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shannonscotteditorauthor's review against another edition
5.0
What a ride
Watching this story unwind was like watching Jerry Springer, Unsolved Mysteries, and The First 48 all rolled into one. A two-decade-old crime, dirty cops, a whole town full of liars and cheats with histories of addiction, AND family secrets getting blown out of the water. A thrilling pace, outrageous plot twists at every turn, and moments that make you question whether the truth really is worth knowing.
Watching this story unwind was like watching Jerry Springer, Unsolved Mysteries, and The First 48 all rolled into one. A two-decade-old crime, dirty cops, a whole town full of liars and cheats with histories of addiction, AND family secrets getting blown out of the water. A thrilling pace, outrageous plot twists at every turn, and moments that make you question whether the truth really is worth knowing.
alemms_1's review
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kiki870's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The author is so good at creating complex, deep characters that are both imperfect and sympathetic. The web of dark family secrets, soliving the mystery of their deaths, made for an engrossing story. It was dark, very dark, but in a way that felt very authentic.
dkyrisch's review
4.0
Once again I'm reading the first adult book written by a traditionally YA author: Kara Thomas. This one "Out of the Ashes" is a emotional butt kicker.
It stars 30 year old Samantha Newsom who "escaped" her town of Carney, NY 22 years ago after her family was murdered and their house burned down. The local police screwed up the case and nobody knows what happened that day. She is living as a RN when she gets the news that her uncle has died and she needs to go back and settle affairs with his house. She is also given news by the investigator handling the murder case: Travis Meacham that new evidence has come to light: A prison inmate has came forward and stated that he saw someone carry her infant sister out of the fire. She is still alive! Hmmmmmmm.
I love reading about strong female characters and Sam is one of them. She is relentless in her pursuit to find out what happened that night 22 years ago. You will meet a ton of country characters in this book that didn't "make it out of Carny" like Sam did.
The book itself is short and on point and you will roll through it quickly. But maybe way more emotional and gut wrenching then I personally like in my books but I still loved reading about Sam not letting anything get in the way of her goals.
I really appreciate Thomas & Mercer giving me the opportunity to read and review this book and it has a publication day of May 1st, 2023.
Advance Reader Copy given free for honest review.
It stars 30 year old Samantha Newsom who "escaped" her town of Carney, NY 22 years ago after her family was murdered and their house burned down. The local police screwed up the case and nobody knows what happened that day. She is living as a RN when she gets the news that her uncle has died and she needs to go back and settle affairs with his house. She is also given news by the investigator handling the murder case: Travis Meacham that new evidence has come to light: A prison inmate has came forward and stated that he saw someone carry her infant sister out of the fire. She is still alive! Hmmmmmmm.
I love reading about strong female characters and Sam is one of them. She is relentless in her pursuit to find out what happened that night 22 years ago. You will meet a ton of country characters in this book that didn't "make it out of Carny" like Sam did.
The book itself is short and on point and you will roll through it quickly. But maybe way more emotional and gut wrenching then I personally like in my books but I still loved reading about Sam not letting anything get in the way of her goals.
I really appreciate Thomas & Mercer giving me the opportunity to read and review this book and it has a publication day of May 1st, 2023.
Advance Reader Copy given free for honest review.
anakagrenier's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ranjkrish88's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
bookishwelshie's review against another edition
3.0
Always curious when a YA author writes their first “adult” novel, so chose ”Out Of The Ashes” as April’s Amazon First Reads selection.
Whilst it was well-written and engaging, it took me a while to connect with the plot. But it was a bit of a page-turner when I finally did. Still wanted to find out the conclusion no matter what especially as more about the characters was revealed.
I really wanted to rate this higher and couldn’t quite put my finger on why I didn’t connect with the story overall as much as I would have liked. I’m having some better luck with a different crime based thriller that I’m currently reading (Karin Slaughter’s Pretty Girls)… This one is more my cup of tea, utterly unputdownable so far!
At the age of thirteen, Samantha Newsom’s entire world was turned upside down. Her family were murdered, their home burned down. Twenty two years later, she has returned to her hometown of Carney, New York, with the memories of her past still haunting her mind. The case of what happened to her family has gone cold; evidence was mishandled, false rumours were spread, all the leads ended up going nowhere. Enter; Detective Meacham who has recently been assigned to the case. He is as passionate about solving it as Samantha. And he has some news for her. A prison inmate has told him that Samantha’s sister made it out of the fiery blaze alive. Will the sisters get to reunite? Who murdered their family? There’s one thing about Carney and its residents however… They’ll do anything to protect their secrets.
Whilst it was well-written and engaging, it took me a while to connect with the plot. But it was a bit of a page-turner when I finally did. Still wanted to find out the conclusion no matter what especially as more about the characters was revealed.
I really wanted to rate this higher and couldn’t quite put my finger on why I didn’t connect with the story overall as much as I would have liked. I’m having some better luck with a different crime based thriller that I’m currently reading (Karin Slaughter’s Pretty Girls)… This one is more my cup of tea, utterly unputdownable so far!
At the age of thirteen, Samantha Newsom’s entire world was turned upside down. Her family were murdered, their home burned down. Twenty two years later, she has returned to her hometown of Carney, New York, with the memories of her past still haunting her mind. The case of what happened to her family has gone cold; evidence was mishandled, false rumours were spread, all the leads ended up going nowhere. Enter; Detective Meacham who has recently been assigned to the case. He is as passionate about solving it as Samantha. And he has some news for her. A prison inmate has told him that Samantha’s sister made it out of the fiery blaze alive. Will the sisters get to reunite? Who murdered their family? There’s one thing about Carney and its residents however… They’ll do anything to protect their secrets.
readingismyfriend's review against another edition
2.0
This book had potential but almost midway through it got confusing because they were way too many characters and the author tried to trick the reader into thinking this character or that character was the killer to keep you on your toes, but it didn’t work. I finished the book and still don’t know who the killer is because the resolution was so confusing and all over the place. The only reason why I finished this book is because I already have a whole shelf of unfinished books and I didn’t want to add to it. Glad to be done with it so I can move on.