Gritty intergalactic PI whodunit

Hot Ash by Russ Colchamiro is an intergalactic sci-fi mystery that melds urban grit, futuristic technology, and crime into fast-paced pulp fiction you can’t put down. The story is told through the classic first-person narration of the protagonist, intergalactic private spy for hire, Angela Hardwicke.

 

Hardwicke and her partner-in-training, Eric Whistler, are hired by Camile Engquist following the mysterious death of her wealthy, elderly husband, Iggy, who built a real estate development company from the ground up. The widow had worked by his side for years and was set to step in and run the company but somehow the will was changed without her knowledge just before he passed. The stepkids get it all and pushed her out without a cent. Camile claims her stepkids stole her inheritance and Hardwicke thinks there may be some merit to the woman’s claims and takes the case.

 

Hardwicke works the case with her young protégé, Eric Whistler. Their relationship provides another layer of interest to the story. He’s like a dog that wants to be let off the leash to prove himself and she says he isn’t ready. As the story progresses there’s much more to it than that.

 

Russ Colchamiro does a masterful job of creating a dystopian Sci-fi backdrop in this fast-paced mystery that dives into the real estate development taken over by the wealthy Engquist kids. The case takes Hardwicke and Whistler down the path of corporate succession where they find themselves deep in the world of the haves and have-nots. Clues raise questions that take the case in a whole new direction pointing to synthetic concrete and a drug known as Hot Ash. What does one have to do with the other, if anything? And what do they have to do with Iggy Engquist’s death, if anything? The answer to those questions takes Hardwicke and Whistler off-world to an imposing domed city with clean air and a sinister underbelly. What they find is more dangerous and runs deeper than they could have imagined.

 

This story is superbly written with an authentic gritty PI who-dun-it feel. It’s unpredictable, action-packed, and fast-paced with well-developed characters, including a strong female protagonist in Hardwicke. She’s an engaging hard-boiled but vulnerable sleuth. Clever but second-guesses herself at times, and Whistler makes a perfect complementary sidekick. Another big positive in my mind is that the Sci-fi techno-babble makes sense. It delivers a futuristic setting filled with out-of-this world technology, shady characters, fistfights, shootouts, double-crosses, and backstabbing. The thing I enjoyed most about Hot Ash is that I couldn’t figure it out until the author tied things up in a tidy package at the end and delivered them to my lap. 

 

I give Hot Ash a solid five stars and recommend this book to Sci-fi enthusiasts who enjoy a good murder mystery with a PI who fights to stay alive while prowling the shady parts of town and the dark minds that govern them. I think those who enjoy crime thrillers, in general, will be happy with this story. As a word of caution, this book does contain plenty of strong language and violence. It’s not excessive and befits the story.

 

While Hot Ash is a stand-alone mystery, it is number three in a series that can be read in any order, and now that I’ve read it, I’ll be checking out Crackle and Fire (Book 1) and Fractured Lives (Book 2).

 

As BookHookup, I am a long-time book reviewer and I received Hot Ash as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with #Black Phoenix Book Tours. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

 About the Author

 

Russ Colchamiro is the author of the sci-fi mystery novels Crackle and Fire and Fractured Lives, featuring his hardboiled intergalactic private eye Angela Hardwicke. He is also the author of the rollicking time travel/space adventure, Crossline, the SFF backpacking comedy series Finders Keepers, Genius de Milo, and Astropalooza, editor of the sci-fi mystery anthology Love, Murder & Mayhem, and co-author of the noir anthology Murder in Montague Falls.

 

A member of the Mystery Writers Association, Hot Ash is Russ’s third book in his Angela Hardwicke series and has written more than a dozen short stories for various anthologies. He is also the host of the long-running podcast Russ’s Rockin’ Rollercoaster, interviewing a who’s who of science fiction, crime, and mystery authors. Russ lives in New Jersey with his wife, two ninjas, and his black lab Jinx.

 

Russ Colchamiro's Social Media

https://russcolchamiro.com/ 

https://twitter.com/authorduderuss 

https://www.instagram.com/authorduderuss/ 

 

The Eastie Threat delivers a royal underdog you can root for

 Andrew Einspruch’s fifth book in The Western Lands and All that Really Matters pre-release became available to reviewers I couldn’t wait to read it. I’ve loved the first four books and the intrinsic way he embeds subtle humor throughout the storyline. The Eastie Threat delivers another action-packed fantasy plot with his beloved anthropomorphic characters fans have come to know well. 

 

In The Eastie Threat, the story picks up with teenage Queen Eloise Hydra Gumball III on the throne facing challenges at every turn. Some are annoying challenges like adequate but not good food created by her new chef, but she is faced with big problems and puzzles that consume her thoughts as she tries to learn how to be the Queen.

She is still trying to figure out who killed her mother, and almost no one else seems interested. The advisors she depends on don’t seem to be serving her well or is that her imagination? Plus she has the distraction of a blurry eye and buzzing ear, a left-over side effect from her use of magic to help figure out what she needs to do. If that isn’t enough, the coup de grâce is a threat from Eastern Lands Queen Aglandau when she takes the Western Lands town of Flatchburg. She even relocates the Adequate Wall of the Realms to create a new boundary.

Einspruch delivers another well-paced page-turner in the Eastie Threat. Young Queen Eloise is a royal underdog you can root for. Her army is not prepared to meet the threat. Her support staff is inadequate, and she finds out her realm isn’t financially ready to handle everything that needs to be done. While overwhelmed she doesn’t give up, and with each challenge and even her failures, the reader can see the young woman’s underlying strength and at times wisdom.

I recommend The Eastie Threat to anyone who enjoys YA fantasy filled with conundrums, a strong female protagonist, and a little levity (often when you least expect it). I enjoyed that Einspruch brought the original band of characters introduced in The Purple Haze back together for this adventure. The one thing that disappointed me with this book is that it wasn’t quite as funny as the others, but the fact he could fit humor into this book at all with the Queen facing so many problems is an incredible feat. I give this book 5 stars, and I am looking forward to reading book six.

Reviews for Western Lands and All that Really Matters Books

The PurpleHaze (#1)

The Star ofWhatever (#2)

The LightBearer (#3)

The CrownPlunked Queen (#4)

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As Book Hookup, I am a long-time book reviewer and I received this book as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

About Author Andrew Einspruch

Andrew Einspruch is the award-winning author of the humorous fantasy series The Western Lands and All That Really Matters. He's also had more than 120 children's books published, both fiction and non-fiction, that have sold around the world. Starting with the four-book "Dunkin' Dazza" series in the 1990s, Andrew's work has covered everything from basketball to DNA, biographies to histories to mysteries, outback heroes to Christmas Island red crabs, and from how the rides work at amusement parks to how the Australian Government works (perhaps the greatest mystery of all).

Andrew is the co-founder of the not-for-profit charity the Deep Peace Trust, which fosters deep peace for all species. Based in rural New South Wales, Andrew, his wife Billie, and their adult daughter Tamsin run the Trust's A Place of Peace, one of Australia's largest farm animal sanctuaries. The cows, sheep, horses, goats, dogs, cats, and geese, as well as local wildlife including kangaroos, wombats, and cockatoos, are a constant source of inspiration.

If you ask, he'll deny he ever programmed in COBOL for a bank.