Review: Blood Echo by Christopher Rice (audio)

Title: Blood Echo

Author: Christopher Rice

Series: Burning Girl, #2

Narrator: Lauren Ezzo

Published: February 2019, Brilliance Audio / Thomas & Mercer

Length: 10 hours 53 minutes  / 355 pages

Source: Audio – Publisher / Print – Netgalley via Little Bird Publicity

Summary:

A conspiracy that promises bloodshed and the only woman who can
stop it collide in the page-turning thriller by Christopher Rice, Amazon
Charts bestselling author of Bone Music.

 

Kidnapped and raised by serial killers, Charlotte Rowe suffered
an ordeal that made her infamous. Everyone in the world knew who she
was. But no one in the world has any idea what she’s become…

Charlotte
is an experiment. And a weapon. Enabled by a superpower drug, she’s
partnered with a shadowy pharmaceutical company to hunt down and
eliminate society’s most depraved human predators. But her latest
mission goes off the rails in a horrifying way. Unsettled by her own
capacity for violence, Charlotte wants some time to retreat so she can
work on her new relationship with Luke, a sheriff’s deputy in the
isolated Central California town she now calls home.

If only the threats hadn’t followed Charlotte there.

Something
sinister is evolving in Altamira, California—a massive network of
domestic terrorists with ties to Charlotte’s influential and corrupt
employers. As a vast and explosive criminal conspiracy grows, the fate
of Charlotte’s hometown hangs in the balance. With everyone she cares
about in danger, Charlotte has no choice but to bring her powers home.

Charlotte Rowe has been triggered, and now she’ll have to take matters into her own powerful hands.

 
My thoughts: Last year I read the first book in this series, which happened to be the first book I’ve ever read by Christopher Rice. I don’t tend to read much science fiction and even though this series delves a little bit into it, I can handle it. And let me just tell you, going out of your comfort zone every once in a while is good…and I’m so glad I gave this series a chance, because I really like it!

I just want to start off by saying I really think you need to read this series in order. Too much of what happens in this book builds on what happened in the previous book. I don’t think you could read book 2 and then go back and enjoy book 1, Bone Music, without having it all spoiled. It’s not just a case of character development here. There is a lot of plot development going on as well. Trust me when I say it really behooves you to start at book 1 and read it in order!

That being said, this book picks up shortly after the previous book leaves off. Yes, we do get some backstory here and there, which is good because if you are like me, it’s been a while since I’ve read Bone Music and I liked the “refresher” but it was just enough to remind me of what happened – it did not go into verbose details of the story. 

I loved the way this book was an equal mix of action and character development. At times it moves fast and then it slows down to help us understand the characters involved. The beginning and the ending are action-packed and move at lightning speed, and then the middle is much more slower, giving you time to digest what you are reading. This is where we learn more about some of the secondary characters that are quite integral to the story – Cole Graydon, Dylan, and Bailey to name a few. 

I loved the introspection we get from the characters, particularly from Charlotte. Yes, she is given a drug that allows her to have superman-like powers and she only uses those powers to go after bad guys, but when she is under the influence of this drug, she can literally rip a person from limb to limb. Her issue is that when she is going after the bad guys and exerts her superhuman power on them to capture them, and potentially hurts or possibly kills them, is she any better than they are? This is what she mulls over in her head. We also see a few other characters mull over some of their actions and this is not something we typically see in thrillers…and I love this!

This book is not your typical thriller series and I think that is why I am enjoying it so much. It does have that supernatural/science-fiction slant to it, but I think the way technology and science are moving forward it is possible that one day…we just might get there, however scary that thought is and that is why I can wrap my head around this book and series. Do I want this to come to fruition – oh my goodness, no way! But, I can see it maybe happening one day in the future. I am definitely looking forward to seeing where this series heads next!!!





Audio thoughts:  Once again, Lauren Ezzo did a fantastic job with the audio. I listened to the previous book and found that the consistency of the voices was amazing. It was like coming back to visit old friends. The pacing and intonation was great and Lauren was able to build suspense and tension in her voice as needed. I hope Lauren continues to narrate this series for as long as the series goes on.

Books in this series:

1. Bone Music
2. Blood Echo