A review by drjoannehill
Out of the Ashes by Kara Thomas

emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Kindle First Reads from ages ago. 

I pick a random number and count through my unread Kindle books. This one is a whodunnit thriller featuring a woman Sam who is a nurse and whose family was murdered in a shooting and and house fire 22 years previously. She left town as soon as she could and barely went back. A few things surface that mean she ends up back "home" and she gets involved in a cold case review about her family's murder. 

Sam is not a likeable person, as a lead character she is definitely flawed (doesn't like people, drinks heavily, does and says inadvisable things). Small town New York is presented in a very unfavorable light in the book. It reminded me of Demon Copperhead in that sense. I wasn't sure what political message the author was trying to make, as she is not very sympathetic to the things people end up doing (e.g. drug use, broken families).

No shortage of twists and turns in the plot; could do with a notebook about all the characters and their relationships!
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