Marta Perry does it again in this chilling story. Deidre Morris is fighting her powerful father-in-law to remain in her home with her young son. When her best friend is murdered while babysitting, and her son is seriously injured, she fears that Judge Morris finally has the ammunition he needs to take her son away.

Jase Glassman takes a job in Judge Morris' legal firm. On the surface, he's filling the position vacated when the judge's son, Deidre's husband, committed suicide, but the judge really hired him to get close to Deidre and find dirt on her that he can use to get custody of his grandson. The closer Jase gets to Deidre, though, the less he likes that aspect of the job. Instead of a money-hungry, loose woman, he finds a dedicated mother who would do anything to protect her son. He finds more to admire than to trash in her reputation, and when attempts are made on her life, he knows that he needs to do what he can to protect her. Will she still want him to when she finds out why the judge hired him?

I like books that take me by surprise and this one certainly did that. I was coming to the end of the book and still had several suspects, and that doesn't always happen. I enjoyed this one, and I especially enjoyed listening to the audio version. I definitely recommend!

I've enjoyed earlier stories by Marta Perry, and this one was one of her finest!

<http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=64229>

I enjoyed reading this book. I liked the relationship between Deidre and her friend, Judith. The ending did not come as a surprise, it seemed that there was only one person who could be guilty. The pacing seemed slow as far as the mystery was concerned.

Let me start by stating that I'm a huge fan of Marta Perry's Amish series, and when I saw that she was writing a new non-Amish series, was eager to read the first novel in the series, but while it was well-written, I wasn't head-over heels for it, and could only give it 3.5 stars.

The plot is pretty simple and straightforward, Deidre Morris was widowed one year ago. She's still not over her late husband, Frank, and is now caring for her 5-year-old son, Kevin, alone. Her late husband was a lawyer who worked for his father, Judge Franklin Morris, a tough, rigid and controlling man, and now that his son is gone, he's been trying to get Deirdre and her son to move from her family home to his mansion on a hill, where he lives with his alcoholic wife, Sylvia, and where her late husband was poorly raised, never able to meet his own father's expectations. Deirdre has refused, but that doesn't stop the judge from trying to manipulate matters. The judge's latest attempt is his hiring of Jason, an attorney, to replace his late son at his law firm. There's one caveat to Jason's hiring, the judge expects him to find enough dirt on Deirdre to ensure that he'd win a custody fight for his grandson.

One evening, while Deirdre was attending a meeting, she comes home to find her friend and babysitter, Dixie, dead in her living room, and Kevin unconscious on the stairs. Kevin is comatose, and when he eventually wakes, has no memory of the events leading to Dixie's death, and the search for her killer and threats to Deirdre's life form the background of this novel.

Since this novel was listed on Netgalley as romantic suspense, I expected much more romance than murder mystery, and more possible suspects than were given by Ms. Perry. As whodunits go, the murderer was obvious from the get-go, as for suspense it was mild at best considering the rather small cast of possible suspects, and, as a romance, there wasn't much of that either. What I liked best about the novel, oddly enough, was Deirdre's next-door neighbor and close friend, Judith, an Amish woman who is Deirdre's internet business partner, and mother to Kevin's friend Benjamin.

While I cannot fault Ms. Perry's writing skills--she has them in spades, this novel just didn't measure up to her previous, excellent and suspenseful Amish mysteries, either in plot, character development or suspense. I sincerely hope to see more of the aforementioned in the next novel in this series.

I read and reviewed an advance reader copy of this novel and received no compensation for doing so. The opinions expressed are my own.

RATING: 3 STARS

Deidre Morris's husband died over a year ago but her father-in-law, Franklin still insists she and her young son should move in with him and his wife. Knowing how her late husband felt about his childhood and parents, Deidre keeps resisting. Franklin hires a new lawyer and recruits him to get close to her. As Jason gets close to the widow, he does not see a bad mother or wife, but a woman he could fall for. When Deidre's son, Kevin is found at the bottom of the stairs and his babysitter murdered, Deidre has a new threat in her life.

I have wanted to try a Marta Perry novel for awhile now. She is know for her Amish fiction, and was happy to see this romantic suspense on NetGalley. This is the first book in a trilogy set in a small town called Echo Falls. One of my favourite suspense series, Kate Burkholder by Linda Castillo is also set among the Amish. Castillo's series is gritty and very informative about the Amish culture. In this book, the romance and suspense is very mild. It is more a cozy mystery with a side of romance. There is a bit of Amish culture, but it is just background thing rather than a character like in Castillo's books. While the mystery is not that tight, as the identity does not really seem hidden, I did enjoy the small-town and hope that the second book will get a bit better.

3 1/2 stars
Echo of Danger starts of with a strong mystery that gets bogged down in little details that do not push the story forward. Readers might get a little lost in the customs of the Amish community and traditions that are themed throughout the book.

The story has a slow and stead build that might take readers while to get really into the guts of the story. While the author is able to use words to paint a picture of a small town Marta Perry will get a little too wordy that distracts from the story as well as the build of the mystery.

Echo of Danger is a sweet romance mixed in with a mystery that readers will enjoy.
Lazy day summer read

Advance Copy from Netgalley

Why would someone want to kill her best friend, this is what Deidre has to find out, when her son is injured, and we don’t know who would want to hurt them.
From the beginning to the end we are waiting to see who is the murderer, and again who is breaking into the house, and making attempts on their lives.
We are in Amish Pennsylvania and although Deidre isn’t Amish lots of her relatives are, and I loved how Kevin, her 5-year-old son, and his cousin Ben, who doesn’t yet speak English, converse and play together.
We follow along in this nail-biting story but are able to enjoy the picturesque scenery around us; I could almost feel the mist from the falls. While the place is beautiful, there also seems to be danger lurking, but why.
When we find out the details, they are so very heart breaking, but I never saw all of it coming. A real page turner of a story, and can’t wait for the next book in this series.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Harlequin, and was not required to give a positive review.

A vastly entertaining romance novel that has the perfect name since throughout the story there is the echo of danger that you can sense and the lurking threat that can give you chills.
I really enjoyed the Amish neighbors, their customs, they culture, their language or should I say a way to speak with that tinted dutch accent (or at least I read in my mind every dialog with them with that accent!). There was a peaceful and harmonious co-existence with the English and the Amis that spoke to my heart. For some reason, I found it a beautiful way to live.
All the characters were drawn with an intense and sharp pen. They were charming and engaging, each of them demanding attention when present in the scene.
Deidre Morris was a delightful heroine. No matter what the rumors are, she is a kind-hearted, capable, gracious woman, a great mother, and a good friend. She is one of those characters that you immediately click with, and find the common ground, could even be friends with in real life.
Jase Glassman had grown up in a rough environment and had recently experienced the ultimate betrayal of a loved one. His life is in shambles as he moves to the small town, trying to find his footing again. He is thankful for the chance to still be a lawyer when his new employer asks him an odd favor.
I liked Jase. He didn't deserve the devastation he was delivered to. He had a good heart, he is kind to strangers and small children, he has good and simple morals and values, only if he could be honest about his intentions.
I liked how the plot was built, how the romance advanced. It was a slow road to the first kiss, not to mention to any declaration of feelings. The whole romance is clean and sweet with no more than kissing between the hero and heroine. The novel had a focus on the life and living around the town, with the constant small attacks towards Deidre and Jase, and the odd things happening around them. I liked how Deidre's son and Jase were building a relationship as well, and the team the three formed as the story moved on.
Echo of Danger is a mix of tender romance, small town living, and a murder investigation, with constant malice towards the characters that brings tension and strain to the tale and draws the main characters even closer together. A great summer read!
~ Four Spoons

Marta Perry always writes a wonderful mystery. Likable characters and wonderful settings. She does a wonderful job of showing the Amish way of life

Jason Glassman has taken a job as an attorney in Echo Falls after he was betrayed by his fiance and almost disbarred because of what she did. When his new boss - Judge Morris - asks him to get close to his daughter-in-law and try to find out if she is a fit mother to his grandson, Jason agrees. But getting to know Deidre Morris shows him a woman far different than the picture the judge painted of her.

At their first encounter, he sees her home and they discover the body of her friend who was babysitting for five-year-old Kevin who has also been badly injured. Kevin doesn't remember anything about what happened. His last memory is of earlier that day. But someone is afraid that Kevin will remember.

Deidre wants to know what happened to her friend Dixie and she wants her small son to be safe. Jason spends time with Deidre and Kevin during this difficult time and begins to care for her. He becomes more and more convinced that the judge's suspicions are baseless.

Meanwhile the judge is keeping the pressure on Deidre to move Kevin and her to his cold, formal home. Deidre is reluctant because she knows what pressure he put on his son and doesn't want to subject her son to it. But the judge is a powerful man in the small town and it is hard for Deidre to go against him.

I enjoyed the setting of this story and the strong relationships. Deidre has a good support system among her Amish cousins. I also liked the way the relationship between Jason and Deidre grew slowly. This was a very nice romantic suspense story.