Review ~ Echoes Among the Stones by Jaime Jo Wright

Paperback, 352 pages

Published December 3rd 2019 by Bethany House Publishers

About the Book

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she finds herself traveling to Wisconsin, where her grandmother, Mumsie, lives alone in her vintage, though very outdated, home. Aggie 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 a dollhouse.

Mystery seems to follow Aggie when she finds work as a secretary helping to restore the flooded historical part of the town's cemetery. Forced to work with a puzzling yet attractive archaeologist, she exhumes the past's secrets and unwittingly uncovers a crime that some will go to any length to keep hidden--even if that means silencing Aggie.

In 1946, Imogene Grayson works in a beauty salon but has her sights set on Hollywood. But coming home to discover her younger sister's body in the attic changes everything. Unfamiliar with the burgeoning world of forensic science and, as a woman, not particularly welcomed into the investigation, Imogene is nonetheless determined to stay involved. As her sister's case grows cold, Imogene vows to find justice . . . no matter the cost.

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My Review

5 STARS!!!

'There was never a good time for Death to visit.'

Jaime Jo Wright is in a league of her own. Echoes Among the Stones held me captive with its deep story, fabulous mystery, and exceptionally well-written characters. I had several theories early on of which person was the killer, one of them being a long shot. In the end, it paid off. I had the correct killer but for the wrong reasons.

Dual-time stories have become some of my favorite to read. There are always lessons to be gleaned from the past and in Echoes Among the Stones, one of the things Aggie is going to learn is how to deal with her grief over the loss of her mother and not let it stymie her from having a fulfilling future.

My heart stuttered more than once through the emotional storm of Imogene’s narrative. If you’ve ever lost someone you dearly love then you know agony. You know you would give anything to be with them one more time. In one scene, Imogene’s brother asks if she’s even been inside Hazel’s room since their sister’s murder.

          Imogene nodded her head.”I have.” She’d considered moving into it. To be closer to Hazel, wrapped in the faint, lingering scent of her.

Oh my. I could totally relate. When my mom passed away, the first thing I did when I went back to her home was go straight to her bedroom, grab her pillow, bury my face in it and breathe in her scent. I did the same thing when my daughter died. Sometimes I still hold her favorite blanket close, imagining I can smell the ‘lingering scent of her’. It’s such a tangible scene in the book that even now, my heart aches and I tear up.

“…Their voices will always echo, here, among the stones, and in our hearts. It is how it was meant to be.”

These are just a couple of thoughts about one of the best books I’ve read in 2019. I highly recommend it. You can’t go wrong with a Jaime Jo Wright book!

I received a copy of this book from the author and publisher. The opinions stated above are entirely my own.