Review: The Devil of Echo Lake

The Devil of Echo Lake by Douglas Wynne

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy
Reading Level: Adult
Book Available: October 19, 2012 (just available) in paperback and ebook format
Recommended for: Fans of dark story with overall redemptive themes, rock ‘n’ roll lifestyles, the old gods

My Thoughts: This is a richly atmospheric story. I’ve never heard of this writer before, but he certainly knows how to set a scene to keep the reader flipping those pages – I will definitely be looking to see if he has anything else out there, because I just loved his style. The scenes are lush, descriptive, disturbing – we really get inside the heads of Billy Moon and Jake, while also seeing bits and pieces of the other characters around them. The book deals with themes of ‘be careful what you wish for” and “what you think you want may not actually be what you want”. There is a ghost story weaving through the overall story as well.

I’m not really sure what to say about the book, not without possibly spoiling it. I will say that if you enjoy dark fiction, you’ll love this book. If you feel connected to the old gods, you’ll love this book. It’s not quite horror – the ending is all wrong for that – but it is very dark at times. Highly – HIGHLY – recommended!

Disclosure: I received an ARC ebook edition from Journalstone, via the LibraryThing Early Reviewer’s program, in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Billy Moon would have given his life for rock 'n' roll stardom, but the Devil doesn’t come that cheap.

Goth-rock idol Billy Moon has it all: money, fame, and a different girl in every city. But he also has a secret, one that goes all the way back to the night he almost took his own life. The night Trevor Rail, a shadowy record producer with a flair for the dark and esoteric, agreed to make him a star. . . for a price.

Now Billy has come to Echo Lake Studios to create the record that will make him a legend. A dark masterpiece like only Trevor Rail can fashion. But the woods of Echo Lake have a dark past, a past that might explain the mysterious happenings in the haunted church that serves as Rail’s main studio. As the pressure mounts on Billy to fulfill Rail's vision, it becomes clear that not everyone will survive the project.

It's time the Devil of Echo Lake had his due, and someone will have to pay.

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