ARC Review: Out of the Ashes

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Samantha Newsom was thirteen years old, her family was murdered and their house in the Catskills was set on fire. The crime was never solved. Now, the case has been passed to a new investigator who tells Sam that her sister may have been spared that night. When Sam is drawn back to her hometown, she uncovers secrets that the people of Carney wanted to stay buried.

I have read and loved two of Kara Thomas’s YA mystery/thrillers, so I knew I had to read her adult debut. I was not disappointed. It was interesting to see how her writing transformed when dealing with adult characters and issues, and I think she did an amazing job.

Two aspects of Out of the Ashes that really stood out to me were Sam’s hometown of Carney, New York and the people who live there–they felt so real to me. Carney is a small, working-class town where everyone knows everyone. This played really well into the plot because everyone who lives there knew something important, but they were resistant to reveal any information because of a shared desire to protect each other.

As for the plot itself, I really enjoyed how many twists and turns this novel contained, and how there were many different threads of mysteries that were ultimately tied together. It was really hard to put this down until all of my questions were answered.

Overall, I think this was a very successful adult debut for Kara Thomas. I will certainly continue to write any novels she puts out in the future. If you read and enjoyed Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, I think you would really enjoy this!