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/ 

 

Multicultural romance drama edged in suspense

Mrs. Varman reads like period drama with an Indian theme. The book opens with a whirlwind romance between American-born Julia (Mrs. Varman) and Indian-born Sachin. He falls madly in love with Julia, and they marry, but his family is unhappy about it. As the first two chapters unfold, they seem destined for each other until the loss of their first baby through miscarriage. That tragic incident changes the trajectory of their relationship. They become strangers living in the same house. By chapter 3,  stories of the ugly underbelly of the Indian culture, including dysfunctional families, child trafficking, poverty, abuse, and even murder, replace the struggles of Mrs. Varman's marriage. These stories introduce new, complex characters, including an orphaned boy named Vijay, who struggles to survive.

As the chapters progressed, I thought the book to be an anthology with a theme of life in India amid various castes, and I wondered what ever happened to Mrs. Varman. I was happy when her storyline returned in chapter 10 as Julia and Sachin plan for a trip to India. Julia learns how to wear a saree and cook Indian food to impress her husband’s family in India as she prepares for her first trip out of the United States. Traveling away from the familiar makes her feel more dependent on Sachin. The more dependent she feels, the more she wants her relationship to work.

Upon arriving in India, Sachin’s aunt and grandmother welcome them, but as soon as Sachin is alone with his grandmother, she tells him she’d much rather have a grandchild than the gifts he brought for her. He can’t bring himself to tell her that Julia can have no children since the miscarriage. His distant relationship with Julia is palpable, but they blame it on their long journey when the aunt asks if something is wrong. While Granny tells Sachin she had higher expectations for his life partner, she is secretly happy to have Julia visit, but Julia feels emptiness even while around all these relatives. At this point in the story, the boy, Vijay, has grown into a young man looking for love, and the story begins to take a new direction with suspense, danger, and temptations.

 

The cultural details Sanjeeta Behera weaves into the backdrop of this story, like Granny wiping red tobacco spit from the side of her mouth and the common practice of licking fingers when enjoying good food, carry the reader to new experiences. Scents from rich spicy curries to the filth and noises of the streets are enlightening and engaging.

This story takes some unexpected twists and turns, and had me hooked to find out what Julia decides to do regarding her marriage and the love for which she longs. I recommend this book to people who enjoy dramas filled with interesting characters with complicated relationships and plenty of secrets. On the downside, the sesquipedalian vocabulary is somewhat off-putting. For instance, after the young boy, Vijay, is cheated from earnings promised him, “He became a victim of pecuniary dishonesty and hesitantly accorded deference to their barbarity and injustice by accommodating it within a shelter of his fortitude.” The story of Mrs. Varman, itself, I would give 4 stars, but due to the verbose writing style, I give it 3 stars.

As Book Hookup, I am a longtime book reviewer, and I received this book as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with BookTasters. 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. 

 

 

Stranded on Castaway Island 5 star YA adventure survival

Stranded on Castaway Island written by Amy C. Laundrie is young adult adventure survival contemporary fiction told from the first-person point of view of fourteen-year-old Annie. Life has dealt her a difficult hand. She lost her mom in a car accident, and her best friend, Mirra, betrayed her. As the story opens, she is the caregiver to her two younger brothers, emotional support for her dad, and has taken on the role of providing whatever is needed for the family. But life turns upside down when her former best friend asks her to join her for an island picnic. She boards the boat thinking perhaps Mirra is going to apologize. That is far from the case, and when a sudden storm turns the boat ride into a terrifying fight for survival, Annie and Mirra find themselves shipwrecked on a remote island. The two of them are forced to learn how to survive together, and how to let go of their grudges which grow to encompass whose fault it is that they are stranded. 

 

 

Wild horses that live on the island bring an interesting element to the story. I won’t share it in detail, because I don’t include spoilers in my reviews, but I have to say I enjoyed this harbinger on more than one level.

 

Laundrie does an excellent job telling the story from a teenage point of view and the pacing of this story is perfect with a constant ebb and flow of conflict and resolution. An element of mystery and a whole new danger level ratchets up the tension when the girls find warm embers from a campfire and man-sized footprints. Is someone watching them? Why doesn't he show himself? Are they in danger?

I highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy YA adventure survival like Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick, or A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor. I enjoyed the characters, the setting, and the realistic details that made it all come to life as well as the healing nature of the story. I give Stranded on Castaway Island 5 stars.

As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer and I received Stranded on Castaway Island as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it.  

 

This review is posted in collaboration with #Blackberry 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 Author Amy C. Laundrie

 

Amy Laundrie taught elementary school for over thirty years. She loved sharing her love of nature, animals, and stories with her students. Her survival novel, STRANDED ON CASTAWAY ISLAND, takes young adult readers on a wild adventure. THE QUACK-A-DOOLDE PARADE is a rollicking picture book. She's also a weekly columnist and has collected her favorite pieces and included them in an adult memoir called LAUGH, CRY, REFLECT: STORIES FROM A JOYFUL HEART. Her latest series beginning with FOLLOW ME INTO THE WOODS is a nature picture book series. NOAH'S ARK PET CARE CLUB is a fun story about three kids who pet-sit. Amy’s also the author of WHINNY OF THE WILD HORSES, and the Kayla Montgomery mystery series for older readers. EYE OF TRUTH, THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, DELIVER US FROM EVIL, LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, and WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING include suspense, light romance, and horses. 

Visit her at www.laundrie.com.