Thank you Brilliance Audio for the ALC and MB Communications & Thomas Mercer #partner, for the finished copy of Out of the Ashes in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer / Brilliance Audio
Published: May 1, 2023
Summary:
A woman’s investigation into her family’s murders uncovers lies, secrets, and dangerous truths in a heart-wrenching novel of suspense.
When she was thirteen years old, Samantha Newsom’s family was murdered and their Catskills farmhouse set ablaze in an unsolved crime that left nothing behind but ashes.
Twenty-two years later, Sam is pulled back to her hometown of Carney, New York, under the shadows of the grim tragedy she’s never forgotten or forgiven. Authorities mishandled the evidence, false rumors were seeded about her family, suspects yielded nothing, and the case went cold. Not anymore. Investigator Travis Meacham has been assigned to the case, and he has news for Sam: a prison inmate has come forward with a shocking admission. Sam’s baby sister, presumed dead in the fire, made it out of the house that night.
It’s not the only reveal that upends everything Sam thinks she knows about the crime and her family. But Carney protects its secrets. And this time, Sam might not be able to escape the town alive.
My thoughts:
Kara Thomas is a new-to-me thriller writer and this is her debut thriller novel, which I was quite excited to get my hands on. She has written quite a few YA thrillers and after really enjoying this adult novel, I will definitely be checking those out! And I love that she happens to be a local Long Island author, which is just so cool!
As you know, I love a dark, gritty thriller and this one is all that and more! It involves a cold case, which is one of my favorite tropes in the thriller world and I just loved how this one played out. It really kept me guessing as to what would happen next. It was suspenseful and completely atmospheric, and the characters were not only so well crafted but also had me on edge – you just didn’t know who you could trust.
I loved Sam, the main protagonist. She has such determination to find out what really happened all those years ago, after new details emerge. But I also loved that there is also that sense that perhaps she isn’t all that reliable at times. I love when there is that hint that maybe all isn’t as it seems. She really is such a complex, complicated character, and while she does make some morally questionable decisions, it’s hard not to want to root her on.
This is a slow-burn mystery, but one that hooked me right away. Set in a small town, where the residents protect their own, secrets slowly come to light, being revealed at just the right time to shake things up. This is definitely a book where you might think you know what is going on but in reality, you really don’t. Every time I thought I had things figured out, something new was revealed that totally shocked me.
If you love dark, gritty reads, with sympathetic characters, then I highly recommend picking this one up. I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it and will definitely be checking out Kara’s YA thrillers while waiting for her next adult thriller!
Audio thoughts:
This is exactly the type of book I love to listen to because it’s one that I have a hard time putting down. And because the narrator, Jordan Cobb, was so adept with the voices, I found myself completely immersed in the story and ended up listening to this in one go.
