Catching Echoes
By Meghan Ciana Doidge
I preferred it when life came in tidy packages. When it didn’t — when something went awry — I was exceedingly skilled at packaging it back up. It was my job to do so, after all. I was a reconstructionist. I collected the puzzle pieces, then I gave those pieces to an investigative team to sort out. I didn’t ask questions. I didn’t offer answers. I saw, I recorded, and I moved on. I didn’t dwell or obsess. I didn’t hunt down suspects. I didn’t follow clues to find a killer. And I certainly didn’t work side by side with anyone — least of all a vampire who I strongly suspected might turn out to be the major missing component when the case was complete. Then I saw something I couldn’t forget. It wasn’t the bloodiest thing I’d ever seen — it wasn’t even close — but it haunted me. I didn’t like being haunted. But I couldn’t figure out how to get it out of my head. Someone was killing teenaged boys in the Pacific Northwest. Despite my misgivings, if I could help catch a killer, I had to at least try. ------------------ This 68,000 word urban fantasy is the first book in the Reconstructionist Series by author Meghan Ciana Doidge.
Fair warning before you read this book. There are actually 2 other series (Dowser and Oracle) making this the first book in the 3rd spin off. If you go to this website link https://madebymeghan.ca/novels/ Meghan Ciana Doidge has provided a recommended reading order of her books. If you haven’t read those, at this point the books stop working very well as stand-alones and there’s too much you will either not understand or will be ruined for you by spoilers.
However Ms. Doidge did weave a suitable amount of back story in this novel to provide a good understanding of the characters and their roles in the Adept world. Thankfully the author is an incredibly speedy writer and does not force her fans to wait very long between books since Catching Echoes grabs you, taking you along for one heck of a ride then leaving you begging for your next fix.
Her conclusion comes up fast and quick ending on a climax that will make you see red because you want more but there isn’t any yet and you’ll feel surprised as if you never saw it coming but Doidge did subtly leave clues sprinkled about if you knew where to look. She proves her excellent writing talent once again in these well-developed characters as each book opens another facet of their personalities. Her worlds are richly detailed in vibrant landscapes and colors pulling you in like a virtual reality escape.
Although Echoes does have a ‘bit’ of a feeling as if it was written just to buy her some time it’s only because you need some set-up before she gets to the meat of her latest saga.
This will either make her new fans if you aren’t familiar with her work or make her original fans fall in love with her all over again.
Thank you to Netgalley and Old Man in the Crosswalk Productions for allowing me to review this book.
*synopsis and pic from netgalley.com