lost in the echoRating: 4 stars
Buy Links: 
 Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novella


Will Chambers needs some time away and so he decides to take a few days in his remote cabin to relax and get his mind off what is weighing on him. But rather than having some quiet time away, the trip turns dangerous as Will is attacked while jogging and kidnapped. When he wakes up, Will is tied naked to a bed and blindfolded. He has no idea who has taken him, only that he knows it is two men whom he calls the Voice and the Friend.

Will doesn’t know what the men want with him, but the Voice says Will must answer three questions over three days. The questions force Will to reflect on his past and the tragedy that has been weighing him down. All Will wants to do is hide away, but he is being forced to confront his past whether he wants to or not.

challenge month 2016So I’ll start by saying this story was totally not what I was expecting. I guess from the blurb I kind of was thinking it was some kinky kidnaping thing with a little Stockholm Syndrome mixed in. Not sure why my mind went there, but something about the blurb just led me in a different direction. In reality, this story is a puzzle, a picture that slowly unfolds over the course of the book as we discover who is behind the kidnapping and why, as well as what happened in Will’s past. The book moves back and forth between present day and Will’s memories. We are dropped into the middle of the story and at first are kind of off balance as we are not told much about the people Will interacts with, their relationships to each other, or what happened in the past. This allows the answers to be slowly revealed over the course of the book. So at first I was kind of taken aback as I had no idea what the heck was going on, but as the story continued, I think it worked well. We get bits and pieces that come together, slowly forming the whole picture and letting us understand just what is going on. I personally am an impatient reader and was a little frustrated at first not understanding why things were so vague and confusing, but as the story went along the reasoning made more sense. Over the course of the book, everything is revealed and I liked the bit of mystery aspect here, the secrets being revealed and the story unraveled.

This is a tricky book to review because there is very little I can say about the plot without giving away the big secrets. I found the reveal clever and not totally expected. I did wish we had gotten more backstory on the kidnappers, however, to more fully understand both what motivated them, along with Will’s ultimate reaction when he learns who is behind it all. In the case of the Friend, it is virtually impossible for me to imagine anyone acting as he did, at least a rational and sane man. And in the case of the Voice, I felt like I needed to know more about their relationship to really understand Will’s reaction when he learns the truth. Honestly, he seems to accept things much more easily than seems reasonable and knowing more backstory would have helped it all make more sense to me.

I picked up Lost in the Echo as part of New-to-Me Author Week as I had heard good things about Pyke’s work but never read anything by the author. I found this story very intriguing and enjoyed Pyke’s writing style. I am definitely interested in checking out more by this author.

Lost in the Echo was a book that kept me very engaged and I loved the cleverness of the story, as well as the nice resolution for Will.

This review is part of our September Reading Challenge Month for New-to-Me Author Week! Leave a relevant comment below and you will be entered to win a fabulous prize from Interlude Press. One lucky winner will receive a selection of signed print books, as well as a variety of ebooks by authors new to Interlude Press this year. Commenters will also be entered to win our amazing grand prize sponsored by Dreamspinner Press (a loaded Kindle fire filled with DSP books!). You can get more information on our Challenge Month here, and more details on New-to-Me Author Week here. And be sure to check out our prize post for more about the awesome prizes!

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