a metaphoric sense. It has its own unique plans for how to revisit the events of the past. Those plans don't bode well for the cast. But, perhaps, if they combine their varied talents and lessons from their prior life experiences, they will make it through and ultimately get out.

Then again . . . maybe just some of them

If you like a creepy tale of things that go bump in the night, this story will be ideal for you. The tension between the believable characters is so thick that you could cut it with a knife -- a very sharp and bloody knife. Some people don't enjoy being filled up with dread, horror, and fear, so if Disney films or their literary equivalent are your thing, stay away. In fact, run away. But as someone who enjoys staring deep into the abyss, I was mesmerized by this story, chock-full of scenes of the type which you both can't bear to look at, and yet you can't look away -- like that glimpse of a black burning hulk, and that puddle of glass shards and blood on the side of the highway at night.

Creepy, scary, page turner. If you're looking for a trite Twilighty read, this is not it. Echoes kept me up and flipping pages even though I was getting more scared with each passing page. The characters and plot development are fast and furious until the final haunting moment. If you want a good scary read, buy this book and a nightlight.

The book opens with a story of the past, when a group of friends come upon an abandoned house. All of a sudden one of the friends disappears and the story continues 5 years later. The group reunites to come face to face with the nightmare that has been haunting them every day. You will be on the edge of your seat as you explore the pages and secrets of the house. The book is a mind-blowing and perplexing maze of secrets.

A solid mix of haunted house and haunted mind. Keeps you reading because you are so unsure of what will happen and the lead character, Kelsey, is clearly an accident waiting to happen. If you are like me and not unduly excited about haunted pasts, you still will like this one where either the house you live in or someone you know is driving you crazy. A strong female heroine. Haunting read. Movie material.

This is a creepy read, but not overtly gory or bloody. Think haunting and atmospheric more than shock-horror.

Nothing is what is seems in the house: rooms change shape, wallpaper morphs, characters have false memories and even find different items in several rooms. The reader can't be sure if these changes are real or in the characters' heads. There are moments where the book reminded me, quite loosely, of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting. Kelsey is the central character and we follow her through most of the story. Her self-dialogue is unsure and self-doubting, but solidifies as she becomes more and more aware of what she must do to save her friends.

Not all the questions are tied in neat little packages by the end of the book, but I like my books that way. I'm still wondering if the house was haunted or the characters themselves.

Maybe a little of both.

A few characters could have used a little more development, so I'm calling this one 4.5/5 stars.