Review: "Mountain Echoes" by C. E. Murphy

Been wanting to write this out for a couple of weeks, at least, and decided I better do it now.

I am reading "Mountain Echoes" by C. E. Murphy. Book eight in the Walker Papers.

As I have stated before and no doubt will state again, she is one of two writers I really want to be like.. Murphy knows how to turn a phrase (to quote just one "Cop Shop") and how to end a chapter with a cliffhanger-sometimes a complete surprise-and how to place her MC in danger.

That last isn't as easy as it might sound. I know from personal experience. She does it just right which is one reason I want to write like her.

I will say one thing about this book though. It seems too easy to read. Some writers are like that, in some cases almost like they are writing YA or even Mid Grade books. I don't recall if I noticed that with previous Murphy books but this one is too easy. But it also has the usual turns of phrases-I mentioned earlier-and the great descriptions and action scenes. I'm there wherever her there is. Plus she has the same cliffhanger chapter endings as usual and as I have also mention earlier. I would describe a couple of those endings but that would be a major spoiler. I really don't want to do that here.

I will say that her meeting with her son(No, this isn't a spoiler since it's on the back of the cover or maybe it is but they did it first) is pure Walker. You would have had to read the previous books to understand that. I must say also--this is a minor spoiler--that it took me a while to get that Walkingsticks are praying mantises. Very slight criticism of Murphy there. I thought they were a different "stick" insect.

I don't want to gush too much over the book, I'm sure Murphy has her detractors but the only problems I have noticed are small ones. Some may not like Walker she can be a bit of a whinier and her emotional baggage can hinder her more than some would like but over all I like her and Murphy displays her wonderfully,   Walker does learn though even though sometimes without warning which might be one defect in Murphy's writing. Walker will say something along the lines of  I did this last time and it blew up in my face so I thought about it and this time I do it another way, I read up on it last time I had a chance so I think it will work better. I say Oh, when did she think about it or read up on it? But (Shoulder shrug) it doesn't happen a lot and I consider it minor.

It's a great read and I recommend it to anyone who likes adventure with a mystery mixed in.


I will add one thing here, Murphy did something in number seven or six that I personally wished she didn't do with Walker.  But few readers will probably feel that way. I'm sorry I can't say what for it will By a Huge Spoiler. All I will say though that of one character I said, "That young???!!"  but she did something too that I said ugh too. But as I said that was personal tastes not anything wrong with Murphy's writing. Still as you probably realized I kept reading.