When Scars Become Altars

Echoes of Darkness

Written by Darlene L. Turner

Published by: Harlequin – Romance, Love Inspired Trade

Publication Date: 06.24.25

Genre: Christian, Mystery & Suspense, Inspirational

4 Stars!

Some scars don’t fade.

They ache long after the bleeding stops.

They whisper memories we’d rather forget.

They remind us what darkness can do.

And sometimes... they remind us what God has already done.

Echoes of Darkness isn’t a story you coast through. It’s raw. Chilling. It reaches into the places we try to hide and dares to ask what we’ll do when evil doesn’t knock — it enters.

And when it does… will I still trust God? Will I still seek His face and believe, with confidence, that He is holding me tightly in His powerful embrace?

Oaklynn Brock is no stranger to shadows. Her past is more than complicated. It pulses under every decision, every fear, every guarded word. Her scars aren’t buried. They help carry the story.

The echo that lingered was her scarred heart, still pressing forward toward truth, toward healing, toward the one true God she was longing to trust.

“God changed my life. What about you?” Caleb Greene asks her that and the question doesn’t leave quietly. He’s steady. Marked by his own surrendered past. The kind of character who doesn’t just speak faith — he walks it, step by step. Even when, especially when, evil presses in hard.

Here’s another quote I carry with me: “Lord, I’m sorry … I don’t understand why they did what they did, but You do. You’ve forgiven my wrongs. It’s my turn. I forgive them and release them and my past to You.”  This is a story of psychological intensity, yes — cults, killers, fear. But it’s also a story of release. Of laying down bitterness before it becomes identity. Caleb’s prayer is one of the most honest I’ve read in fiction. And that same honesty runs like a current beneath the chaos.

“God, protect me from evil.”  That’s a lifeline — one I found myself whispering as the tension closed in. There’s real darkness here. Not fantasy. Not exaggerated. Real evil. Real trauma. Real scars.

But also: real Light. Real redemption. Real Jesus.

The only way through a world this broken is to grip His hand like your life depends on it — because it does. Evil never rests. Neither does our blessed, powerful Savior.

Echoes of Darkness isn’t just a title — it’s what trauma does. It echoes. Long after the moment passes. Long after the light returns. But in the hands of God, even those echoes are tamed. Even the darkness must answer to Him. And those scars? They don’t disappear. But they no longer define us. They become altars — places where His grace echoes louder than our pain.

I received a digital copy ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review in any way or for any reason. My honest and unbiased opinions expressed in this book review are my own. My review focuses on the writing style, the pacing, and the story’s content, ensuring transparency and reliability.