Book Review: Echoes in Snowfall

Reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen

Action meets sci-fi in this high-stakes time-warping romantic thriller.

When Blake Everhart takes on a mission to infiltrate and bring down a particularly dangerous organized crime syndicate, she knows that it will be perilous. Even with her ability to warp time, rewinding mistakes and dealing herself a do-over, this mission may break her. Once undercover, she will be alone in a den of the most dangerous criminals she’s met. But every move she makes will put her one step closer to finding her brother’s killer.

Inside the organization, Blake realizes just how out of her depth she is. Her ability, powerful as it is, cannot outmatch every contingency. And, as she sees how the organization works, it becomes clear that her power may not be the only one on the playing field.

Then Naomi Preston, the woman she loves more than life, is dragged into her cat-and-mouse game, and suddenly Blake’s playing for real. For the first time Blake experiences the other side of the coin. In joining the people she should be fighting, even undercover, she begins to question how far she will go to achieve her ends.

Echoes in Snowfall is the third book in the True Time series. While it’s possible to read this as a stand-alone, starting at the beginning would serve readers better. There are enough reminders to let return readers know where the story and characters stand, but the set-up leaves some out for newcomers. The novel combines thriller, romance, and action with a hint of sci-fi to build a fast-paced, thrill-packed experience.

Reading Echoes in Snowfall has nearly the same intense feeling as watching an action flick. Fast-paced action with a lot of moving pieces. There are a lot of power players here, and watching their dynamic play out on the page is fascinating. Between Blake’s employers, the organization that she’s going up against, and the enemies of the organization, there’s enough intrigue for a lifetime. Add to that Blake’s thirst for revenge warring against the need to keep Naomi safe, and the stakes just keep climbing.

While the physical stakes and energy of Echoes in Snowfall are sky-high, it’s lacking in the emotional stakes department. There is a surfeit of action and reaction, but not very much in the way of contemplation. In times of danger, Blake makes the decisions to protect both herself and Naomi, but there’s never a true sense of her feelings on the matter. The actions the characters take often stand in for the emotion, and for a novel that centers around love and revenge, it feels unbalanced.

Echoes in Snowfall holds the recipe of a good sci-fi thriller: a seemingly impossible mission, shadowy threats, increasingly dire stakes. The time-warping aspect is refreshingly new as well. This is a quick, fun read that has enough of the genre norms to delight thriller readers with a good dose of originality to make its own mark.

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