Out of the Ashes

A Novel

By: Kara Thomas

Narrated by: Jordan Cobb

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.

©2023 Kara Thomas (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“This elegant suspense yarn from YA author Thomas dodges expectations at every turn…and the enthralling plot delivers a steady stream of surprises. Thomas’s first foray into adult fiction is a thrilling success.”—Publishers Weekly

“This story simply engulfed me. I didn’t trust a single seedy character that Samantha Newsom came in contact with while on her quest to unearth, after twenty-two years, who was responsible for murdering her entire family and setting their Catskills farmhouse aflame. Out of the Ashes is gritty, raw, and chock-full of tension as suffocating as the tiny town of Carney itself.”—Stacy Willingham, New York Times bestselling author of A Flicker in the Dark

“A masterful, smart, slow-burning suspense. Out of the Ashes drew me in with its sinister secrets and wouldn’t let me go until the very last page.”—Elle Cosimano, USA Today bestselling author of Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

Compelling

4.5 STARS

I’m a huge Kara Thomas fan and was excited to see how her adult debut would compare to her YA novels. She did not disappoint.

Samantha’s life has be marred by tragedy, from the murders of her parents and sister, to the subsequent fire to a loveless life after their deaths with her cold aunt. When her mother’s foster brother asks for Sam’s assistance in expediting his impending death, she agrees bringing her back to the small town of her childhood. Now in her thirties, Sam learns all she didn’t known about her family’s deaths and starts to ask questions, questions that may kill her.

Thomas is a master at creating complex, detailed characters who are flawed yet often sympathetic. I love her writing style, work building and plot. Though OUT OF THE ASHES dragged a little in the beginning, it quickly became unputdownable so I rounded up to 5 stars.

This story pulled me along the whole way!!!

This book was recommended to me and I couldn’t be more satisfied. I was engaged the for the whole entire book. The narrator did a great job.

Gripping!

This is a full throttle book! Loved it! My only complaint is that the side characters felt under developed. I had a hard time deciphering them from one another at times.

Not as good as I thought

I was somewhat confused during the book as to why an out of the blue character was in this book I did however like the ending

A bit convoluted

Too much of- he said- she said- then I said- for my liking. I found I was lost half way through!

YOU'LL DEVOUR IN ONE SITTING!!!

Wow! There's a lot going on in Carney, NY, as Samantha soon learns. Just being in town is triggering for Samantha, but after learning her sister, who was presumed dead from the murder of her family and subsequent fire set to the house their lifeless bodies lay in 22 years prior, may have survived, Samantha wants answers as she makes to find her sister. Sometimes, however, not having all the answers may prove to be less painful.

There is a good story in their somewhere

but if you’re prone to depression I’d steer clear of this book. There wasn’t a likable or upright character in the entire book. It was populated by emotionally ruined people. There was no beauty even hinted at in the protagonist’s or anyone else’s life story. The main theme was of women seeking the truth about a sordid and tragic upbringing and family murders. I nearly stopped listening a few times. When I got to the end I wish I had stopped.

twists and turns

I lived how the story took so many twists and turns, just when I thought I figured it out. I highly recommend that you pay attention especially if you're listening to this because I think I need to listen again and could easily do so even though I know how it ends.

Outstanding Debut Novel!!!!

Samantha Newson (the protagonist) is an RN working at a hospital in Queens, NY. In the very beginning of the story she steals morphine from a patient who is on the verge of dying. She’s supposed to have the next three days off. She drives to upstate NY where her mother’s foster brother is also dying from stage four lung cancer. She administers the lethal dose, waits for him to die and returns home to wait for the notification call.
The next day she returns to clean up his house to sell. While there a NY State police officer shows up to talk to her uncle about her family’s murder 20 years earlier. She wasn’t home the night both her parents and baby sister were killed and their home set ablaze. Now there’s evidence that the baby may have actually been taken and not killed.
I personally felt the characters were very engaging. I really liked Samantha. She’s an underdog that I couldn’t help but pull for and hope that eventually everything would work out in her favor. I thought the story was believable and the plot was plausible. I will be on the lookout for future books from this author.
Jordan Cobb does an OUTSTANDING job narrating.
This book has my VERY HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!!
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Lovely book

Not really a thriller or at least not my typical thriller. More of a mystery but I did really enjoy it.