Samantha's family was murdered and their house set on fire when she was a child, while she was staying at a friends house. After decades of thinking it was because of her uncle's drug dealing, investigator Meacham takes the case and thinks he has a lead that implies Samantha's sister may have survived. While Samantha returns home to settle her uncle Gil's estate after his death, she starts to question the people involved in the original investigation as well as her family and friends. The more Samantha uncovers, the less sense it makes and she realizes her assumptions may have been wrong. Overall, a solid mystery of a woman trying to piece together what really happened to her family and trying to make sense of her past.

Thank you to Netgalley for my advance copy! I LOVE Kara Thomas’ YA Thrillers so I was pretty darn excited to see what she would have for us with this.

This was dark and gritty. It gave me On the Savage Side vibes in a sense. Its sad, hard and filled with the kind of pain only someone that has fallen to the hands of addiction can know. Right off the bat you get sucked in by the cold case and the mystery.

You feel desperate to know what happened to the Ginns’ family and you feel for Samantha. Each chapter leaves off on a cliff hanger and gives you a different aspect to the mystery. The atmosphere was spot on and really helped make the book feel ominous and I literally felt like everyone was sus! The ending is a tearjerker! I did not expect it, and I felt it left off as very hopeful.

I hope Kara continues to write adult novels because I will keep reading and and all the things she writes!

Out of the Ashes is my second book by Kara Thomas. I have to say it has met my expectations. There are a lot of people involved here. Sometimes I had to stop and figure out who was someone's brother, uncle, or cousin. That's life in a small town. This same small town that Samantha ran from as soon as she could. The town in which her family was murdered and her house burned. Then talk starts of a different set of events that could mean her baby sister survived the night. Sam is obsessed with finding out. But that's dangerous to everyone.

The characters I could keep straight were mostly well written. Some seemed unnecessary and just added to the noise. I think it was the author's way of adding more and more possibilities. Take out the noise and you had a very flawed woman who has some serious attachment and intimacy issues. I wanted to know what happened next.

Oh! My! God! The most haunting story from Thomas so far (that I've read!)

Synopsis
Samantha had lived for 20+ years alone, knowing that her family (dad, mom, toddler sister) died in a murder covered by fire. That knowledge was ruined when she was told that her sister might still be alive and spared from the gruesome night. Sam raced to find the truth that wasn't so easy to uncover since everyone in her hometown was hiding something.

What I like about it
Samantha's character, definitely. Brassy, judgey, and quite morally grey to me. She was consistent in her judginess lol that I rooted for her from the beginning. The complicated case(s) also brought me no closer to the truth before Sam herself found out.
My initial reaction reading the first chapters would be the most unpersonalized story from Thomas, seeing as two of her books dealt with 'close' suspects, but honestly, this was better.
Thomas succeeded in building the plot, getting me (and Sam) frustrated within each turn (so many dead ends) that when I went back to the start and towards the end, it was very rewarding.

What I don't like about it
Nothing I could think of.

Final thought
Perfect for any mystery thriller fans and I can't wait to get the physical copy myself when it is out.

While I did enjoy some aspects of the book, there were some drawbacks that detracted from my overall experience. The abundance of characters and subplots made it difficult to keep track of everything and led to some dead ends. Additionally, I found it challenging to connect with the main character, Samantha, as I felt that her decisions were often selfish and reckless. Despite the trauma she endured, there was something missing that prevented me from fully empathizing with her.

Unfortunately, the ending felt unsatisfying and did not provide the closure I was hoping for in a whodunit. It left me feeling somewhat disappointed and underwhelmed. Despite these issues, I still found some elements of the book to be enjoyable and appreciate the effort put into crafting the mystery.

Out of the Ashes is the story of Samantha, who is struggling with her life. She takes a leave of absence and returns to her hometown after her "Uncle" has died. Memories of her childhood are hard to deal while she goes through his things.

Meacham a former prosecutor now an investigator is investigating the cold case of her parents and sisters' death due to a house fire. This stirs up even more uncertainty for Samantha. 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 it up. Samantha is determined to question the people that were around at the time in order to find out what really happened.

This is a really dark thriller of a young woman who never healed after her family was taken from her. There were many rumors, but she wasn't able to discover the truth until many years later. The story is a sad slow burn which takes many different directions as Sam learns the truth about the past. I found it difficult to stay engaged. I felt bad for Samantha but did not really like the character.

I’ve been a huge fan of Kara’s young adult thrillers, so I was very excited to have the chance to read her first adult thriller. Samantha’s life was forever changed by one sleepover. The next morning she finds out her entire family- mother, father, uncle and little sister - are dead and the killer was never caught. 20 years later she’s still dealing with the emotional trauma but she’s back in the hometown she escaped to clean up her Uncles home after he passes away. Old acquaintances, unhealthy, family, relationships, and new investigators show up to spin Samantha‘s life even more out of control. She’s trying to finally find out the truth and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get the answers she needs. Slow to start but with some amazing twists that will shock you. Another great read by Kara Thomas.

As a teen, Samantha Newsom's uncle Scott is pulled over by a cop in August 2021 and beat up. A month later, Sam's entire family is murdered: her uncle, dad, mom, and baby sister, Lyndsay. Over twenty years later, Sam returns to her hometown of Carney. While there, an investigator tells her a prison snitch has proffered up some new information about the night of the murder, and there's a chance Lyndsay may be alive.

So this book shouldn't have been so good. It's total trope city: a woman with a messed up past and dead family from a small town filled with secrets comes back and then starts her own misguided investigation. And, of course, she's drinking more than she should. Why with the investigations that only lead to certain trouble, why? I wanted to yell at Sam to just get out of Carney and never come back!

Yet this is an addictive read with a complex and tortured main character desperate to figure out the truth about her past. Sam has more than her share of survivor's guilt, but also plenty of secrets. Thomas weaves a twisty read that keeps you guessing, especially as Sam jumps from place to place searching for the truth. I wanted to wring her neck as she made a string of horrible choices, but she was a surprisingly strong character nonetheless. ASHES has that perfect small town feel, illustrating how trapping a corrupt and dying town can feel. There are corrupt cops, drugs, messed up families, horrible friendships, and so much more.

Overall, this is an addictive read that follows a lot of different paths.

Kara Thomas is an auto-purchase for me and this did not disappoint. This felt less YA than some of her others and more grown up, with darker secrets and prose. I pre-ordered the audio. My only wish is that Phoebe Strole was narrating!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review.

I was immediately drawn into this story after reading only a handful of pages because the writing style is that good.

The story is incredibly intriguing as I love Small Town Crimes that are laced in corruption, the cases that are years old but are just waiting to be investigated and uncovered.

I ended up staying awake until 2am to finish reading it because it had so many twists and turns I couldn’t go to sleep until I’d found everything out!.

The end actually left me wanting more which I think is what the author wanted?. Even thought I could have easily read another whole book about this story and more. I have hope we might get a sequel.

It’s easily one of my top books of the year so far.

22 years after the murder of her family, a state investigator reaches out to Sam to let her know a witness has come forward saying he saw her sister being taken from the house alive. Sam dives in to uncover the truth about that night, but the more she digs, the more she learns about the town- and her family.

This book's ending was pretty nuts! Every time I thought I knew what happened, a new twist and/or suspect would be thrown into the mix. I do wish there was more of a climactic end, especially with Meachum, but otherwise I liked the way it wrapped up. I also wish we could have seen Sam and Rhi's relationship build a bit. I liked Sam. Though she made some pretty reckless decisions, she was pretty realistic.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I struggled with this book.
I should have dove right in based on the description, but it was more like inch by inch envelopment.
I didn’t connect with any of the characters.
The ending left me hanging and wondering if there will be a follow up.

I’m one of Kara Thomas’s biggest fans, so when I saw she was releasing an adult thriller I couldn’t download Out of the Ashes quickly enough. While I don’t think I enjoyed it quite as much as her YA books, it is still a formidable read in a saturated genre. The plot is great and the atmosphere is wonderful, but everything is pretty straight forward and I wish the ending had given us a little more closure. Overall, very excited to see what she writes next.

Okay, this story was so enthralling from the get go. Samatha's come back to her hometown to her ill uncle & getting his home ready to sell. The same town that her mother, father, baby sister & uncle were murdered in.

I didn't see the ending coming whatsoever. It's one of the best endings to a thriller I've read in a long time. It unwound perfectly & wasn't rushed or glazed over like so many thrillers I've read recently. Every plot was covered leaving no holes leaving me feeling completely satisfied.

A very solid 4 star read!

After publishing four YA books, Kara Thomas has released her first adult fiction tale - Out of The Ashes. Samantha Newsom Holland is a New York nurse who returns to her former hometown of Carney, twenty years after she had left. Sam was away the night her family was murdered and her home burnt to the ground. Clearing out the house of her recently deceased uncle, Sam wants answers regarding the still unsolved crime. When a new investigator gives her a surprising update, she decides to seek her own answers, although locals warn her to leave things well enough alone. A crime mystery with a gritty narrative and nefarious characters, that will rock Sam’s world, place her life in danger and reveal unimagined secrets. A most enjoyable domestic noir, with plenty of twists and a three and a half stars, read rating. With thanks to Thomas & Mercer and the author, for an uncorrected advanced copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

Is Sam's sister alive? Who was the man who might have taken her from the family home as it burned 22 years ago= and where is she now? Lots of questions- and good twists that I won't spoil for other readers. There are, of course, family secrets and lie but there's also.....THanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A page turner.

⭐⭐⭐

𝘼 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣’𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮’𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩-𝙬𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚.

📍 Read if you like:
• Small Town Settings
• Faced-Pacing
• Emotional Endings
• Psychological Thrillers

This was my first read by Kara Thomas. I have heard so many great things about this author. I know she primarily writes YA, but this is her first adult thriller.

This was a fast-paced book and I really enjoyed how the small-town setting was portrayed. I felt so intrigued throughout the book. Also, I was not expecting that ending to be emotional - wow, it got me.

I do recommend going into the book not knowing much, I had a great experience that way. I always feel like the synopsis for thrillers gives away too much so I try to avoid them.

While the book is pretty straightforward, there were some moments with the plotline that I was confused about. Also, reading about Samantha’s decisions was a bit difficult. I understood how the massacre of her family was traumatic, but there were some reckless decisions she made.

I do wish the ending was a bit more developed. It kind of left me with unanswered questions. It was emotional though.

Overall, this was a middle-of-the-road thriller. I enjoyed some moments, but others weren't my cup of tea. I would still recommend this one to my psychological thriller fans.

Thank you Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for the gifted e-book in exchange for my honest review, all thoughts are my own!

I absolutely loved Kara Thomas' young adult thriller mystery novels. I was super excited to hear that she was writing an adult novel.

This novel was gritty, featuring a small town where everything knows everything the minute it happens, but nobody seems to give a clear answer about Sam's family massacre 22 years ago.

The mystery was definitely took a couple different turns, and some threads of sometimes felt disconnected, but nothing is ever clear cut (in real life). I think that is why I like Kara Thomas' books so much it doesn't shed away from the nitty gritty parts of life, and like Courtney Summers, gives very vague endings.

I think this novel was very in vein with Kara Thomas' other books. I would recommend it other other mystery readers.

I decided to try this as the summary sounded so interesting and I am always looking for a new author. Sadly, I did not like anything about this book, especially the main character, Samantha. She had a disastrous childhood including the murder of her parents and her baby sister, she injected her dying uncle with morphine to end his pain, but leaves him there for someone else to find and now she finds out that her baby sister might be alive. By this point, I was done and did not finish the book. I hate to do that as I can usually find something to hold my interest, but the story was confusing (to me) and I just didn’t care how it ended. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)

The mystery of the MCs family's death was a good case to solve and I enjoyed the detective aspect of trying to find the answers. The ending was kind of disappointing and didn't give the closure i was expecting.