A homeless man dies of starvation in a garage next to a freezer full of food. Why did he pick that garage and why didn't he eat any of the food he had access to? As journalist Michael Deacon looks into the story, he unravels a complex plot linking 2 unsolved disappearances in the past. ( )

"The Echo" by Minette Walters was a satisfying mystery.
I couldn't stop listening and finished it in two days.

It is surprisingly similar to "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." It has a journalist in the center, long character, tight locations, and multiple plots. The difference is that Girl 10x everything Echo is, so I recommend a notepad before reading it.

I also recommend reading "The Echo" and any book written by Minette Walters. ( )

a derelict's death in garage sets off investigation of missing persons

The plot seems to be going in all directions for a good part of the book but this is Minette Walters, the master at ambiguous characters and story lines. She pulls it off with panache and style. This ia a classic Walters where everyone is good, bad and all shades of gray. ( )

I usually like Minette Walters, but this one did not sit well. What follows does not address any specific plot points, but it does concern general themes in the book: in other words, potential spoilers.

The characterization in this novel was sometimes trite (Terry), sometimes uninteresting (Dalton), and often vaguely offensive (all the women). Be reminded that an author of any character can write something that's misogynistic, and that is what I sensed, over and over, in this extremely convoluted novel.

The Oedipus complex themes probably don't need discussing: we all know the problems with that, right? It's alive and well in this book, though. Amid frequent discussions of the "red-blooded male" (a recurring phrase) are some very nasty portraits of women. Much is made of women "[screaming] rape" when a rape has not occurred, and there is a tremendously unpleasant insinuation that women claim to be raped when they were not, as a way of exacting leverage over men. Deacon, the protagonist, asserts that "Most women dial nine-nine-nine the minute their attacker walks out the door" (p. 311). Deacon is purportedly a journalist, so there's not much of an excuse for this patently false statement: most rapes are unreported. Women are also depicted as buyable (to be silenced). The upshot: women will find a way to benefit, materially or otherwise, from rape.

The novel itself is one of Walters' weaker efforts; it's convoluted and full of loose ends. The ongoing insinuations sink it, though. ( )