Customer Reviews
Kept me turning the pages - By: Nettie T, 01 Jun 2008 
This was the second Minette Walters novel I had read after The Shape of Snakes, which I also thought was very good, but this novel was much better. It slowly reels youin & I liked how the characters developed. I rushed home from work to carry on reading it. I really recommend this book, for people who have read Minette's novels before but also for those who would like to try her novels for the first time. Couldn't put it down. I am now reading The Breaker which I hope will be the same.
loved it - By: kimmy, 13 Nov 2007 This book is so gripping, lots of turns & good characters, you really want to find out what has happened at the end.
excellent
One of her best. - By: Rich Milligan, 08 Jun 2004 
This is a fantastic book by Mrs Walters & ranksin the top eschelons of both her own other books & thriller writingin general.
Again she has some top notch characters entering the story which the reader can not only believe but empathise with as well. These are the flawed human beings we meet every day & not some smooth shaven super-heros who one ends up despising as much as admiring who sadly occupy too many writers' novels.
A brilliant book.
Great! - By: , 10 Oct 2003 I rarely take more than a few days to read a book, & this was no exception! Great descriptions & a strong storyline keep the pages turning well into the night. A great read for all ages!
Not as good as the rest... - By: , 05 Mar 2002 
I am surprised to read rave reviews of this novel on this website as it is possibly Walters's weakest so far. I agree with a friend who suggested that Walters wrote this book after watching television adaptations of her earlier novels; like "The Breaker", "The Echo" feels more like the groundwork for a film script than a real, effective storyin its own right.
The book lacks much of the subtlety & depth of character that usually makes Walters's work so fascinating. It is a competent novel & certainly streets ahead of the crime fiction churned out by lesser writers, but somehow coming from this particular author, it's disappointing. The characters are not so well-developed or well-rounded asin say, "The Ice House", & overall the book simply lacks the verve, passion & excitement that usually make reading Walters so thrilling. Sadly, the storyline just isn't that interesting.
There are redeeming features. Walters's writing style, though considerably lacking the edge & pace of her earlier work, is still very readable. I read through to the end & wanted to know what happened, but the lack of any real suspense or surprisesin the story made the finale a let-down.
"The Shape of Snakes" is a return to form after "The Echo" & "The Breaker" & I would recommend skipping both those titlesin order to read it.
