If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the Echo Man, as he is dubbed in this debut novel by Sam Holland, really admires some of the most famous serial killers of the modern age. This suspenseful ride through a quest to nab whoever is killing people all across London follows Jess, a beautiful widow who is unable to experience pain, as she is somehow drawn into the world of terror gripping the city and its surrounding environs. Complicating matters is her relationship with a cop, also a widow, as he lost his wife to that same killer. If you are squeamish and unable to make it through lines of gory descriptions of death, rape and bondage, you may want to skim past a few pages. But if you are fan of suspenseful thrillers, this is a great read.

Trigger Warning: Graphic violence

This was far more intense and graphic than I expected based on the summary. There's also a large number of POVs, some with similar names, which was a bit confusing at times. I never really felt a connection to any of them. Lots of descriptions, but they kept me at a distance. It could've benefitted from a tighter edit, as it was long, and not all of it relevant. The plot twist at the end with the killer's reveal was a plus, even though I had already figured things out.

Warning, if you can’t handle demented, dark, brutal, graphic, and disturbing stories, this is NOT for you. If you’re like me and the darker and more graphic the better, you’ll love this tense, gripping, heinous book! I found out it’s the start of a series and look forward to book two. Very well written, with fantastic character development kept me engaged and flipping pages while on the edge of my seat! Very fast paced, tense, and unputdownable! Cannot recommend enough! Prepare for one heck of a hangover!

This was one of those nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat, chilling thrillers. The synopsis mentioning a serial killer caught my attention and the actual story drew me in right from the beginning and kept me glued to it. My only complaint is that it was a little too drawn out at the end.
This particular serial killer is copying famous cases of serial killers from the past, so as you can imagine there’s graphic and dark subject matter. Parts were hard to read and I really couldn’t think about them much but it’s a great book with very well done characters. And the twist, oh the twist!
I would for sure read another book by this author if/when that happens.

🔴There are graphic scenes and several things that could be triggering.

I’ve been sitting on this ARC for awhile, and now I’m kicking myself for not reading it sooner. This is a very entertaining read and quite a debut novel. I’m still reeling a bit from the ending as I write this…

Kemper, Dahmer and Bundy are all names we know for their infamy as some of the worst serial killers in history. In “The Echo Man”, we are given the story of a police department desperately searching for someone who is replicating their kills all over again. This copycat killer is crafty, brutal, and unfortunately for the police, also meticulous. The old crimes and their scenes are recreated perfectly - but this time, the killer keeps getting away.

As the body count grows, Detective Cara Elliott is starting to feel overwhelmed. They have all hands on deck, but they are getting nowhere with finding out who the perpetrator is, and the public is getting restless. Out of desperation, she even allows her disgraced and suspended brother, Griffin, to rejoin the force. He has a personal connection to the crimes, and while he’s definitely a man with issues, his rage and passion could help.

The book is obviously about finding the killer, but there were also some side stories that were great. One victim-turned-suspect named Jessica is a large part of the book, and her story melds perfectly into the mix. She and Griffin were great characters, and I suppose you could say it was good to get to know them. There are also some long and strong relationships between some of the officers, and some personal problems the main characters were having, which added even more layers to this already packed book.

Once I got to the ending, all I could say was “wow”. There was an ending, and I thought that was it (and it was great). Then, I kept going and there was ANOTHER ending (I called at 58% in, for the record!) that dropped a bomb and twisted everything around … I didn’t mind that I figured out the big twist though, because it was still much bigger than I thought it would be.

The writing in this was great, the characters were well-rounded and I liked the premise a lot. It’s very creative and almost gives the reader a history lesson on serial killers as well. I’m giving this 4.5 stars, and I’m hopeful we will see more from this debut author soon!

(Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Sam Holland, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

WoW! What a brilliant, interesting, chilling story!

This book was great from the start. It pulled me in and I couldn't let go.
The feeling you have while reading is insane!
I love books with serial killers. And The Echo Man delivered.
This writing was amazing and I held onto single word!
A horrifying killer who carries out the most heinous crimes.
Well-developed characters, phenomenal writing, with a twisted plot!
This chilling thriller debut novel has everything a thriller lover will.devour!
Five well deserved stars!
I can't wait for more of Holland!

Thank You Crooked Lane Books for this amazing story!

WARNING: Extremely Graphic and Violent

I almost stopped several times and in the end I skimmed through all of the violent parts, picking up the story after the violent parts had past. This book is extremely upsetting and difficult to read. It ha a few twists that might make it a good story but I can’t get past the amount of violence. The book could have followed the same storyline without the needless descriptions.

It's been a while since I truly read a book that I didn't want to put down, but here it is!
Gruesome, graphic, dark and disturbing, this is a brilliant crime thriller. The body count is high and the story-telling is fast paced and never dull.
The characters have depth, flaws and realism.
I don't want to prècis the plot as it would be hard to do so without spoiling it, just know that this is not for the squeamish!
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley UK for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was totally brilliant. I was gripped right from the start and just didn't know where the storyline was going. Loved the characters and their stories. There were so many tense points in the book and I just had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. Definitely one to recommend and I am already looking forward to the next book from Sam Holland!

Wow! Huge 5 stars for this book! Really dark and intense, kept me on the edge of my seat! I literally read this book in one day I just couldn’t put it down. Very well written and executed. Characters were amazing, easy to love, easy to doubt and easy to jaw drop at some.
Highly recommend
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Violent, bloody, graphic, disturbing and well written! You have a new fan Sam Holland! I always note when I think I know the killer and I picked one in chapter 14 and the second option in chapter 28. I did not have the ending put together, well played! Looking forward to reading more of Mr. Holland’s work. Congratulations! Thank you for the opportunity to read and review The Echo Man.

I’m not even sure what to say other than read this book! I think fans of The Whisper Man by Alex North would enjoy this book. I look forward to reading another book by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book!! Very well written police procedural/ thriller.
I loved all the character development that kept me thinking and guessing up until the end.

The end is certainly something of a head scratcher, and left me feeling like I must have missed some key facts somewhere along the way.

Despite the puzzling twist in the end, I would highly recommend this book! Especially to those that are self-confessed true crime nerds… I found myself giving kudos to the author, Sam Holland, on the use of serial killers and their brutal true life murder cases.

Overall, 4.5/5
Would say it’s not for those with weak stomachs, to say the least.

Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and The Quick Brown Fox & Co. for the digital ARC.

The author clearly is a master of building suspense and grabbing the reader. Give this author as try, you won't be disappointed

My thoughts about Sam Holland’s The Echo Man is a dark pycho edge of the seat mystery thriller that would set your heart aflutter with its tortuous criminal investigation filled with emotional ride. Beside entertaining the reader’s, it also exhorts the readers to ask pertinent questions about psycho killers, their motivation and society outlook. The book is an allegory to the fact that their is nothing innate about crimes, they are the product of degradation of society values. Debut Author Sam Holland treatment is fresh and this is what makes the book downright amazing! Sam Holland’s The Echo Man boasts a plot that is spine-chilling in itself. It features multiple edge-of-the-seat moments. The Echo Man is about “A series of shocking murders all copy the MOs of notorious serial killers from the past. But for the Echo Man, this is personal. After a lifetime of studying murders, he’s finally putting his knowledge into practice. And he has one goal in mind: his own masterpiece. Sam Holland has written and the book in a really innovative manner, each scene and moment gets the reader guessing about what is going to happen next? To keep the tension and anxiety toned. The story of The Echo Man Begins with The murders have begun
Across England, a string of murders is taking place. Each different in method, but each horrifying and brutal.But the killer is just getting started.Jess Ambrose is plunged into the investigation when her house is set ablaze. With her husband dead and the police pointing at her, she runs. Her only hope is disgraced detective Nate Griffin,who is convinced Jess is innocent.And he’s going to shock the world.Soon, Jess and Griffin discover the unthinkable; this murderer is copying the world’s most notorious serial killers. And now, imitation isn’t enough. The killer dubbed The Echo Man is ready to create his own masterpiece, and it will be more terrifying than anything that has come before.Sam Holland’s The Echo Man is a gripping thriller that keeps us hooked. Overall an edge of the seat thriller that should not be missed.I would like to say thank you to Author Sam Holland, Publishers HQ Stories and Netgally for me to read and review. The Echo Man is Spectacular.

Get past the implausible start where a murder suspect and a disgraced detective team up and visit crime scenes, and you are in for a dark and twisted ride! Be aware: corpses are piling high, there are blood spatters everywhere and the high voltage speed will leave you breathless. And a note of warning as the gruesome horror is depicted graphically, including a small chapter with animal cruelty.

Cara and her brother Griff form a nice tandem during the investigation and I think it could be a good start of a series with these two. I hope so, as at the end we are left with too many questions as how it will all fan out eventually. If a sequel is written, I sincerely hope that the character of Jess will get lost as she was one of the most irritating characters I've read this year: she is selfish, dumb and arrogant and blames it all on a medical condition.

After finishing the book, I was - again - left with an overwhelming feeling that it is so wrong that we get a a good pass-time on the expense of murder, mayhem, rapes and torture. Why are we, the readers, attracted to such content? I remember my old English teacher stating that we are attracted to horror movies and books, because it shows us that our seemingly dramatic lives could be much worse and that it leaves us with a feeling of contentment and relief that we are spared such abominations. I'll still have to ponder on that.

Meanwhile, I must say that The Echo Man is well written, and if you are looking for a modern day serial killer read, than this is it.

A sincere thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Crooked Lane Books and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book, I really did, but the author made that tough to do. The vividness of the brutality seemed to me to verge mostly on the gratuitous, and there were so many different narrative points of view shifting around so frequently that I often got completely lost trying to follow the chronology of the story.

Worse -- and maybe this is just a personal thing -- I don't think the present tense was the right choice for telling this story. I suppose the author thought the present tense brought a greater sense of immediacy to the shocking aspects of his tale, but it mostly came across to me as an awkward, clumsy, and sometimes downright annoying way to spin out the narrative. It started out feeling wrong and I could never get comfortable with it.

All of that aside, there is some truly fine writing here and I'll be looking up the author in the future. I just didn't find this effort appealing.

Wow. This was a bullet train of a novel. You’ll need to have an ability to tolerate a high body count as well as fairly gory serial killer activities. The novel, though it didn’t shy away from the horrors described, also didn’t exactly wallow in them. I found it a good escape to follow the investigators as the tried to keep up with the bodies and crime scenes.

Great book, really enjoyed this one. Strong plot and story that kept me turning the pages long into the night. Some great characters here, two detectives on the hunt for a serial killer and another woman on the run accused of murdering her husband. Plenty going on to enhance the book throughout, I would definitely recommend this book to other thriller readers. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up. This was compulsively readable, but I found the ending a bit disappointing. I hope there's a sequel or otherwise, I will upgrade disappointing to just mean, man.