I loved the Narrator, I think they really brought the main POV to life. I binged this book in about a day. It had a eerie town, a mystery, and our MC trying to find this last connection to their mother. I wish we could have got a bit more of the relationship between the sister. I feel we got a good feeling of mother and daughter but not sisters. I will ever be a fan of these type of romances.

I could not stop listening to this book! What is wrong with everyone is Backravel? What do they Do they all do in that treatment center? And why did Beck’s mom go there all the time? I believe that this book would great TV miniseries or movie!

What a ride.
Going on the journey with Beck and Riley to the town her mother kept going before she died to figure out what she was searching for was such a cool experience. The way it was written was so eerie and lovely. During parts the hairs on the back of my neck would raise and I would have a million questions and theories.
I loved how it unraveled and the end made me cry.
Definitely be aware that losing a parent and dealing with the grief is a theme in this book.
Definitely want to check out Courtney Goulds other work now!
Also the narrator was great.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for an advanced listening copy.

Where Echoes Die is the story a girl who follows a letter sent by her dead mother out to a small dessert town where things aren't quite what they seem. I loved so many things about the Audio book edition of this story. The Narration really heightened my ability to connect to how disoriented our main character feels while in backgravel and that heightened connection made the themes of grief and moving on hit that much harder. If you are an Audio book reader looking for a story with sapphic rep,strong family bonds, and a mystery that pushes on the boundary of science and magic this is the story for you.

With themes of grief and figuring out how to move on, and with no aliens to be found, this book is The Sims 4: Strangerville.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners, Wednesday Books, Courtney Gould, and Isabella Star LaBlanc (audio narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to the audiobook of Where Echoes Die in exchange for an honest review.

Where Echoes Die takes readers on a thrilling journey through grief, mystery, and the unbreakable bond between sisters. In this poignant tale, Beck Birsching finds herself adrift following the tragic loss of her brilliant, yet troubled investigative journalist mother. There's more to her death than they know, and Beck seeks answers. Consumed by memories of happier times, Beck's yearning for normalcy intensifies when she receives a mysterious letter penned by her mother, beckoning her to the strange small town of Backravel, Arizona.

Upon arriving in Backravel, Beck and her sister, Riley, discover a place that defies explanation. The town is devoid of cars, cemeteries, and churches, with a peculiar mix of weathered military structures juxtaposed against gleaming new buildings. The omnipresent treatment center, perched high on a plateau, seems to hold sway over the entire community. Strangely, the residents possess no recollection of how they arrived in Backravel, leaving Beck with an unsettling sense of intrigue and an unwavering determination to uncover the truth while hiding her investigative motivation from her sister and the townspeople. The town leader and his daughter, Avery, hold the key to this enigma, but their motives remain shrouded in secrecy.

As Beck delves deeper into the quest for answers about her mother, an unexpected connection with Avery emerges, pulling them together in ways they could never have imagined. Amidst the unraveling mysteries of Backravel, Beck finds herself confronting buried emotions tied to her mother's passing. Desperate to preserve the fading remnants of the past, Beck's entanglement with Backravel and its eerie ties to her mother's legacy blur the boundaries of reality. Can Beck find a way to reclaim her sense of self and solve her mother's mysterious death before being consumed by the haunting grip of Backravel and its omniscient treatment center?

This novel is a beautifully written exploration of loss, identity, and the resilience of the human spirit. The audiobook has a captivating narrator who wraps the reader into the story, giving them the feel of being among the strange town. 

Where Echoes Die is a compelling read that seamlessly blends mystery and introspection. Gould masterfully crafts a narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats, yearning to unravel the enigmatic threads of Backravel's secrets alongside Beck and the memory-missing townsfolk. An excellent novel perfect for young adult readers and fans of mystery and thriller.

This was a refreshing and compelling read! The main character is very relatable and flawed in ways that make her endearing. The story line draws you in and makes you want to go through the adventure with the characters. While it is a bit predictable, it is so well written that it is forgivable. The narrator does a great job bringing the story to life and keeping your interest. Definitely a read and audiobook worth your time!

Backravel, a place, before her death that Becks mother often visited. The place that is the origin of the letter Becks receives after her mothers death, the letter that says, find me. Flailing from grief, dreading living with her father and his wife, she takes her younger sister and heads for Backravel. She hopes to find why her mother found this place so special that she would leave her two young daughters to frequently visit this town. When the girls arrive at Backravel, they find a town with no cemeteries, no churches, no people walking about. The couple who show them to the trailer they will stay in, seem strange. Everything about this town seems strange. Beck doesnt know just how strange it will get.

When I first started reading this I thought Stepford Wives, but I was wrong. Though there were a few similarities, there were many, many strange differences A novel about a daughters search for the mother she wants to know more about, about time, what it means to different people. what one will give to be able to manipulate it. If one is looking for something different, this will fill the ticket.

Listened to the audio which was well narrated.

Unfortunately, this one just didn't translate over well to audio for me.
The pacing was super slow, despite the very interesting storyline and I found myself tuning out more often than not. This led to lot of rewinding and if I wasn't fully paying attention I missed key plot points. What was going on in Backravel was pretty confusing to begin with, and I think a lot of the reveal came through in inferred bits and pieces, which was hard to follow and keep track of on audio for me. To be honest I still don't fully understand exactly what was going on after finishing.
However, I listened to the authors previous book, "The Dead and the Dark" and loved it. I just don't think this was a good audio fit for me, and would recommend to those who are able to give their audiobooks full attention when listening. I might try to pick this up again in physical form at sometime where I can catch all the small details.

I really enjoyed the story! The audio book reader read it very well and at a good pace. I would reccomend this book/audiobook! 10/10 would reccomend!
*Special Thank You to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of the book*

Where Echoes Die is a creepy, mystery novel with a paranormal vibe. Sisters Beck and Riley visit the town of Backravel, Arizona after they receive a letter from their late mother urging them to go. Ellery, once a brilliant investigative reporter, has passed way from a sudden brain tumor. Beck and Riley are supposed to be moving to Texas to be with their dad but stop in Backravel along the way---their father thinks they're staying with a friend and her grandmother.

Once in Backravel nothing is as it seems. While Riley gets bored and wants to leave early, Beck takes on the roll of her mother as she tries to unlock all of the secrets the town has to offer. Avery, the town guide, is a peculiar girl around Beck and Riley's age but getting any answers below the surface is difficult. When Beck finally meets her father Richard, the story takes off in a weird and creepy direction.

The first half of Where Echoes Die was a little slower than I would have liked, but also creepy enough that I knew I needed to hang one. The second half picked up considerably and the revelations were one bomb drop after another. It quickly became a favorite.

There is an LGBTQIA+ representations and while I sometimes feel authors throw in a character for the sake of diversity, I thought Gould did a wonderful job of inclusion where it fit and made sense.

Thank you for access to this ALC!

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was pretty scifi not gonna lie but not horrible, just took me awhile to get into it. Not something i would reread but i would recommend it still.

This is an autograb author for me. I have loved everything that I have read by them. This was no exception. I loved it. It was strange and weird and wonderful. I needed to know what was going on the whole time. The end was such a twist. I did not see it coming. I loved the characters. I felt for Beck and Riley. Watching their mom slowly fade must have been so hard. The narrator was great. I cannot wait to read more from this author. I cannot recommend this one enough. Thank you to NetGalley Macmillan Audio for the audio arc in exchange for my honest review.

A slow spiral through grief and trauma. Beck is a teen whose mother has recently passed away, but the end of her life, as well as her death, left behind so much confusion and so many questions that Beck feels compelled to answer.

Creepy with an underlying tension throughout, I thought this was a really effective balance between supernatural thriller and a really poignant journey through not just Beck’s grief from her mother’s death but also the trauma she endured from the chaotic descent in the years before her actual death.

It is a very slow burn, if you’re looking for a fast-paced, edge of your seat and full of action thriller - this is not it. But if you’re looking for an emotional/psychological thriller exploring sadness and the pain of loss, despair, depression, blurred lines of reality, emotional coercion…pick this one up.

The audiobook version is fine, though I felt the performance was a little flat. If you generally listen to audiobooks at normal or only slightly sped up, it’s fine - you can catch more of the narrator’s subtle nuance. But if you’re like me and you have to listen to them at 2-3x speed or you feel like you’re going to crawl out of your own skin waiting for them to speak…pretty much any emotional inflection gets lost because of how subtly it’s done. But it is fine and I didn’t mind listening, it just wasn’t the most dynamic audiobook performance I’ve experienced.

Absolutely loved this book. The sibling love between them and the none that they share, and they decide to take a trip to a mysterious town that their mother loved and wrote in her journal all the time. I couldn’t put this book down.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for an arc of this beauty!

After Beck's mother dies, her and her younger sister go to the small town in Arizona her mother was obsessed with. Something about the mystery of the town calls to Beck, and she can't put it out of her mind. But when they get there, things are even stranger than Beck expected and she discovers a town-wide conspiracy her mother was digging into, and Beck won't rest until she figures that out.

I loved this! I was instantly drawn in by the mystery of the town, the atmosphere, and Beck's determined attitude. I loved the way the mystery unfolded and the romance! I loved the sibling relationship and everything about it.

I get to go to a book signing for this tomorrow and I am beyond excited! I loved this so much and can't wait to see what Gould does next!

CW: grief, parental death, cancer, confinement

Beck and her sister Riley have recently lost their mother. Before going to live with their father and his new wife they decide to travel to the mysterious town of Backravel. This town has a connection with their mother and possibly with the illness that ultimately took her life. With this book I say keep your research into the plot minimal and just jump in!

I really loved Courtney Gould's first book. Like The Dead and the Dark this story falls into different genres easily. Her characters are so beautifully complex. The town is creepy and the mystery totally sucked me in!

Interesting book. Liked the storyline, it was very quick. I didn’t form a connection with the characters. I liked the main character at times. The book was slow at times. I would rate this a 3.75 not necessarily a 4. It talks about grief, loss and the feeling of emptiness. At times it was displayed really well. Check it out for a quick read.

The author does a good job of building the creepy and unsettling world of Backgravel, AZ, and its mysterious treatment center. They develop an intriguing mystery that remains pretty intriguing throughout and comes to a satisfying conclusion.

**3.5-stars**

After their mother's death, 17-year old, Beck, and her 15-year old sister, Riley, are supposed to go live with their Dad and his new partner in Texas. Before they go, Beck has something she needs to do. Concocting a story of staying with a friend and her Grandmother for a bit of a vacation, Beck and Riley are free to take some time and travel where they want. Beck's plan is to go to the town of Backravel, Arizona, to find some answers about her Mom's mysterious final months of life.

Their Mom was an investigative reporter who became obsessed with Backravel. She traveled there frequently. At times it felt like she was choosing Backravel over them. Beck is determined to find out why.

As they arrive in Backravel, it's clear that something is up with this town. The people are strange and treating them even more strangely. They're strongly urged not to take their car to town and there's no cemeteries or churches. The girls settle in to their rented trailer, a place where their Mom had stayed previously, and Beck digs into her investigation. She's keeping her true goals from her sister, so in a way is continuing in the path of her Mom before her.

The town has a charismatic leader, Ricky, who runs a treatment center everyone seems to attend. Beck sets her sights on getting to the bottom of this center, these treatments and Ricky himself. Beck befriends Ricky's daughter, Avery, and gains a lot of new information that way. In the meantime, she also ends up falling for Avery and confiding in her in unexpected ways.

This was an interesting story. I liked the set-up and the vibe of this creepy little town. The concept made me think of a few other things. For example, it reminded me of A History of Wild Places, mostly because of the remote town that felt like a cult, or commune. I did like the mystery of that.

Also, the treatments that were talked about that Ricky performs for the citizens, it made me think of Scientology, like auditing that is performed on members. I was super interested in figuring out what was happening there.

Eventually though, I started to get bored with it and then it went in a direction that I just didn't really care for; the twists. Put another way, while I enjoyed the mystery, I didn't enjoy what the answer ended up being.

However, that is 100% a personal taste issue. Gould's writing is great. The sense of place and, as I mentioned, overall mystery were well done. I did really enjoy The Dead and the Dark by this author, so I think this is just a case of this one not really matching my preferences as far as tropes go.

I did listen to the audiobook and would recommend that as a format choice. The narration is excellent. I felt it fit the tone of the story very well.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I'm glad I had the chance to read this one and will definitely be continuing to pick up Gould's work!