After Aggie Dunkirk’s career is unceremoniously ended by her own mistakes, she finds herself traveling to Wisconsin, where her grandmother, Mumsie, lives alone in her rambling old home. She didn’t plan for how eccentric Mumsie has become, obsessing over an old, unsolved crime scene–even going so far as to re-create it in the dollhouse. Mystery seems to follow her when she finds work as a … as a secretary helping to restore the flooded historical part of the cemetery. Forced to work with the cemetery’s puzzling, yet attractive archeologist, she exhumes the past’s secrets and unwittingly uncovers a crime that some will go to any length to keep quiet–even if it means silencing Aggie.
In 1946, Imogene Flannigan works in a local factory and has eyes on owning her own beauty salon. But coming home to discover her younger sister’s body in the attic changes everything. Unfamiliar with the newly burgeoning world of criminal forensics and not particularly welcomed as a woman, Imogene is nonetheless determined to stay involved. As her sister’s case grows cold, Imogene vows to find justice . . . even if it costs her everything.
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Jaime Jo Wright’s flawless writing seams the story of a present-day Aggie and Mumsie, her grandmother, and Mumsie in the World War II years when she was a young lady.
Mystery, suspense, romance all combine together to meld into a story I found myself thinking about at work and wishing the clock would move faster so I could read more pages at home.
The characters are very realistic and the usage of commonplace things that take on a whole new meaning is a hallmark of this talented writer.
While reading, when the chills came over me, I knew this was taking a story to another level. I really enjoyed the piano-string tight suspense.
Echoes Among the Stones is one I’ll recommend others to read. It’s the perfect novel to stay at home and read on a wintry day. I can’t wait for another one to be published.
It was an amazing book! I love how she goes back and forth in time with two different stories that connects into one near the end of the book. How it ended was a complete shock to me, but so many different ways it could have turned out. There was a few parts of the book that hit home to me. How the author put into words that I feel personally. “There was never a good time for Death to visit. There was never a time that Grief would leave.” Also “You can’t come back from sorrow,” Aggie whispered. ” It locks you in a prison and leaves you there.” Only someone who has dealt with that kind of pain could put it into words that touched my very soul. You won’t be disappointed in this amazing book!
Finding healing and peace after tragic loss:
“Death deals a wicked hand. We all respond differently, and not always the way we should.”
This dual timeline book is full of mystery and intrigue, yet at the heart of it are individuals with raw and authentic emotions. It explores the challenges of coming to terms with death, loss and grief and how sometimes we can be held captive by our emotions and are unable to move forward in life and love.
I initially found it hard to get into the book as the writing felt stilted and there was limited dialogue however I am glad I persevered. I found the story line set in 1946 the most compelling and it was interesting exploring what life was like in those days. Just because the war was over did not mean that life just went back to prewar “normal”. I did not feel as close a connection to the present day characters and part of that may have been to the rather closed off and prickly temperaments that they were depicted as having. However I enjoyed seeing how they gradually grew closer to one another and learnt to accept and deal with their loss. The book was full of twists and turns and it kept me guessing till the very end. All in all, another great read by this talented author.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
Jaime Jo Wright is skillful at crafting dual timeline mysteries. I can always count on her stories to provide enough suspense and creepiness to keep me turning the pages. She has an incredible talent of building the suspense in both storylines, weaving the threads of both into a masterpiece of intrigue.
While Echoes Among the Stones story centers around an unsolved murder from 1946, it is also a story of grieving, and how grief has a way of stealing future happiness if one lets it. Imogene’s granddaughter, Aggie, returns to present day Mill Valley. As she undertakes repairing their relationship, she also obtains a job at a local cemetery. She finds that someone in Mill Creek may be afraid that a natural catastrophe at the cemetery may reveal secrets that have been hidden for too long. Do these secrets have any connection to Aggie’s family?
The inspirational threads included are realistic, not forced. Her characters are human, flawed, and at times doubting God’s presence in their lives.
One of my favorite quotes from Echoes Among the stones:
“…don’t let grief tie your years up into a lifetime of regrets. Let the good Lord take care of your aches and heal you. So that you don’t miss out on the good- on the blessings He hides in the middle of all that hurting.”
Wright’s stellar writing provides just enough eeriness and danger, with classic goose-bump moments, that will have me eagerly anticipating her next novel.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.
Jaime Jo Wright has done it again! This is another phenomenal dual timeline mystery novel that has you guessing till the very end! I thought I’d figured out the “big reveal” about a quarter of the way in, but when that reveal happened before the halfway mark, I knew there were bigger things coming!
This book follows Aggie in current times, who just lost her job and the one person she cared about most in the world. She comes back to small town, WI to take care of her grandmother in the midst of her pain and bitterness, and stumbles upon a 70 year old mystery that just gets weirder and weirder as the book goes on. In the historical timeline, we follow Imogene, who discovers the body of her brutally murdererd sister and makes it her life’s goal to figure out what happened to her. As the 2 storylines converge, we finally learn what happened to Hazel Grayson on that fateful night.
The faith thread is strong in this one as Aggie struggles to make sense of her mom’s death and how God fits in. I loved the words of wisdom that Collin (our hero) and Mumsie (her grandmother) imparted to her regarding the grief process and God. I loved how this book handled that question and wasn’t at all preachy about it.
While this novel lacks some of the intense creepiness of Ms. Wright’s earlier books, it is no less enjoyable, intriguing and mysterious (I just could read this one later into the night than some of her others). If you’ve avoided reading this author’s books in the past because of the “creep factor”, I would recommend starting with this one because it is less intense.
I would strongly recommend this book to fans of mysteries, dual timelines, post WWII history and those who enjoy a story-line surrounding the question of “where is God in my pain?”. Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced E-copy of this book. I was under no obligation to write a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.
Echoes among the Stones is my favorite Jaime Jo Wright novel yet. I didn’t think anything could top The Curse of Misty Wayfair, but this one did. I don’t know how she does it, but each new book just gets better and better.
It’s a dualtimeline featuring interconnected stories from the present and 1946. I found both times equally compelling. There’s no way I could tell you which one I liked better. They were both awesome.
The characters were great. Aggie and Mumsie had quite an interesting dynamic. They’ve both got prickly personalities. They don’t really get along all that great, but they’re more alike than not. They internalize things and are so stubborn. But I found them both to be extremely likable and realistic.
There was a haunting melancholy that seeped out of the pages bringing this atmospheric tale to life. It’s a definite pageturner and extremely hard to put down. The mystery had me riveted. The intrigue kept building as pieces of the puzzle were revealed. I didn’t want it to end. I didn’t want to leave these characters I’d come to love. But what a wonderful journey it was! Full of highs and lows. Grief and hope. I can’t recommend it highly enough. I enjoyed every second. It’s a definite contender for best book of the year.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and comments are my honest opinion.
This time-slip mystery had me guessing from beginning to end, and the twists and turns made it almost impossible to put down. The interweaving of the two storylines was done absolutely masterfully, the characters were exceptionally well drawn, and the ending surprised AND satisfied. I gasped at least half a dozen times. A fabulous read. Jaime Jo Wright is a master of this genre.
“Regardless of where faith may take us and what the good Lord has in store, we’ll never stop hearing their voices. The voices of the ones we’ve loved before. Their voices will always echo, here, among the stones, and in our hearts. It is how it was meant to be.”
Jaime Jo Wright has the right stuff when it comes to writing dual timeline stories! Unlike her novels before this one, we know what event took place. She pieces the past with the present in a way that captures the reader and forcing them to follow along a trail of solving a 72 year old cold case and tugging at hearts with a depth that surprises me every time. I know I lost track of time in the real world because I NEEDED to keep reading. It was like unfolding delicate rose petals only to discover there was so much more under the beautiful surface! It’s hard to write a review without giving too much away; I want the reader to discover all the good stuff for themselves. This one is just as completely captivating as the first three books! The ending was shocking as she reveals the culprit, I had no clue and I was asking myself if what I read was really what I read! I love every twist, every turn and every chilling layer she revealed. I quickly became part of the Aggie, Mumsie, Collin, Ollie, Sam, and Ida’s lives. Really there’s nothing I don’t like about this book & I think the reader is in for a real treat with “Echoes Among the Stones”! I highly recommend this to readers who like trying to solve cold cases, love suspense, and want the kind of depth in a story that keeps you turning pages well into the night!
*I received a complimentary copy from Bethany House on behalf of the author and was under no obligation to leave a favorable review. All opinions are my own. *
With her trademark ability for weaving fascinatingly creepy tales of healing and forgiveness, award-winning author Jaime Jo Wright brings out the “creep factor” with skeletons, cemeteries, dead bodies, and a very unique dollhouse in her latest dual timeline novel, Echoes Among the Stones. The slower pace to the beginning of the story allows readers to start piecing together the various clues through many twists and turns, which leads to a surprising conclusion.
When she arrives in town to visit her grandmother, Aggie’s unexpected new job as a cemetery secretary brings up buried secrets. As Aggie searches for answers in present day, the readers find out clues as Imogene’s 1946 storyline follows the mystery behind the death of young Hazel Grayson, and suddenly the past collides with the present.
Jaime Jo Wright emphasizes hope, healing, and forgiveness through God’s incredible grace throughout the novel. For readers who have been hesitant to read Jaime Jo Wright’s books in the past due to their “creepy” nature, Echoes Among the Stones would be the perfect book of hers to start with since it does not have quite as dark of a tone as her previous books. Echoes Among the Stones is highly recommended for readers who enjoy dual timeline stories filled with suspense and the perfect amount of creepiness.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.
‘There was never a good time for Death to visit. There was never a time when Grief would leave.’
Jaime Jo Wright’s debut novel a few years ago was a wonderful book and I determined to follow her and eagerly anticipated each novel. Her trademark dual time line novels are like reading two books at once. She is quite good at weaving these two stories together, while at the same time, creating very mysterious plots.
This time around, the story takes place in 1946 and the present day. A gruesome murder has taken place and never solved, while in the present day, the murder seems to be at the very heart of the plot and it is life changing for those involved. Watching how Wright unfolds her stories is incredibly interesting and quickly draws the reader in. Recommended.
*My thanks to Bethany House Publishers for a preview copy of this book via Net Galley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.