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Released: 28/04/2021

ISBN: 9781800462267
eISBN: 9781800469457
aISBN: 9781800469464

Format: Paperback/eBook/Audio Book

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Charlie Echo

by Andrew Bullas

Like Aladdin, but with post-traumatic stress, Charlie Echo is a story about wishes – the last wishes of a dying soldier in Normandy in 1944. Verbal wills of this sort are valid if there are two witnesses and the first men on the scene are radio operator Charlie Goodman and his assistant, Sid Saunders. Unfortunately, in the confusion of events that follow, Charlie fails to ascertain the full identity of the dying officer and is invalided back to Blighty plagued by trauma and remorse. Once he has been demobbed also, it falls to Saunders to break the impasse by getting his comrade to repair a radio telephone, just like the one they were using in France. What he doesn't anticipate is that working on the set will prompt Charlie to not only hear the mystery soldier's voice again, but to see him too. If not quite the genie in the lamp, it seems like there’s a ghost in the machine and one that’s been transported to his workshop in Leeds.

Dismayed to discover that his wishes have not been carried out, the ghost goads Charlie into journeying through post-war Britain in order to fulfil his battlefield promise. Jolting between humour and pathos, it’s a journey that transforms reclusive repair man into unlikely pantomime hero and propels Saunders off in pursuit to play his allotted role in the “show”.

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"An intriguing combination of slapstick and serious, a funny and moving ghost story that celebrates bravery in war and reflects on the cruel fragility of war's after effects." David Wood

"Fresh, original, and explicitly inspired by pantomime and comedeic elements."
Varsity Magazine.
https://www.varsity.co.uk/arts/22065

Press Coverage

Varsity

The Bridgnorth Journal

Book Reviews

Charlie Goodman survived the war alive, but with issues. One of those issues is a verbal will that he and Detective Inspector Saunders were witnesses to in Normandy. Unfortunately, they did not get the chap's complete name so were unable to send it to his family. Then Saunders brought in a radio to the shop where Charlie works. Getting that working brought the ghost of Charles Caird in contact with Charlie. Now the two of them are off on a journey to Scotland to give the verbal will to Charles's fiance. In Scotland, Fiona, the aforementioned fiance, is fending off the grasping hands of Charles's relative, Ivan, who is in line to inherit the Castle and its grounds unless a will turns up according to British inheritance law (think Austen in Pride and Prejudice). So, dear reader, set back and enjoy the shenanigans of Charles and Charlie as they find their way north for the confrontation worthy of a farce or at least a pantomime out of a Dickens's tale!

by NetGalley review

A fantastic story about two veterans trying desperately to deliver a verbal will given by a fallen soldier at Normandy. It should be a straight forward task, only our main characters, Goodman and Saunders did not get the poor soldiers full name. Filled with twists and unexpected visitors, this book will take you on a journey to help fulfill one man's final will and testament to assure the safety, security and future of his family.

Full review: https://www.netgalley.co.uk/book/223586/review/721339

by NetGalley review

This is great. What an original concept and how cleverly executed. By turns funny and tragic, this book captures the joy of friendship over time and how a shared goal can shape people’s lives. This is a really well written book and the author paces it well, shifting focus cleverly as the story progresses.

Original review: https://www.netgalley.co.uk/book/223586/review/700299

by NetGalley review

About the Author

Andrew Bullas

Andrew Bullas was born in Worcestershire. After a BA in Fine Art from Portsmouth University he attended The London Film School. Subsequently he has divided his time between independent film making, teaching and a stint working for the film archive of the Imperial War Museum. "Charlie Echo" is his first book.