Title: The Echo Killing
Author: Christi Daugherty
Series: Harper McClain, #1
Published: March 2018, Minotaur Books
Format: Hardcover, 356 pages
Source: Personal copy
Summary:
When a murder
echoing a fifteen-year-old cold case rocks the Southern town of
Savannah, crime reporter Harper McClain risks everything to find the
identity of this calculated killer.
A city of antebellum
architecture, picturesque parks, and cobblestone streets, Savannah moves
at a graceful pace. But for Harper McClain, the timeless beauty and
culture that distinguishes her home’s Southern heritage vanishes during
the dark and dangerous nights. She wouldn’t have it any other way. Not
even finding her mother brutally murdered in their home when she was
twelve has made her love Savannah any less.
Her mother’s killer
was never found, and that unsolved murder left Harper with an obsession
that drove her to become one of the best crime reporters in the state of
Georgia. She spends her nights with the police, searching for
criminals. Her latest investigation takes her to the scene of a homicide
where the details are hauntingly familiar: a young girl being led from
the scene by a detective, a female victim naked and stabbed multiple
times in the kitchen, and no traces of any evidence pointing towards a
suspect.
Harper has seen all of this before in her own life. The
similarities between the murder of Marie Whitney and her own mother’s
death lead her to believe they’re both victims of the same killer. At
last, she has the chance to find the murderer who’s eluded justice for
fifteen years and make sure another little girl isn’t forever haunted by
a senseless act of violence―even if it puts Harper in the killer’s
cross-hairs…
My thoughts: After hearing some rave reviews about this series from a bunch of friends, I finally got myself a copy of this book and I cannot believe I waited so long…I loved it. I loved it so much that as soon as I finished it, I immediately went online and ordered the other two books in the series. Have you ever done that?
I love the main character in this series, Harper McClain. She was born to do her job – that of a crime reporter. She hasn’t had the easiest life. Her mother was murdered when she was young and that case was never solved. So when she is called to a case now, fifteen years later, that is eerily similar to that of her mother’s case, she is definitely not going to let it go. She is like a dog with a bone. There are just too many details that don’t add up for her walk away from this one.
I loved getting to know Harper as this book progresses. We find out about her life and just how what happened to her mother and how the fact that the case never being solved became such a driving force in her life and why she ultimately became a crime reporter. Having this new case pop up really throws her and she becomes totally focused on it, almost to the detriment of all else in her life.
The tension slowly builds as we learn more about the people in Harper’s life, her history, and more about both cases. It is both suspenseful and atmospheric and I was completely captivated and all in. I wanted a resolution for both Harper and the little girl who now finds herself in a similar position to that of Harper so many years ago. While I had my suspicions as to the person behind the murders, I never fully got to the final answer and was a bit floored at the reveal.
I am so excited to continue on with this series. I am a big series fan and love nothing more than finding one I can keep reading and this is one I hope has a long run!
Books in this series:
- The Echo Killing
- A Beautiful Corpse
- Revolver Road
