The Echo

It was the smell that Mrs. Powell noticed first. Slightly sweet. Slightly unpleasantIt shocked her badly to find a dead man in the corner, his head slumped on his knees.When Billy Blake, a homeless alcoholic, is found dead of starvation in Amanda Powells private garage in the ritzy docklands area of London, the press arrives in force. But Billys story is never told because Amanda refuses to comment, and interest in the unknown wino quickly flags.Then, six months after Blakes death, the journalist Michael Deacon discovers that Amanda has changed her tune. Now she is suddenly eager to talk about Billy for Deacons feature article on poverty and the homeless. More than eager she seems obsessed with finding out the real identity of her dead visitor. Deacons curiosity is piqued. Why is Amanda taking Blakes death so personally? Why did he choose her garage to die in? And why is she so anxious to discover his true identity?The more he learns about Blake, the more Deacon can sense echoes of the homeless mans life in his own. Echoes so compelling that Deacon cant let go of the story until hes learned who Billy Blake really was and why Amanda is almost certainly lying about her own interest in the dead man.From the Hardcover edition.

in This Acclaimed Psychological Mystery, Jinx Kingsley, A Prominent Photographer And Millionaire’s Daughter, Wakes Up In An Exclusive Hospital Suffering From Amnesia. not Only Can She Not Remember The Car Accident That Caused Her Memory Loss, But She Doesn’t Remember That Her Impending Wedding Has Been Called Off Or That Her Former Fiancé And His Girlfriend Have Been Brutally Murdered In The Same Way Her First Husband Had Been Ten Years Before. Now She Must Try To Piece Together Her Memories In Order To Determine Her Innocence. With Deft Psychological Explorations And Shocking Twists, Walters Brings The Story To An Awe-inspiring Conclusion.

publishers Weekly

british Suspense Writer Walters, Each Of Whose Previous Books (the Ice House, The Sculptress And The Scold's Bridle) Has Won An Award, Now Has A New Publisher And A Big Promotional Push Behind Her. Unfortunately, The New Book Is Her Weakest To Date-overplotted And Rather Unconvincing. It Rests On An Interesting Premise, However: Its Heroine, Jinx Kingsley, Who Has Been Found Drunk And Disoriented On An Abandoned Airfield In Wiltshire After Apparently Trying To Kill Herself By Wrecking Her Car, Is Suspected Of Several Murders-but Can't, After Her Accident, Remember Anything That Happened For Several Vital Days. Her Husband Had Been Mysteriously Killed Some Years Before-and Now Her Fianc And The Girlfriend With Whom He Has Been Cheating On Jinx Are Missing. Can Her Powerful Millionaire Father Be Involved? And What About The Man Who Is Savagely Attacking Prostitutes In The Area? As Jinx Tries, In A Local Clinic Run By Sympathetic Dr. Alan Protheroe, To Recover Her Memory And Exorcise Dark Terrors Hovering At The Edge Of Her Mind, Several Well-observed Police Investigators Dig Out Fragments Of Her Story. But That Story Is So Complicated, And Filled With Such A Welter Of Walk-on Characters, Many Of Them Ultimately Insignificant, That The Reader Loses Patience. Jinx Herself Is Not Made Sufficiently Sympathetic To Win Interest, Her Growing Affection For Dr. Protheroe Seems Half-hearted And The Ultimate Murderer, When Finally Unmasked, Comes Right Out Of Left Field. Walters Is Highly Talented, But Perhaps She Is Working Too Fast. 75,000 First Printing; Major Ad/promo; Literary Guild Main Selection. (mar.)

When Jinx Kingsley, respected fashion photographer and only daughter of millionaire Adam Kingsley, is found unconscious in the wreckage of a mysterious car accident on an abandoned airfield, the police suspect a suicide attempt. Blood samples taken at the scene reveal an alarmingly high blood-alcohol level, and authorities discover that just one day prior to the accident, neighbors found an unconscious Jinx parked in her garage with the car engine running. Matters are further complicated when it is learned that Jinx's fiance has run away with her best friend, and neither can be located for questioning. Dazed, confused, and suffering from post-traumatic amnesia, Jinx is placed in an exclusive private clinic, where she struggles to regain her memory with the help of Dr. Alan Protheroe. As their professional relationship grows and the dialogue between them deepens, Protheroe starts to see Jinx as the woman she really is: brilliant, strong-willed, and by her own admission far too proud to kill herself. At first, Jinx can remember nothing about her alleged suicide attempt. But with Protheroe's help, memories begin to surface - memories of desperation and absolute terror. In this acclaimed psychological mystery, Jinx Kingsley, a prominent photographer and millionaire's daughter, wakes up in an exclusive hospital suffering from amnesia. Not only can she not remember the car accident that caused her memory loss, but she doesn't remember that her impending wedding has been called off or that her former fiancé and his girlfriend have been brutally murdered in the same way her first husband had been ten years before. Now she must try to piece together her memories in order to determine her innocence. With deft psychological explorations and shocking twists, Walters brings the story to an awe-inspiring conclusion. In this hypnotic novel of psychological suspense, a homeless man is found starved to death in the garage of a ritzy London home. The police chalk it up to an unfortunate accident, but a journalist, Michael Deacon, is intrigued. Amanda Powell, a socialite whose wealthy husband vanished five years ago after being accused of embezzlement, is just as interested as Michael in finding out who died in her garage. They have no idea that this simple story will unveil a web of deceit that is an appalling as the people behind it. From the Trade Paperback edition When heiress Jinx Kingsley is found unconscious in the wreckage of a mysterious car accident, the police suspect a suicide attempt. Suffering from amnesia, Jinx is placed in an exclusive private clinic, where she struggles to regain her memory with the help of Dr. Alan Protheroe -- but the memories that begin to surface are terrifying and desperate A journalist in London investigates the mystery of a homeless man found dead in the garage of a wealthy woman. The woman is the wife of a merchant banker who absconded abroad with a vast sum of money. Not by chance her husband? The woman is not talking. By the author of The Ice House