What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. The word building was phenomenal in this book. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

I enjoy the settings of Viets books and found this one to be just as entertaining as all of her writing,

In Missouri, Chouteau County death investigator Angela Richman watches flames destroy a multi-million-dollar mansion. Its owner, 70-year-old Luther Delor, is a drunken, lecherous businessman with a chain of sleazoid payday loan storefronts. Luther's fiancée, 20-year-old Mexican-American manicurist Kendra Salvato is blamed for the fatal fire. The gated community of Olympia Forest Estates quickly closes ranks around the sleazy Luther, rewriting his history and condemning both Kendra and her father Jose of murder and a series of unsolved arsons in the area. Convinced that the police and medical examiner have done a shoddy job, Angela works secretly with her friend Katie and Kendra's lawyer Marty to help find evidence to clear Kendra of the crimes. Then Angela gets called to another death scene when a teenager is found dead of a heroin overdose. But things look suspicious when recent purchases that can be used to set a fire are found in the victim's car. When Angela gets a tip that the teenaged arsonists are planning to set a fire at a nearby horse stable, she sets a trap to catch them in the act.

Elaine Viets is known for her cozy mystery series but this hard boiled thriller is another welcome read.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer in exchange for an honest review.

Elaine Viets has followed up "Brain Storm," with this latest "Fire and Ashes."Angela Richman, Death Investigator is once again center stage as criminal behavior develops in "The Forest." Within a gated community no matter how rich or privileged, crime spills over. Angela takes her DI work as far as she can, using all her resources. This is a great read with the background of the rich and only famous in a small pond. Great plot and characters.Looking forward to more in this series.

Angela is a terrific character and this is a well done mystery. How often do race, class, and prejudice against outsiders/newcomers color a community's perception of guilt? More often than we might life. Viets tackles these issues head on in this nicely written and taut novel. I've been reading her for years and it's nice to see her move out of the cozy genre and into mysteries with some social commentary. Thanks to net galley for the ARC- I'm looking forward to seeing where she takes Angela next.

Realistic racism and class distinction form the basis for this mystery. Exciting and some surprises along the way. I really appreciated the epilogue. Nice to see things wrapped up in a satisfactory manner (well, some of the characters may not see it as being satisfactory). I look forward to reading the next one in this series.

This was a great book and follow up second book in the series about death investigator Angela Richman. I was very much looking forward to the next book in the series that started with Brain Storm, and was not disappointed. Great characters (especially the horses), good story, suspense, and mystery. Now looking forward to third in the series! Highly recommended.

Elaine Viets writes with knowledge. She has been through some things she uses in her character and does a lot of in depth research. Her mysteries are wonderful.

I love two of Elaine Viet's series -- so I was intrigued when I saw this stand alone. Glad I spent the time to devour it -- a truly spell-binding mystery... she is such a talented author, and her books do not disappoint.

I have been a fan of this author’s “Dead-End Job” and “Mystery Shopper” cozy series for quite some time, and now I can add the “Angela Richman” series to my list of favorites. This series features Angela Richman as a “death investigator” in a wealthy suburb of St. Louis. Angela’s job is to gather and analyze evidence from crime scenes in assistance to the medical examiners.
“Fire and Ashes” is the second book in the series, a follow-up to “Brain Storm” which described Angela’s brush with death after suffering multiple strokes. This is a more serious, more complex series than the previously mentioned cozy series and Angela is a complicated, but likeable character. Angela is back to work, but still recovering from the strokes and subsequent brain surgery. She is also grieving the loss of her husband and despite the attempts of interested men and well-meaning friends, she is not ready to date again. Although the tone of this series is somewhat dark, there is plenty of the author’s wonderful sense of humor throughout the book to lighten some of the tragedies that occur in Angela’s personal and professional life.

In “Fire and Ashes”, Angela is one of the few people in town to believe in the innocence of a beautiful young woman of Mexican heritage accused of murdering her much older fiancé, Luther Delor. The elite gated community Olympia Forest Estates, within the town of Chouteau Forest, bands together against Kendra Salvato, who they see as an outsider because of her ethnic background, even though she was born and raised along with their own children. Angela is intelligent, a thorough investigator, and is determined that Kendra is treated fairly. She teams up with not only with her best friend Katie, who is the assistant medical examiner, but also Katie’s boyfriend, Monty, the attorney representing Kendra. The solution of Luther’s death is unexpected and provides closure to the case and those involved. I look forward to more books in this unique, well-written series, which will appeal to fans of Kathy Reichs.

I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Thomas and Mercer. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Fire and Ashes: An Angela Richman, Death Investigator Mystery

By Elaine Viets

Thomas & Mercer

July 25, 2017



Review by Cynthia Chow



When geriatric “financier” Luther Ridley Delor goes up in flames along with his Chouteau Forest mansion, the wealthy Missouri community immediately condemns his twenty year-old trophy fiancé. A viral video of a lecherous Luther drunkenly groping her the night before only makes the Mexican-American manicurist more of a suspect in the eyes of the police, who are quick to judge her based on their racist and elitist views. Having moved up the ladder by sucking up to politicians, Detective Ray Greiman epitomizes the worst of lazy cops and Angela Richman is determined that Kendra Graciela Salvato not be railroaded right into prison. As the Death Investigator for Chouteau County, Angela reports to the medical examiner and oversees crime scenes and unattended deaths. The year she spent recovering from six consecutive strokes and a coma has been a struggle, but she is more than up to the task of outsmarting Greiman and digging past the prejudice. What is proving far more challenging is overcoming the death of her beloved husband, whom she may never stop mourning despite the encouragement of her friends to re-enter the dating scene.



It’s not just the death of sleazy Luther and his scandalous lifestyle that has the neighborhood divided and gossiping. A series of arsons, along with drug use and a fatal overdose, have the judgmental snobs of Chouteau Forest denouncing the working-class Toonerville teens. If you live in Toonerville, chances are that you work for the residents who live in Chouteau Forest. Angela has the pedigree but no longer the wealth of Chouteau Forest, allowing her to cross the divide and see through the surface. The gated community of Olympia Forest Estates quickly closes ranks around the sleazy Luther, re-writing his history and condemning both Kendra and her father. Jose Salvato may be the respected business owner of a Chouteau Forests lawn service, but being neither White nor One of Us makes him the obvious culprit in the eyes of the privileged, White town.



One would have hoped that these narrow, prejudicial viewpoints would be outdated and obsolete, but a glance at today’s news crushes that optimism. Angela may have been raised with wealth, but she is not blind to its inherent flaws and entitlement. Readers should feel inflamed and incensed by the prejudices, but these moments are balanced by the levity and clever dialogue between Angela and her foul-mouthed best friend. Details surrounding arson investigation are intricate and fascinating, and this along with Angela’s intelligence and determination lead them to the uncomfortable truth. The previous novel, Brain Storm, dealt with Angela’s uphill struggle to recover from her strokes, and while she still often suffers from the trauma she has found successful coping mechanisms. Characters introduced in that novel reappear as well, some having changed for the better and others not at all. Elaine Viets continues to grow as a writer, and this return to her more traditional mystery novels continues to surprise with its nuanced plotting and fearless topical explorations.

This is the second in a new series by seasoned writer Elaine Viets, author of the Dead End Job and Mystery Shopper series. An excellent book that I couldn't put down. Now that I know about the series I'll be reading the first one ASAP. The characters are believable and likeable and not too perfect. I was fascinated by the detailed information on death investigation, fire investigation, and the medical and legal intricacies. The struggles of the "have nots" in a "have and privileged" society were eye-opening to this reader.

Who killed Luther Delor? Everyone suspects his very young Mexican fiancee. Elaine wrote a well-executed intense drama that captured the essence of what was going on with the parties involved in this case. The narrative was visually descriptive letting me imagine the goriness that Angela faced as a death investigator but it’s her strength that prevails when all is said and done. The mystery was tightly woven with subplots that played off each other that helped enhance the telling of this tale. The author does a nice job in setting the stage in this hard-boiled thriller where scene by scene, eye-opening details are exposed and it’s the culmination of facts that involved the town’s own residents and their demons and a few strategically placed twists brought this story to a justifiable conclusion. This is an engagingly riveting read and I can’t wait to read the next book with in this gripping series.

Elaine Viets' s new "Death Investigator" series is a world apart from her "Dead-End Job" and " Mystery Shopper" mysteries. While the protagonists in those novels lead problematic lives (including hiding from court orders by staying off the grid), Viets's new Angela Richman novels are interestingly darker. In both the first book in the series, "Brain Storm," and this second novel, Viets successfully depicts a physically and emotionally flawed stroke survivor who investigates often gruesome deaths while grieving for a recently deceased husband. In addition, although not as stark as "Brain Storm," "Fire and Ashes" pulls no punches when describing the white privilege demanded by the wealthy residents in Angela Richman's town of Chouteau Forest, Missouri.

Richman, back to investigating deaths after recovering from six strokes and a coma, is tasked with investigating the deaths of a wealthy, but grubby sexist-70 year old, and a seventeen year old heroin user. In both cases, in order to find the truth, Richman must push back against assumptions of guilt made by the police, prosecutor, and leaders of society, based on bigotry concerning local Mexican-Americans.

Viets's mastery of criminal forensic science is impressive, as is her skillful ability to give voice to the characters depicted. Several years ago, her narrative concerning overt law enforcement and prosecutorial bigotry probably would have been viewed as unrealistic and over the top. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said today.

Without a doubt, this book should be at the top of summer reading lists.

This was a book I really enjoyed reading. So much so, that I ended up adding a bunch of other books by Elaine Viets to my list of 'books to be read' (or TBR ;) )

The story, which is the second one in a series, follows Angela Richman, who's a death investigator. Which sounds a lot more ominous than it is, because basically, what a DI does, is go out to the scene of a death and record every detail about the corpse. So expect a couple of gory scenes, although I must admit, the author handled some gruesome scenes really tasteful.
Add to that the fact that Angela is recovering from a series of strokes and brain surgery, is a recent widow and usually investigates deaths in an community that's isn't very accepting of outsiders, it all makes for a rather interesting character. She's not all doom and gloom, or totally reckless, or 'look at how bravely I'm living on'. No, she's a nice, believable balance of all these factors.

When one of Chouteau Forest's (a gated, rich folks community) more illustrious figures's house goes up in flames, with him inside, and his Mexican American mistress barely escaping, all hell brakes loose for the poor girl.
Angela, knowing the girl, and noticing how she's getting railroaded by the uptight community, takes it upon herself to start looking for the real culprit.
And (thank god!) she doesn't do it in the clueless cozy mystery style of walking straight into danger. She handles herself rather well, and spurns on the professionals to dig deeper, as well as assisting in the investigation.
Besides the unfortunate death, and the outcasting of hardworking people, there's also an arsonist active in the neighbourhood...

I don't want to reveal too much, because it really is a nice read, not very shocking, but the story meanders along at a pleasant pace, there's a few nice twists and the climax is fairly exciting.

I enjoyed this one better than the first (and I really liked the first one!). Interesting characters and real life situations. Makes one stop and think with the immigration issues we are facing today.