I liked the writing in this and the voice of the main character, but after the halfway point it started to get difficult to remember all of the side characters, what their roles were, and what was happening in the plot. I feel like we were misdirected so many times and then the “plot twist” just felt a bit out of nowhere and the ending very abrupt. However, it was still an enjoyable read and I’ll definitely check out the author’s other books.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

My Rating System: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ticked nearly all the boxes THOROUGHLY ENJOYED IT!!

Samantha Newsom is a registered nurse in a busy stressful job in New York City, she is trying to keep her life on track, but Sam has a dark past that she doesn’t share with anyone. When Sam was 13 years old her entire family was murdered in their home (including her baby sister) and then the house was burnt to the ground.

Her last words to her mother haunt her, that last hug from her father and uncle and the giggle from her baby sister are never far from her mind. Having a last minute sleep over with her friend Sam was spared the same fate.

Twenty-two years later she is back in her home town after her uncles death and everything is brought back to the fore. The mishandling of evidence by the police, suspects that were never followed up and now a new investigator may have new evidence to assist in solving the murders of the Newsom family.

Can Sam find out the truth once and for all but still leave town alive??

Ok… cards on the table I started this book directly after a stinker - soooo my opinion may be skewed slightly but I still think this is a worthy 4 stars so I am sticking with it!!! 😝

If you are not a citizens gone rogue fan you may find this one slightly irritating - Sam does not follow rules and she does indeed go rogue. HOWEVER… can you blame a girl!!! Her whole family is dead, she was brought up by her mean old aunt and stuck up cousin and she is all alone in the world wishing like hell she could just find out once and for all what happened. I MIGHT GO ROGUE!!! 🕵️‍♀️

The thing that saved this was it was not done scooby doo style at all. You can feel the pain Sam is going through and she knows some of things she is doing are dangerous and wrong but… she just has to know. She does try to keep on the good side of Investigator Travis Meecham buuuut he is forever frustrated with Sam so she doesn’t always let him know she is doing something dumb. 🤷‍♀️

This was another one of those books that was able to get you to feel the atmosphere of the town. It was gritty and grimy and had a small town claustrophobia and seediness that made you feel like you needed a shower. The writing was really very good and I have no complaints at all. I liked how the dialogue in Sam’s head and with others felt like a real conversation or thought. The characters weren’t perfect and all the author had to do was scratch just a bit of a surface to show the underbelly of each situation or person. I really loved this and it helped the story flow really well. 👌

I also liked that this was another under 300 page book so you get to the point nice and quick which is good but also when its written well you feel like you want more. The chapters are a bit long within the shorter style book but that didn’t bother me because I was racing through this one. This is only told from Sams perspective there are no alternating POV in this one but I think it worked well for the story that needed to be told. The ending was also not wrapped up in a neat and tidy Hallmark bow for you to feel good. There were feels but not all were good and I think that was exactly how it should have ended. 🙌

Did I guess who the big baddie was - NOPE not at all - once it started to be revealed I was like uh uh no way!! But I had no idea throughout the book. I wasn’t in love with the reveal because it felt like this could have happened or that should have happened (no spoilers here) BUT overall I think the way it unfolded gave Sam even more emotions and layers of feelings so I think that was really well done. 💖

Why didn’t I give it 5 stars after my rave review - I have read a few books that have this similar feel (not the same story by any means) this year and I feel like this one didn’t quite have what those books had to make them 5 stars. That is just my opinion though - let me know if you disagree and you think this is a 5 star winner because I am keen to hear it!! 🌟

So…Would I recommend this -Abso-freaking-lutely!! Definitely get yourself a copy if you like a gritty mystery with a whole range of emotions and good writing!! 🤩

I want to thank Thomas and Mercer, NetGalley and Kara Thomas for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!!

Solid 4 stars. Well written. The author captured the ability to make the reader really feel the atmosphere. Haunting. A great mystery!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to have an earc of this book.
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I love a good character leaves town because of terrible past just be dragged back into said town. This particular story really griped me from the beginning, I was invested in the whole mystery in a couple of chapters. I also really like Kara Thomas’s writing it’s very approachable and I feel like I’m in this Carney trying to figure out everything alongside Sam. The mystery does take an unexpected pivot than what I was expecting. It’s not a total out of the blue turn more like an adjacent one. But after that plot switch it does go a little slow for my liking. There’s a lot of clue reveals but seems a little stagnant in actually furthering the story. Other than the middle lull I really enjoyed this book

This book was so stressful, and yet I loved it so much! I tend to not like "cop thriller" type stories, because I'm always disappointed in the outcome. But this story had me guessing until the very end, and while I hated how the book ended (for the main character) I loved how it ended!

When Samantha lost her parents at a young age. They had been murdered. She desperately wanted to know what really happened the night they died. Her uncle Gil passed away and he left her everything. Samantha found out that the case had been reopened and she was hopeful that the police would finally crack this case and finally find out what happened to her mom , and her sister.

I thought the book was really good. It kept me guessing who had done the crime. I didn’t expect it to be who it was. The ending was amazing, I’m glad Samantha got the closure she needed and I’m glad she found out the truth about her family. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read.

So I'm browsing NetGalley when I see a title and cover that catches my eye. Then I see the author's name. Kara Thomas...the Kara Thomas? And she's written an adult novel?! To say I was thrilled is an understatement. Plus it was a read now title so I didn't have to request and hope, I could get my greedy paws on it now.. I obviously hyped this up for myself, Kara Thomas is one of my favorite YA authors. And I can honestly say she writes for adults just as well.

Now that I've established that I'm a fan of the author and had high expectations, let me tell you how I felt about Out of the Ashes. I thought it was well written, perfectly paced. Sam was a good protagonist, stopping at nothing to find out who really killed her family when she was a kid.

I will say it feels like there were a lot of characters in her sad hometown that I had to keep reminding myself who they were. Characters either related to her or just connected to her family but related to each other. So my brain struggled just a bit with that. But it did not take me out of the story, I blame my shoddy memory.

There are twists and turns galore, everyone Sam talks to is shady and has something to hide. You never know where it's going and kept on the edge of your seat. I was silently begging Sam to leave and continue having nothing to do with all these people. While also dying to know the truth as well. The reveal is shocking and the ending is quite satisfying.

I've kept my review vague in the hopes you'll go into it spoiler free and enjoy the ride knowing as little as possible. Out of the Ashes met my expectations and is a solid five star mystery novel. I do hope Kara Thomas continues to write for adults (while still writing YA of course!)

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.

Out of the Ashes is a story of someone digging deep into the past to finally find the truth. Sam Newsom was thirteen when her family was killed. When a state investigator finds new information about the case twenty two years later Sam returns to her hometown to figure out what happened to her family. As she starts to ask questions she realizes that certain people from her past have been hiding dangerous secrets. The story was a bit slow at times but it is a solid small town mystery book. Sam is a flawed but determined person who doesn't let anyone stop her. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Thomas & Mercer and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Angst ridden, gritty and emotional thriller that has you guessing until the bitter end.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own.

First of all, this was a super quick read for me. I read it in less than a day and could not stop reading. It is definitely a page turner.

Sam lost her entire family when she was a child to murder and a fire. Twenty-two years later, she comes back for answers as the original case was mishandled. She and Travis Meacham work together and uncover so shocking secrets in the process.

The twists, turns and shockers just keep coming and the ending does not disappoint!!!

I highly recommend!

This was perfectly tailored to my personal taste, but also an extraordinarly good book. I loved the main character, the writing style was nice and read smoothly, but it's the plot that really caught my attention the most. It didn't waste any time getting into the mystery; I was hooked after the first chapter and had to keep reading. Very happy to see that this author wrote an adult thriller!

TW: Drug Use, Murder, Rape
Release Date: April 25, 2023

Samantha Newsom was only 13 years old when her family was murdered and their home was set on fire. Twenty two years later, after the case of her family went cold, she traveled back to Carney, NY. A new investigator has reopened her family's case. His name is Travis Meacham. He brings the news that an inmate knows her little sister escaped the night her family died. Sam soon comes to realize that this town has many secrets and that people will do what they can to keep those secrets hidden. Some have a way of making people keep their mouths closed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Right from the beginning, you can tell that Sam is going on a ride trying to find any information she can that can lead to finding the killer of her family. The way the author described situations, scenarios and people was incredible. I could picture everything that was happening in my head. This was the one of the few books where I could guess who knew more or was keeping a secret (hint: it's someone close to her.) This book never slowed down and it had twists and turns right after another. The parts which stood out the most were when Sam found the postcard with Rhi, her cousin, and Sam found someone in the basement of her uncle Gil's place.

Out of the Ashes was gritty, emotional, and thrilling. The storyline was very good. Sam’s character was easy to love but had moments where you did not agree with what she was doing to get answers. The writing made you feel her emotional pain and made you care more about her journey to the truth. I’ve read 2 other books by Kara Thomas and this is an obvious departure from her YA novels. However, I do hope she continues to write more Adult Thrillers because this first one was fire.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I have never read any books by this author but the premise of this one sounded really good. When Sam goes back to the small town she was raised in when her uncle dies, she starts to investigate what happened to her parents and baby sister two decades ago. It seems like everyone she encounters is a possible suspect and everyone has something to hide. The plot was steadily paced and kept my attention the whole way thorough. It was a 4 star read until the end, I felt it was a bit abrupt and open ended but that could be exactly what the author was going for.

This book had so many good spins to it, just when you thought you were on track to what happened something else would show up and it would take a different direction. I loved all the 90’s memories this book brought in an oddly fun way, like the mention of Lisa frank stationary!

I read a copy of this early and wow, I was truly impressed by this one. I wasn't expecting anything that I read from this novel... the twists or the turns! And I really thought it was overall an original novel

Samantha Newsom returns to her dead end hometown where her entire family was murdered 22 years ago. The crime was never solved and Sam believes the corrupt Police department had something to do with it. She reconnects with family members she hasn't talked to in years to try to put the pieces together.
This was just okay for me. I thought there were too many townspeople and extended family members for me to keep track of. I did like the ending although there were some unanswered questions left.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book for review.

I love all Kara Thomas’s YA novels, so I was pumped about this new novel written for adults. It moved a little slowly and too many quickly introduced characters bogged it down a bit. However, in true Kara Thomas form, the last 30 pages were so incredibly compelling. The emotions at the end are all over the place. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.

Well, it’s so great to see Kara Thomas can also write he’ll of a great adult thriller. I enjoyed her previous young adult works. I loved the intriguing plot, dark- heart shattering family massacre story blended in small town people hiding big secrets story theme!

The main character Samantha, 30 years old, divorced, taking a break from her struggling career at hospital to return back to her home town where her parents, her baby sister and uncle have been killed and her family house have been burned to the ground! She is back to help her step uncle to take his life. He has been suffering from big C for a long time and Sam helps him to end his misery with her injection.

Now her uncle is dead. She plans to pack his things,donating them and never returning back to this haunted place but when a prosecutor knocks her uncle’s door and tells her he re-examine her family case and her sister can be alive, the past comes back to haunt Sam’s present.

There was always a rumor that a police officer might have been involved with her family’s massacre and the entire station tried to cover up the corruption but now Sam is back to find the truth and she has nothing more to lose!

Only thing a little bothered me was changing direction of the story with lost girls’ cases in the middle of the book. Both of the storylines intercepted at the end but main reason of Samantha’s returning back to her old town was finding the truth about what happened to her family instead of investigating her missing friend. There are enough sources to build the developments of two different books in here.

Overall: it’s fast pacing, dark, well developed, heart wrenching psychological thriller with great twist! The ending was emotional and powerful!

Giving my 4 I love thrillers stars and looking forward to read more books of Kara Thomas!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Mercer for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I thought that this was a good book with a good storyline, but I was a little annoyed with Samantha and how she handled the situation. I usually like it when non-professionals solve crimes, but I just felt that Samantha was being reckless and not taking other peoples' lives into consideration.