From The Ashes by Damien Boyd

From The Ashes by Damien Boyd
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Long lives are being cut short in this thriller from the bestselling DI Nick Dixon crime series.

A retired teacher is found dead in her Somerset home on a cold January night. At first glance, it is a routine unexplained death and a simple referral to the coroner, until a neighbour reports an unscheduled visit from an occupational therapist an hour before the body was discovered.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Dixon is convinced the elderly woman has been strangled—a cause of death confirmed by the pathologist—and a murder investigation is launched.

More victims are soon found—a second retired teacher who died in eerily similar circumstances in Devon. Then a possible third victim is exhumed in Dorset.

Leading a regional task force, Dixon must find the connection between the victims. As the coincidences mount, he begins to fear he has stumbled on something premeditated and deeply sinister—a serial killer targeting the elderly in their own homes.

When a sharp-eyed rural police officer notices similarities between the seemingly sudden death of an elderly lady with a similarly sudden death recently of an elderly man, DI Nick Dixon is called in to review the crime scene. The similarities are striking – and soon the forensic details also match in ways that are unlikely to be faked. DI Dixon and his team soon uncover a much larger issue and the case grows even more complicated.

I have found this to be a really good and reliable series. I strongly feel this new addition is an excellent book – one of the best recently in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed how the plot slowly grew both more intense and more complicated. By half way through the book is was a far deeper and more complicated case than a few elderly people dying in their sleep could ever have appeared. I also really enjoyed the methodical way the facts came together without too many red herrings or lost time.

I have high hopes for the newly minted officer who first spotted the similarities – I hope we see her character again more in future books. I also really enjoyed the personal and relationship progress between Jane and Nick and find their interactions really grounding and satisfying to read. It adds a good reality to the story, and I think the books are better for it.

I found this book good and am enjoying this interesting and well written British police procedural mystery series.