''The Echo'' (

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

) is the fifth

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

written by award-winning British crime fiction author

Minette Walters Minette Caroline Mary Walters DL (born 26 September 1949) is an English crime writer. Life and work Walters was born in Bishop's Stortford in 1949 to Samuel Jebb and Colleen Jebb. As her father was a serving army officer, the first 10 yea ...

. Like all of her books, ''The Echo'' is a stand-alone (non-series) novel whose characters do not appear in any of her other books. Originally published in English, ''The Echo'' has been translated into nine other languages in print and recorded as an e-book in both English and German.

Synopsis

When a homeless man going by the name Billy Blake starves himself to death in the garage of socialite Amanda Powell, journalist Michael Deacon is sent to get the story. Questions abound about Deacon digs into the pasts of both Billy Blake and Amanda Powell: who is Billy Blake? Could he be Amanda's previously vanished husband? Why did he choose to starve himself in her garage and in full view of a freezer full of food? Why is Amanda so interested in Billy Blake, and why does she pay for his funeral? Along the investigative path, Deacon encounters an unusual cast of characters from Billy's past as well as his own.

Main characters

* Amanda Powell * Michael Deacon * Billy Blake

Television adaptation

In 1998 this story was adapted for television by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

. The cast featured

Clive Owen Clive Owen (born 3 October 1964) is an English actor. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for playing the lead role in the ITV series '' Chancer'' from 1990 to 1991. He received critical acclaim for his work in the film '' Close ...

as Michael Deacon and

Joely Richardson Joely Kim Richardson (born 9 January 1965) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Julia McNamara in the FX drama series ''Nip/Tuck'' (2003–10) and Katherine Parr in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2010). She has also appeared ...

as Amanda. The show ran for one season.

External links

More about ''The Echo'' on Walters' website
*

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Echo, The 1997 British novels Novels by Minette Walters Novels about journalists Macmillan Publishers books