I purchased this book for my own personal collection. I borrowed the audiobook from the library.
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books / Dreamscape Media
Published: May 11, 2023 / May 2, 2023
Summary:
When DCI Adam Bishop arrives at the crime scene in the dead of night, the sight of the body is bad enough—but what Adam notices next chills him to his core. More bodies surface. And the spray-painted numbers daubed above the corpses reveal the horrific truth: the killer is counting down. But to what end?
Adam has no idea—until Dr. Romilly Cole knocks on his door with damning evidence pointing to a series of murders fifteen years earlier—a case she knows intimately from her past. Now, it’s personal—and the next knock on his door could be fatal.
Sam Holland’s gripping debut novel, The Echo Man, riveted readers and critics alike with its raw and brutal depiction of the unthinkable depredations of a serial killer. With The Twenty, Holland kicks her depraved milieu into even higher gear with a page-turning, up-all-night read that left us breathless.
My thoughts:
I absolutely loved Sam Holland’s debut novel, The Echo Man, and I have been anxiously awaiting the next book in the series…and it totally lived up to my expectations and more! My IRL bookclub, Thrillers By the Book, picked this one to read over the summer and we even got to zoom with Sam which was so insightful!
While this book technically can be read as a standalone, as we have a new serial killer and new DCI officers investigating, I would still recommend reading the prior book in this series, The Echo Man. There are quite a few mentions of that case, and the main detective, Cara Elliott, does make a few cameos. But again, it’s not crucial to read that book in order to enjoy this one…I just highly recommend it as it was excellent!
This is another dark, thrilling read that I devoured! I have really come to love serial killer storylines – not sure what that says about me, but that’s for another time. And the way it’s paired with the police procedural here is done so well. This one grabbed me from the first chapter, and it never let up. It’s incredibly fast-paced, packed with twists that keep coming, several of which completely shocked me.
I love the way Sam Holland writes. She doesn’t hold back, so the content is unnerving to say the least. I felt fully immersed in the world she created and was completely absorbed in the case and the characters. The tension is so palpable, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I especially loved the chapters written by the serial killer – they were so chilling and added such an unsettling feeling to the book.
One of the underlying themes throughout the book is fear. That idea is explored in a multitude of ways, and it was just so cleverly done. The author really gets into your head, making you as the reader think about your own fears as you are reading this.
I loved this book…maybe even more than The Echo Man and that’s saying something because I loved that one. Sam Holland has definitely become a must-read for me and I cannot wait to get my hands on her next book!
Audio thoughts:
I alternated between the audiobook and the print copy and I found it to be the perfect way to make my way through this book. The narrator was new to me – Matthew Lloyd Davies – but I thought he did a great job. I have really come to like pairing the audiobook with the print as that way I never really have to stop reading at any time.
Books in this series:
- The Echo Man
- The Twenty
