Book Review: The third in Graham Smith's thrilling Jake Boulder series. I give you my review of Past Echoes

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Right, so there I am reading Past Echoes, quite happily ... enjoying the tension, savouring the adrenalin, lapping up the excitement, just heading to the half way mark ... when ... WHAM! ... out of nowhere Smith sends a curve ball that still has me reeling.  I jumped up from my seat yelling 'How Could You?' to the absent author. 

The cats scattered and, were it not for my instinctive need to protect my kindle at all costs, I'm sure it would have been flung at the window.  The upshot of this, though, is that it is this sort of suspenseful, twisty writing that makes the Jake Boulder books so compelling ... so despite my disbelief it's hats off to Graham Smith.  
In Past Echoes, Boulder is tasked with hunting down a beneficiary in a friend's will which will reveal some startling information about key political figures in New York.  Alongside this, he must make contact with his father in order to save his half brother from certain death.  Past Echoes  shows us another side to Jake Boulder.  Completely out of his comfort zone and facing personal trials that  no man should ever have to face, we see Boulders vulnerable side ... and I like it. Alongside this we see Boulders mum in a different light. Their converging backstories are illuminating and serve to soften Jake's harder edges as well as his mum's brittleness. Insight into Boulder's Sottish heritage is heart warming and thought provoking. This is a well rounded read with a hell of a lot of oomph! 

Fast paced, energetic and jam packed full of surprises Past Echoes is not to be missed.  I'm already eager to see what Smith will do with Boulder in the future.

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