
Jay's wife is missing. He's offered four times his usual rate to kill a man called Feather. He dithers. Goes places. Searching for Celandine, dodging his assignment, running into trouble. A contact is killed. Friends blur into foes. More and more it looks like Jay's last job... Echoes of Celandine is a tense, close-knit triumph in which Derek Marlowe deploys highly wrought thriller tactics to X-ray the soul of a man whose cynicism has hardened into an arctic despair.
When a professional hitman is offered a lucrative contract to eliminate a target named Feather, his internal hesitation and the simultaneous disappearance of his wife trigger a descent into a dangerous, shifting underworld. Jay, a man defined by his cynical detachment, finds himself navigating a landscape where his professional obligations collide with his personal search for his missing spouse. As he evades his assignment and tracks leads, he encounters a series of lethal obstacles that force him to question the loyalties of his associates. The narrative follows his movements through a hostile environment, utilizing a tight, focused perspective that emphasizes his isolation and the mounting pressure of his final job.
Readers and critics frequently note the sharp, economical prose style that defines this work. Discussion often centers on the protagonist's cold, detached worldview and how it shapes the reader's perception of the unfolding violence. Many highlight the effective use of suspense, noting that the plot relies more on psychological tension than traditional action sequences. The atmosphere is consistently described as bleak and immersive, reflecting the protagonist's internal state. Overall, the book is recognized for its stylistic precision and its exploration of a man trapped by his own choices.
Page Count:
160
Publication Date:
1973-01-01
Publisher:
Penguin.
ISBN-10:
0140035141
ISBN-13:
9780140035148
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