Our Last Echoes

It's official: Kate Alice Marshall has become an auto-buy author. After reading Rules for Vanishing in 2019, she was definitely on my radar. However, after finishing Our Last Echoes, I am thrilled to say she's becoming a new favorite. Each of her stories are carefully crafted, eerie in nature but exciting with every turn of the page. I have no hesitancy in stating that her stories are completely unique, and with every additional published piece, she seems to be shaping a personal brand for herself that I am falling in absolute love with. Our Last Echoes follows Sophia, a foster child just aged out of the system. When a mysterious tip suggests the circumstances of her mother's death are questionable, she finds herself traveling to Alaska for answers at Bitter Rock, her mother's last known location. The spot is near abandoned, its eerie history driving everyone but a small team of researchers away. With an internship as her cover, Sophia begins to secretly investigate not only the disappearance of her mother, but Bitter Rock's string of disappearances across history. With their intricate link to a dangerous mist that falls over the island, Sophia soon uncovers not just the truth behind the disappearances but the truth of herself. This was a definite page-turner. Easy to read and exciting, the story sucks in readers right away and does not let go until the end. If you are a fan of horror or spine-tingling legends, this one is definitely for you. I found myself floored with terror yet still eager to continue. Marshall truly fashions a unique story, sprinkled with some classic horror tropes yet still wonderfully fresh. I'll definitely be sleeping with the lights on tonight!

I read and enjoyed Rules for Vanishing (except for the ending which I felt was rushed) and so it was nice to get a chance to read this companion book. You don't need to have read the other book to understand this one. This story is all about Sophia Hayes aka Sophie Novak on her search for her mother who she thought died when she was three but seems not to be the case after all. Her search leads her to Bitter Rock where there are peculiar disappearances (I liked the records of those) and things in the mist. It is nicely creepy with the echoes and the weird red throated terns and I enjoyed traveling along with Sophia, Liam, and Abby on their search for answers to what had been found and why it was taking people. I liked the theme of family in this book and what people will do to protect their loved ones. I do not feel like this ending was as rushed and I was satisfied with it. I am also looking forward to the next one!