Where echoes die : a novel

Title:

Author:

Summary:

Beck Birsching has been adrift since the death of her mother, a brilliant but troubled investigative reporter. She can’t stop herself from slipping into memories of happier days, longing for a time when things were more normal. So when a mysterious letter in her mother’s handwriting arrives in the mail that reads Come and find me, pointing to the small town at the center of her last investigation, Beck hopes that it may hold the answers. But when Beck and her sister Riley arrive in Backravel, Arizona, it’s clear that something’s off. There are no cars, no cemeteries, no churches. The town is a mix of dilapidated military structures and new, shiny buildings, all overseen by a gleaming treatment center high on a plateau. No one seems to remember when they got there, and when Beck digs deeper into the town’s enigmatic leader and his daughter, Avery, she begins to suspect that they know more than they’re letting on. As Beck and her sister search for answers about their mother, she and Avery are increasingly drawn together, and their unexpected connection brings up emotions Beck has fought to keep buried. Beck is desperate to hold onto the way things used to be, but when she starts losing herself in Backravel―and its connection to her mother―she risks losing her way back out. -- amazon.

Audience:

Ages 14-18. Wednesday Books.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

340 pages ; 22 cm

Genre:

Paranormal fiction.

Subject Term:

Sisters -- Fiction.

Grief -- Fiction.

Mothers and daughters -- Fiction.

Cities and towns -- Fiction

Lesbians -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Wednesday Books,

Publication Date:

2023

ISBN:

9781250825797

Publication Information:

New York : Wednesday Books, 2023.

Call Number:

YA GOULD

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003667469	New Young Adult	GOULD	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

An International Thriller Award Finalist

Two sisters travel to an isolated Arizona town to investigate its connection to their mother's death, but uncover more than they bargained for in this supernatural thriller from the author of The Dead and the Dark .

Beck Birsching has been adrift since the death of her mother, a brilliant but troubled investigative reporter. She can't stop herself from slipping into memories of happier days, longing for a time when things were more normal. So when a mysterious letter in her mother's handwriting arrives in the mail that reads Come and find me , pointing to the small town at the center of her last investigation, Beck hopes that it may hold the answers.

But when Beck and her sister Riley arrive in Backravel, Arizona, it's clear that something's off. There are no cars, no cemeteries, no churches. The town is a mix of dilapidated military structures and new, shiny buildings, all overseen by a gleaming treatment center high on a plateau. No one seems to remember when they got there, and when Beck digs deeper into the town's enigmatic leader and his daughter, Avery, she begins to suspect that they know more than they're letting on.

As Beck and her sister search for answers about their mother, she and Avery are increasingly drawn together, and their unexpected connection brings up emotions Beck has fought to keep buried. Beck is desperate to hold onto the way things used to be, but when she starts losing herself in Backravel--and its connection to her mother-- she risks losing her way back out.

In Where Echoes Die , Courtney Gould draws readers into a haunting desert town to explore grief, the weight of not letting go of the past, first love, and the bonds between sisters, mothers and daughters.

Author Notes

Courtney Gould writes books about queer girls, ghosts, and things that go bump in the night. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in 2016 with a Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing and Publishing. She was born and raised in Salem, OR, where she continues to write love letters to the haunted girls and rural, empty spaces. She is the author of The Dead and the Dark and Where Echoes Die .

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

A mysterious letter impels two sisters to investigate the circumstances behind their mother's death in this supernatural thrill ride by Gould (The Dead and the Dark). A few weeks after their mother's death, 17-year-old Beck Birsching and her 15-year-old sister Riley travel from Everett, Wash., to the unincorporated community of Backravel, Ariz., the scene of the unfinished investigation that consumed their reporter mother's final years. The siblings find that Backravel is an idyllic yet unnaturally empty town filled with a mishmash of gleaming new construction and rusting old military structures. Hoping to complete her mother's life's work, Beck obsessively delves into the mystery surrounding charismatic town leader Ricky Carnes, his daughter Avery, and the enigmatic treatment center looming over the streets. Beck is a smart and tough-as-nails heroine whose personal journal entries and careful observations drive the central mystery. Touching explorations of her relationships with her mother, Riley, and Avery bring the emotional core to the fore as Gould, via a close third-person perspective, carefully weaves together a powerful portrait of grief and healing that's equal parts unnerving and heartbreaking. Most characters cue as white. Ages 14--up. (June)