Product Description

One rainy night by the river P.I. Kate Kinsella's dog Jasper finds a soaked, frightened young woman. Kate feels obliged to take her under her wing. As Kate pieces together Megan Thomas's strange history, it becomes clear someone is after her. But Why?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2120161 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From Booklist
The sixth entry in the popular Kate Kinsella series has the feisty private eye investigating one of the more bizarre cases of her career. Out one night walking her dog, Kinsella finds a young woman, rain sodden, destitute, and crouching pathetically on the riverbank. Against her better judgment, Kate takes the woman home to feed her, give her dry clothes, and send her on her way. But Megan is reluctant to leave, claiming she was raped and became pregnant by a man named Michael Whitby. The fact that her baby was delivered stillborn just a few days before Kate found her has left Megan agitated, ill, and frightened. Determined to locate the mysterious Whitby, Kate finds herself caught up in a case involving illegal immigrants, baby snatching, intimidation, and greed. For Kate, it's heady stuff, and she soon gets the case sorted, puts the bad guys away, and even brings a happy, if slightly bittersweet, ending to the story. A spirited and unorthodox heroine, inventive plot, and healthy helping of humor make this an enjoyable and intriguing read. Emily Melton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Green's ability to build character and generate suspense is first-rate" Booklist on Fire Angels "An inventive plot with plenty of unexpected twists" Booklist on Vain Hope"

About the Author
Christine Green was born in Luton. She trained as a nurse in London and almost qualified as a midwife before changing her mind and turning to teaching. However, faced with the horrors of playground supervision duty, she quickly returned to her first choice and worked for many years as a district nurse and a health visitor. Christine has two daughters, also nurses, and one grandson, and now lives very happily in Wolverhampton with her second husband.

Customer Reviews

Intriguing characters, well written. Definitely a winner
It looked like a load of rags and Private Investigator Kate Kinsella tried to pull her dog away from it--but then it moved. The rags turned out to be a young woman, recently pregnant, and close to suicide. Kate drags her back to her apartment but Megan appears nearly frozen with fear. Surely her story of date rape, a kidnapped child, and drugs is the crazed imagination of a woman with no life but her television. Except Kate hears the very real death threats over Megan's phone.

Against her will, Kate is dragged into an investigation of a crime that might not have happened. If it did happen, the criminal is a senior London police officer--someone who appears beyond Kate's reach. Kate's client is easily confused, never made a report of the rape, and is the type that would be confused on the witness stand. And the threatening caller seems willing to do anything to stop Megan--and Kate.

English author Christine Green has written a fascinating and compelling story. Kate Kinsella makes a wonderful character. She is just incompetent enough to be human, with a mother who would embarass anyone and a love life that wouldn't even fill a short story, but she is also plucky, brave, and a good sport (most of the time). As Kate lurches from danger to danger, hoping to find evidence before her suspect can find her, I found myself nearly holding my breath waiting to see what disaster would hapen next.

DEADLY ECHO is a top-notch mystery with a fine private investigator lead character.

Christine Green is a great discovery!
After reading this book, I've started reading more in the series -- this book is kind of in the middle of what Green has written in the Kate Kinsella series.

Kate is kind of a Kinsey Milhone in Britain detective. She is living above a funeral home in this book, and her unusual buddy is an older man -- Hubert, the undertaker who is her landlord. They have a dog that's technically his, but when she's walking the dog one rainy night, she -- or rather the dog -- finds a young girl under a bush. The girl isn't making a lot of sense, but Kate takes her home to dry off. This girl has a strange story to tell about a half-remembered childbirth and a baby she never saw -- born dead, she was told. The conception of this child is even less remembered that the birth -- and it sounds very fishy to Kate, who believes the girl's story. She sets off to find a man who might be behind all of this -- a man who is with the police.

Green is great at plotting, and Kate and her friends are likeable and interesting. I look forward to the rest of the series.