Review: Echoes of Edisto (The Edisto Island Mysteries, #3) by C. Hope Clark

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 781 KB
• Print Length: 290 pages
• Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (Aug. 5 2016)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
• Language: English
• ASIN: B01GSNU76E

Book Description

Edisto Island is a paradise where people escape from the mainstream world. Yet for newly sworn-in Edisto Police Chief Callie Jean Morgan, the trouble has just begun . . .

When a rookie officer drowns in a freak crash in the marsh, Callie’s instincts tell her it wasn’t an accident. As suspects and clues mount, Callie’s outlandish mother complicates the investigation, and Callie’s long-time friendship with Officer Mike Seabrook takes a turn toward something new—but is shadowed by the unsolved mystery of his wife’s death. Everyone’s past rises to the surface, entangling with death that cuts to the bone.

"The roar of the surf made Callie’s steps soundless, her thoughts louder. Two and a half weeks on the job, and she’d lost an officer. Edisto hadn’t sacrificed an officer in its entire history, and the first female chief had to be the one to break the record.

She sniffled. Salty breezes began to clear her sinuses, but nothing could assuage the guilt clinging to her like the muggy air.

Sarah lived. Francis died. And somebody had to be disappointed at that freakish turn of events, because she suspected it was meant to be the other way around. Crime was for people who lived across the big bridge on the mainland. But whether the natives liked it or not, the brake lines were cut on Edisto. She didn’t want to go down that path, but one of them might be a frustrated, unfulfilled killer."

About the Author

C. Hope Clark was born and reared in the South, from Mississippi to South Carolina with a few stints in Alabama and Georgia. The granddaughter of a Mississippi cotton farmer, Hope holds a B.S. in Agriculture with honors from Clemson University and 25 years’ experience with the U. S. Department of Agriculture to include awards for her management, all of which enable her to talk the talk of Carolina Slade, the protagonist in most of her novels. Her love of writing, however, carried her up the ranks to the ability to retire young, and she left USDA to pen her stories and freelance.

Lowcountry Bribe‘s won several awards to include finalist status of the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense sponsored by Romance Writers of America. The novel enjoyed semi-finalist status (top 100 out of 10,000) in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. The book went on to win the 2012 Silver Falchion Award for Crime Fiction and the 2013 EPIC E-book Award for Best Mystery.

Tidewater Murder and Palmetto Poison followed close on Lowcountry's heels in the Carolina Slade series. Hope's recently released a new series, beginning with Murder on Edisto, of the Edisto Island Mysteries, followed by Edisto Jinx, with Echoes of Edisto and Affairs of Edisto forthcoming in 2016 and 2017..

Hope is married to a 30-year veteran of federal law enforcement, a Senior Special Agent, now a contract investigator. They met on a bribery investigation within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the basis for the opening scene to Lowcountry Bribe. Hope and her special agent live on the rural banks of Lake Murray outside of Chapin, South Carolina, forever spinning tales on their back porch, bourbon and coke in hand, when not tending a loveable flock of Orpington and Dominiquer hens.

She also currently manages FundsforWriters.com, a weekly newsletter service she founded that reaches almost 35,000 writers to include university professors, professional journalists and published mystery authors. Writer’s Digest has recognized the site in its annual 101 Best Web Sites for Writers for 16 years.

She’s published in The Writer Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Chicken Soup, Next Step Magazine, College Bound Teen, Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), TURF Magazine, Landscape Management and other trade and online publications. She speaks at several writers’ conferences a year. Hope is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, EPIC, International Thriller Writers, SE Writers Assoc. and MENSA.

My Review

Echoes of Edisto  is the third book in the The Edisto Island Mysteries series by author C. Hope Clark. I love this series. Author Clark beautifully captures the essence of Edisto Island. It is a magical place hidden on the shores of South Carolina.

Echoes of Edisto begins just after the last book, Edisto Jinx, lets off. Callie is now the Police Chief of Edisto Island. The book opens with the death of one of her officers. Not the best way to start her new position. In fact it is quite devastating. As is the fact that somehow her mother may involved. And her dead father's mistress..whose brakes were tampered with. This accident caused her officer Francis's death. Who is this reporter who is intent on destroying Callie's mother's political career? And what is going on with Officer Mike Seabrook. Do they have a future together?

Callie is still struggling with her demons...past and present. Alcohol is her escape. Her son Jeb and her love Mike Seabrook are both looking out for her and encouraging her to find solace without the bottle. There are lots of twists and turns in this story. It is hard to put down.

Good mystery. It took me quite a while to figure out what was going on. Never assume anything about anyone in this tale!

Great read! Highly recommend Echoes of Edisto and the entire Edisto Island Mystery series. I'm already looking forward to what is going to happen to Callie next as she settles into life on Edisto.