CITY OF ECHOES is a dark, gritty, one-sit read that is well worth your time and energy. Robert Ellis is one of those authors who isn’t a household name --- not yet, anyway --- but makes a rabid fan out of anyone who picks up one of his books. If you like Michael Connelly or Gerald Petievich, you should put Ellis on your must-read list as well.

It’s been a few years since we have had anything from Ellis, a fact that makes the publication of CITY OF ECHOES all the sweeter, if “sweeter” is a word we want to attach to this grim, violent and wonderful novel. Ellis introduces Matt Jones to his constellation in the LAPD firmament. Jones is a detective with extensive military combat background. He had been working in Narcotics prior to his transfer to Homicide. His celebratory dinner is marred by a tragic and ironic murder mere steps from the restaurant where it is to take place. The crime is laid at the feet of the “three-piece bandit,” a polite but elusive holdup man who had been robbing people at gunpoint. The problem is that the three-piece bandit had never injured anyone prior to this.

"CITY OF ECHOES is full of surprises. You may guess some of them but not all. Ellis’ trademark plotting is on full display here. Think of a cube of C4 detonated in a closet, and you’ll be close to what he does with his numerous twists and turns."

Jones and Denny Cabrera, his enigmatic partner, begin the investigation despite some unusual pushback from their supervisor and a couple of very slippery detectives. Things get more interesting when a ritualistic murder of a young woman occurs and appears to be similar to two other prior killings. However, an arrest was made in one of those murders, and the suspect, while incarcerated, committed suicide prior to trial. Jones thinks that the police may have arrested and charged the wrong man, a theory that does not go down well with his fellow officers.

As Jones digs further, he discovers that a number of LAPD officers who were peripherally involved in the investigations of the other killings have wound up dead under tragic circumstances. It seems that someone is covering up for a murderer and, worse, that Jones and Cabrera may have painted targets on their own backs. As the list of officers that they can trust grows smaller, Jones also discovers that he is being followed by someone who appears to be unconnected with law enforcement. He is puzzled as to why he would be tailed; the answer, when it comes, is astounding, as is the trail that Jones uncovers and the places where it ultimately leads.

CITY OF ECHOES is full of surprises. You may guess some of them but not all. Ellis’ trademark plotting is on full display here. Think of a cube of C4 detonated in a closet, and you’ll be close to what he does with his numerous twists and turns. While not a literary writer, he is a heck of a spellbinding storyteller who never stops surprising the reader. And for those who have been reading Ellis for a while, he drops a particular surprise that will leave everyone in anticipation of the next Matt Jones book. That is, if Jones survives the first one.