Dead Echo is book 3 in the Supernatural Slayer series by Kate Reedwood and Chris Heinicke and once again this duo has written a humorous, yet suspenseful, and anxiety inducing horror.
Dead Echo picks up where their previous book, Dead Channel left off, so I would not recommend jumping into the series with this book. Also, although the series may be read as a standalone series, it is tied into several other series such as the Mall Priest, and the It Came From books in which many of the characters in this book were introduced. While I think it’s only necessary to have read Dead Channel prior to reading this book, I do think being familiar with the other books does make this one a little more fun, because you understand the underlying relationships between the characters a little better.
If you aren’t familiar with these authors, be warned, they are not averse to making you care for a character, only to rip your heart out later, and this book is no exception. They put their characters into impossible situations and you truly do not know if they will make it out alive or not, which makes every book an anxiety inducing read. At times I as so anxious about the characters that I had to set the book aside for a day or so before picking it up and carrying on again.
I enjoy that, for a horror novel, I really feel connected to the characters, and care what happens to them. There are no many horror novels where I don’t really care what happens to the main characters but I almost always get emotional while reading books by these authors, and it was no different with Dead Echo. They are also excellent at making you cheer when the villain meets a terrible end.
I loved Dead Echo, it was an emotional read that had me on a roller coaster from beginning to end. I would like to say I read it in just one sitting, but I was in a bit of a reading slump so it did take me.a while to get through it, but not because I wasn’t enjoying the story. There were also those few times I mentioned when I couldn’t take the anxiety and had to set the book aside for a bit.
I would recommend Dead Echo and the previous book, Dead Channel, to anyone who loves kind of campy horror that takes place in an earlier, slightly simpler time (I think this one is in the early 2000’s if I’m not mixing up my timelines). It’s also great if you love a fairly large cast of characters who obviously love and care for each other.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Dead Echo releases on October 16 2026.
