VBT# Echo - Christine Lydon

 


VBT# Review: Echo - Christine Lydon - August 2026

There is something about a book set in a secluded location that instantly pulls me in, and Echo by Christine Lydon had my attention from the moment I read the premise. A writer escaping to a remote retreat in the Vermont mountains to finish her overdue novel? Add in a vast Gothic house, a mysterious history, power cuts, no phone signal, and a hedge maze where you could literally lose yourself, and honestly, I was ready to check into Hemlock House myself , although perhaps not for quite as long as the main character!

Our main female character Ally arrives at Hemlock House carrying more than just writer's block. Six months earlier, she lost her son Justin , her marriage to Henry has fallen apart, and her career is beginning to unravel as her book deadline passes her by. She has come to this isolated retreat hoping to disappear for a while and, hopefully, find her way back to writing again.

But Hemlock House has other ideas.

Every morning, thousands of words appear on her computer screen , words she has absolutely no memory of writing. Even stranger, they are some of the best words she has ever produced. As the story on the page begins to blur with what is happening around her, the secrets of Hemlock House slowly start to reveal themselves. There is a missing girl, unexplained deaths, a work crew that refuses to discuss the past, and memories surrounding the death of her son that she has somehow buried deep inside herself.

I really enjoyed the whole premise of Echo. As a book blogger and someone who loves books about writers, the idea of a writing retreat immediately appealed to me. There is just something wonderfully atmospheric about sending a writer to an isolated inn or hotel or, in this case, a beautifully updated vintage Gothic home and then adding secrets, grief, mystery, and the possibility that the house itself may be influencing the story.

The creeping sense of unease was one of my favourite parts. You never quite know whether something supernatural is happening, whether the main character can trust her own memories, or whether there is a very real person behind everything that is taking place. I loved that feeling of uncertainty and the way the mystery kept me wanting to turn the pages to discover what was really going on.

Echo is a dark, atmospheric mystery that combines the world of writing with grief, secrets, and a Gothic setting that feels like a character all of its own. If you love secluded houses with mysterious pasts, stories about writers, and thrillers that make you question what is real, then this is definitely one to add to your reading list.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4zFxetq