Welcome to the Blog Tour for Echoes of Darkness by Darlene L. Turner, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
About the Book
Title: Echoes of Darkness
Author: Darlene L. Turner
Publisher: Love Inspired Trade
Release Date: June 24, 2025
Genre: Christian Suspense/Romantic Thriller
A serial killer stalks a small town, and a police officer must face her family’s dark past to catch him.
The sleepy community of Kenorapeake Falls in northern Ontario seems like somewhere Constable Oaklynn Brock can finally outrun her violent past. That is, until she’s assigned to investigate a series of suspicious deaths. She can’t reveal that she knows how serial killers think because she grew up with one. Yet the eerie similarities between these murders and those committed by her father, known as the Suicide Slayer, hint at a copycat in their midst. But why here and why now?
Caleb Greene of the Canadian Watchers Squad, a special task force, has his own reasons to be wary of working alongside Oaklynn. But with rumors of a local cult known as the Light Paragons gaining power, the stakes are too high to refuse.
As they explore connections between the killings and cult, Oaklynn and Caleb are forced to confront old secrets…and a terrifying new threat. Someone is watching Oaklynn’s every move. They know exactly who she is and what she might be capable of. And soon her biggest fear isn’t just having her past exposed, but that a killer will turn whatever days she has left into a living nightmare…
PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Harlequin | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | ChristianBook | Bookshop | BookBub
Excerpt
“Suicide Slayer Dead. Constable Oaklynn Brock’s coffee mug slipped from her fingers and smashed to the floor as she read the newspaper article on her cell phone. The serial killer’s picture graced the front cover, sending her heart rate into overdrive. Bile crawled up the back of her throat. Breathe, Oaklynn, breathe. Voices filtered into Kenorapeake Falls Police Department’s Kenorapeake Falls Police Department’s briefing room, or as the constables liked to call it—the bullpen. Her sergeant’s words commending the group on their recent successful hostage takedown faded into the background. Could it be true? The monster was dead? Oaklynn didn’t wish death upon anyone, but relief flooded through every muscle in her body with the report of the man’s demise. His killings had made national headlines over the years, and news of his death probably made most Canadians cheer. But for her, his brutal slayings hit too close to home. In more ways than one.”
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My Impressions
“Suicide Slayer Dead. Constable Oaklynn Brock’s coffee mug slipped from her fingers and smashed to the floor as she read the newspaper article on her cell phone.”
Darlene L. Turner’s full-length Love Inspired book starts out with a bang and consternation that will continue all throughout this new book, Echoes of Darkness. Heads up, Echoes of Darkness is darker and grittier than anything I’ve read yet by Turner. A psychological thriller, I would compare Turner’s new writing style to that of Nancy Mehl or Jessica Patch. There WILL be terror.
Oaklynn is terrified for two, maybe three reasons. She has a community to protect from the Light Paragons, a dangerous cult that recruits young people. If the recruits discover the true nature of the cult, and try to get out, their individual bodies are found with a chilling message for Oaklynn. Oaklynn’s biggest terror, aside from the responsibility mounting as the body count rises, comes from within. “Does evil pass through a family’s bloodline? Could she have that gene? Could she take a life so easily, like her father?”
Oaklynn has done so much to put her father’s serial killings behind her, in a compartment in her heart, where she is the only one who knows of that part of her life. Yet, it is very apparent that the new serial killer knows her quite well.
Oaklynn’s team is difficult. Not only does she have an officer who is jealous of her position as lead investigator on the team, but her team has to work with an unusual outside group. The mayor has insisted that the Canadian Watchers Squad, an elite force led by Caleb Greene, join forces with the police. If only Caleb didn’t hate Oaklynn!
Both Oaklynn and Caleb have reason to fear in spades! Can God see them through these fears to the light on the other side? Caleb encourages Oaklynn with these words. “…until we face our fears head-on, they’ll never go away. Remember, God calls us to walk through them with Him.” Unfortunately, Caleb, too, will have to dive deeper in the land of fear he never wanted to revisit, in a desperate effort to help solve this case. His father reminds him, “Preach has called his warriors. They’ll be on their knees the entire time you’re there. He can’t hurt you or manipulate you any longer. You have God on your side. Remember that.” But… will the darkness end with them still alive, or will both Caleb and Oaklynn be watching the final victory from the Heavenly grandstand?
Whew!! More intense, more into the mind of a serial killer than I usually read. But Turner makes sure to show that there is still Light in the darkest night.
I received an ARC of this book from the author via NetGalley. I also pre-ordered my own copy. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Notable Quotables:
“What had she just done? Alienated herself from the one person who could probably pluck her from the depths of her shadowy tomb.”
“Maxwell once told me our lights shine the brightest in the darkness.”
“How could a loving God allow such evil in this world?” “I don’t know the answer to that, Oaklynn, only that humanity is sinful, and that sin has perverted our world. God doesn’t want that. God is the only light in the blackness.”
“Son, we don’t understand why, but sometimes God allows difficult circumstances in our lives to not only teach us something, but to help others.”– Maxwell Greene
“God will meet you in the darkest corner and provide the light for you to escape. You just have to let Him in.”
My Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Magnificent! Darlene L. Turner is venturing into psychological thrillers- close your eyes and hang on tight!!
Tour Giveaway
(4) winners will each receive a $25 Amazon eGift Card!
Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight June 23, 2025 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on June 30, 2025. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Open internationally. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
Nancy Mehl lives in Wichita, Kansas with her husband, Norman, and her very active puggle, Watson. First published in 2001, she has now authored nine books, including an omnibus mystery collection, Cozy in Kansas, which contains three of her previously published Ivy Towers mysteries. Book three in the series, For Whom the Wedding Bell Tolls, won the American Christian Fiction Writers Mystery Book of the Year award. Nancy’s main writing interests lie in mystery although her new Harmony Series leans more toward the romantic suspense genre. Nancy runs a HUD program for the city of Wichita and is president of a volunteer organization, Wichita Homebound Outreach. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Kansas Authors Club.
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