I don't think I have read the others in the series and while I found this ok, I didn't love it and have read better in the genre. Readable but forgettable.

Having thoroughly enjoyed 'Hold your tongue' and 'Out for Blood' by Deborah Masson, I was excited to receive a review copy of 'From the Ashes.'

This was another perfectly paced police procedural. Though it was helpful to be familiar with the backstory of the team, it still works as a stand-alone read.

DI Eve Hunter and her team are tasked with investigating a suspicious fire at an Aberdeen children's home. When the body of one of the children is found in the basement, could it be a murder case? Ferguson witnesses a collision with a pedestrian and makes it his mission to find out his identity. It transpires that the cases could be linked.

I felt engaged throughout. The book is anchored in Aberdeen, so it was nice to be able to picture familiar locations. The characters are well painted and I felt invested in the case and their personal stories.

Deborah Masson is talented crime writer and I look forward to her next installment.

Thanks indeed to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

From The Ashes is book number 3 in the DI Eve Hunter series and every bit as good as the others. The story opens on Eve's birthday, Monday 7th March ( and spookily I started reading it on Monday 7th March!! ) with a fire in a children's home. What follows is a well written and well researched police procedural guaranteed to keep your interest right to the last page. Once again I thoroughly enjoyed my journey through the streets of Aberdeen (my home city) with Eve and her team and would highly recommend you add it to your reading list. Many thanks to NetGally, Deborah Masson and her publishers for an advance copy of this book.

I would like to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for an advance copy of From the Ashes, the third novel to feature DI Eve Hunter of the Aberdeen Police.

A fire at a children’s home which kills one person gives Eve and the team a very difficult case. It’s not just the victim or the fire, but also the secrets being kept and a shocking discovery in the basement.

I must admit that I didn’t get really invested in From the Ashes, which is a first for me with this author. I found the format too busy with quick, unheralded switches between viewpoints giving the novel a disjointed feel. There are three main points of view, Eve and the investigation, DC Scott Ferguson who is keeping secrets and doing his own thing when he should be concentrating on his job and the unnamed perpetrator who isn’t very well defined.

The plot is mostly comprised of Eve and the team uncovering what they’ve not been told, so it’s a bit slow moving. The perpetrator is unmasked when they take matters into their own hands and self reveal. Would the team have got there anyway? I think it’s doubtful. I would have rated this novel at 3*, if not for the bombshell about Scott Ferguson and what he’s been up to. It was truly a surprise and I liked the way it fitted into the story.

From the Ashes is a solid police procedural, but not, in my opinion, of the same standard as its predecessors.

I enjoyed this book but I didn't find it amazing, I was easily distracted when I was reading and I spent more time on it than what I normally do when reading a crime thriller. I'm sure it must have been well researched and the storyline was good with believable characters

Book three in the Di Eve story . If you are into detective thriller books then this series is definitely for you.

In this book we again see Eve it is the 7th March and is her birthday. A day that she likes to go without any fuss because she really doesn't like to celebrate due to things that have happened to her in her past. The day is just an ordinary day when her phone rings to let her know that there has been a fire at the children's home and there has been a discovery of a body. So Eve heads over to investigate.

DS Scott Ferguson is out for a morning run. Sees smoke coming from the children's home. Rushing home to grab his car he is involved in an accident with a young man who ends up being in a life threatening condition. But Scott ends up at the children's home along with Eve.

What is going on and what is Scott's story and past?

I really liked the back drop of this story which is set in Aberdeen. It really helps to add to the grittiness of the storyline. The characters in the book are also really good and very different. Its a really good storyline too and It was fun to try and piece everything together before the book revealed everything. I look forward to book no 4.

The third book in the DI Eve Hunter series, From The Ashes is an interesting, if somewhat generic, thriller.

The story is well paced with realistic, well developed characters and an entertaining plotline.

However, I also found parts of the story to be cliched, predicatable and rather generic. Whilst I enjoyed Hold Your Tongue - the first in this series, I've been rather let down by the latest two and won't rush to read the next in the series.

Overall, an entertaining, if somewhat generic read.

Thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC.

DI Eve Hunter #3

It’s the 7th of March and Eve’s birthday which she rarely celebrates due to connections in her past. When her phone rings to inform her of a fire at a children’s home and the discovery of a body she heads to the scene. As does DS Scott Ferguson who sees the smoke while on his morning run. Whilst he is en route a young man is knocked down and has life-threatening injuries. Why does Scott take such an interest in this boy and take his eye of the investigation ball into the children’s home?

This is another well written dark and gritty read, as gritty as the granite that Aberdeen is famous for. The city makes an excellent backdrop and really matches the storytelling. This is an interesting police team too whose characters are well fleshed out making them feel authentic.
The dynamics between them are very interesting too. The plot is well thought out and it takes many a twist and turn to get the truth.

For awhile you cannot see how the different strands of the storyline connect but connect they do. The children’s home becomes central to the investigation and you feel empathy with a small number of teens who live there as they stick together for a wide variety of reasons. What emerges is not a pretty tale as several shocking and disturbing discoveries are made which makes your heart bleed and break with the examples of heartlessness. Sadly these events are not uncommon as we all now know.

The novel deals with mental as well as physical damage both in the recent and more distant past and it becomes personal as we see how some characters are caught up and haunted by their backgrounds. There are parts that are chilling and at times it’s spooky, even a bit ghostly, as it builds to a dramatic end. It’s maybe a bit overly dramatic but it does fit and tie things together. I like this series and I like Eve Hunter so eagerly await number four.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House U.K., Transworld, Penguin for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This is the 3rd instalment of the DI Eve Hunter series, I was really looking forward to reading this after throughly enjoying the last two books.

DI Hunter and her team are called out to investigate a suspicious house fire in a children’s home in Aberdeen, which unfortunately has a fatal casualty found in an underground layer beneath the house. The detectives quickly establish that this was no accident, and everyone close to the children’s home is a suspect, they are all hiding something, but what? When further investigations make another grim discovery the team are left asking, what is going on, and who is involved? Was someone there trying to cover up a secret from long ago that they didn’t want to be discovered?

This was a brilliant read full of twists and turns, for a while I thought I had it sussed but I was completely wrong!!

Thank you Deborah and NetGalley for letting me pre read this book, I enjoyed it and I knew it would be just as good as the others!

A good police procedural book that was well written with a well researched and engaging storyline that kept my attention the whole way through and well developed characters. It had a good pacing and a good level of mystery and unpredictability. I enjoyed it.

This was a really good police procedural. It was well written and the characters were interesting. Looking forward to reading more.

My thoughts about Deborah Masson's From The Ashes from whodunits to murder mysteries, there is nothing more satisfying than a well made thriller. Author Deborah Masson may have earned her a notorious reputation but you can trust her writing for a good edge-of-the-seat crime drama once in a while. Her books are sure to hold you hooked until the end. Deborah Masson's From The Ashes as a crime police procedural, has all the elements of an intriguing, nuanced thriller should be. Author Deborah Masson's From The Ashes is extremely binge-worthy of a thriller. Deborah Masson is pretty good at balancing the characters and the storyline. The intrigue factor in the plotline stays strong until the end and keeps you hooked. Deborah Masson's From The Ashes begins with DI Eve Hunter and her team are called to the scene of a fire that has destroyed a home for underprivileged children in Aberdeen. No-one knows how the blaze started; all they know is that one person didn't make it out in time. Her team have dealt with their fair share of tragedies but this case affects them each deeply - particularly when they start to suspect that everyone at the home, from the residents to the staff, has something to hide. And when a horrific discovery is unearthed in the ruins of the property, the team must ask themselves did someone have a secret worth killing for. Some wines attack your taste buds like a ton of bricks right away. From The Ashes is exactly that, a suspenseful, intense, dark, subtle. Deborah Masson's From The Ashes is unquestionably a must read as it provides you with everything you require. I would like to say thank you to author Deborah Masson and publishers Transworld Books, for kindly letting me read and review this brilliant book on netgally. Deborah Masson's From The Ashes is a gripping book with enough of twists and turns to keep the reader's guessing throughout.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💥💥💥💥💥

#FromTheAshes #NetGalley
Di Eve Hunter is becoming a brand.
DI Eve Hunter and her team are called to the scene of a fire that has destroyed a home for underprivileged children in Aberdeen. No-one knows how the blaze started; all they know is that one person didn't make it out in time. Her team have dealt with their fair share of tragedies but this case affects them each deeply - particularly when they start to suspect that everyone at the home, from the residents to the staff, has something to hide. And when a horrific discovery is unearthed in the ruins of the property, the team must ask themselves - did someone have a secret worth killing for?
What happened next? Read this book to know.
Thanks to NetGalley and Transworld Publishers for giving me an advance copy.