A book review of Lost Echoes by Joe R. Lansdale

The great Texas writer, Joe R. Lansdale, is back with another novel, Lost Echoes, and boy is it a keeper! Like Stephen King and Dan Simmons, Joe R. Lansdale can write anything that he sets his mind to--horror, westerns, science fiction, fantasy, Texas noir, and award-winning mainstream novels like The Bottoms and A Fine Dark Line. Mr. Lansdale has been writing fiction for well over twenty years; yet, I've come to the hard conclusion that he's America's best-kept secret. That's the only answer I can come up with as to why he hasn't yet reached The New York Times Bestseller list. I've been devouring books for well over forty-five years, and The Bottoms by Joe Lansdale is the absolute best novel that I've ever read. No brag, just fact. If you haven't read anything by this writer, then I urge to start with The Bottoms or A Fine Dark Line or Sunsets and Sawdust. Some of Joe's stuff has already been done by Hollywood--Bubba Ho-Tep and Incident On & Off a Mountain Road for the Masters of Horror series on Showtime. Now, on to his newest newest novel, Lost Echoes.

This Lansdale novel is about a young man named Harry Wilkes (think Ashton Kutcher), who's working his way through college and trying to stay out of trouble. You see when Harry was six-years of age, he became sick with the mumps and developed a serious ear infection that affected a part of his brain. After he got better, Harry quickly discovered that if he were in an area where a violent crime had taken place and he heard a sudden sound, images of the past crime would fill his mind and he'd see the actual event happen and the faces of everyone involved. In time, Harry found out that he could hardly go anything without this mysterious ability being triggered. When he tried to explain it his few close friends and to his parents, no one believed him except for Kayla, the first girl he ever loved. As he grew older, Harry had to turn to alcohol as a way of putting up a wall against these disturbing images that threatened his sanity. One night while in a bar with one of his childhood friends, Harry sees three guys take this drunk out the back door. He instinctively knows that the guys are going to beat up and rob the man and decides to try and stop it. Rushing out into the back alley, Harry witnesses something right out of a movie as the drunk takes on the three strangers in hand-to-hand combat and whips them all in a matter of seconds. The drunk turns out to be Tad Peters (think of Bruce Willis), a former martial artist who lost his family in a tragic accident. Harry is curious about Tad's skills as a fighter. Recognizing a kindred spirit in the other, they quickly become friends. This eventually leads Harry into becoming Tad's student as they each try to help the other in dealing with the inner demons that cause their problems with drinking. It's also about this time that Kayla comes back into Harry's life. Kayla's now a cop, and she wants to find the people who murdered her father. She seeks Harry's help, which causes a whole chain of events to unfold. Harry soon realizes that the men who killed Kayla's father are also connected to other unsolved murders. It isn't long, however, before these men find out about Harry and his special ability and decide to kill him and anyone else who might know about their secrets. There's going to be one hell of a free-for-all at the end when Harry, Kayla and Tad take on the vicious serial killers in a battle to the death with no mercy being shown by either side.

I stayed up till one o'clock at night to finish Lost Echoes and it was worth it, too! This novel is Joe Lansdale at his best. His writing is smooth and fast paced with an easy Texas colloquial style that makes it seem as if the author is speaking directly to you. The chapters are short with an inevitable hook at the end that makes you want to read just one more before going to bed. That's what caused me to stay up so late. The characters are drawn so vividly that they seem like people you've known in your own life with all of their strengths and weaknesses. Joe also knows how to set up the plot so that you're gradually reeled in like a fish at the end of a hook. And, more importantly, the author always delivers with a powerful ending that leaves you wanting to jump up and down like a monkey in a cage. See, I'm already starting to write like Joe! Lost Echoes is FUN with capital letters. It creates a wonderful addiction that makes you want to read more of Joe's novels and short stories. Man, this is what reading is supposed to be--FUN! You never feel cheated with a book by Joe R. Lansdale. Never! This is a writer who always gives his readers their money's worth, plus more. Buy Lost Echoes and treat yourself to something very special. You won't be disappointed. I can only hope that Hollywood has the good sense to turn this book into a movie starring Bruce Willis and Ashton kutcher.