King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby

KING OF ASHES is the latest mystery/thriller by award-winning author S. A. Cosby. His first, Blacktop Wasteland, continues to be my favorite although I have also read or listened to Razorblade Tears and would highly recommended All the Sinners Bleed. The publisher describes KING OF ASHES as “a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama.” The story is set in Jefferson Run, Virginia where older brother Roman Carruthers has returned briefly from his investment business in Atlanta and where sister Neveah now runs the family crematorium business. Both are drawn into a dangerous situation initially created by their younger brother, drug-using Dante. Cosby explores the family dynamics, including the disappearance of their mother, saying, “[Roman] hadn't shared the weight the way he should have, but they were sister and brother, the three of them: Dante, Neveah, and Roman had shared the same womb, been brought into the world with the same alchemy of love, passion, and need that had lived between their parents. That magic united them for all time …” Initially Roman “had no desire to be the King of Ashes. That title belonged to his father and Roman was content to let him live on through him or burn with him.” Danger and violence, however, increasingly thwart Roman’s efforts to right Dante’s wrongs; there are some truly evil characters and the crematorium itself becomes an instrument of death, both rumored and real. Readers need to be prepared as suspense and tension build: this text turns quite brutal, dark, and gruesome.

The audiobook of KING OF ASHES is narrated by Adam Lazarre-White and we have thoroughly enjoyed listening to him spin these Cosby tales on long road trips over the past few years. Once again, Lazarre-White adeptly uses his voice to convey the attitudes, concerns, and motivation for key characters. Having received a starred review from Library Journal, KING OF ASHES is a LibraryReads selection for June 2025 and an Indie Next pick (“A Faustian deal with his hometown devil descends into depravity.”). Plus, it appears on recommended summer reading lists from NPR, New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic and more.

Pay Dirt by Sara Paretsky

PAY DIRT by Sara Paretsky is book number 22 in the much-loved V.I. Warshawski series. Although the majority of private investigator Warshawski’s adventures have been in Chicago, Paretsky chose to set this mystery primarily in Lawrence, Kansas – where Paretsky grew up, home of the University of Kansas Jayhawks, and an area that experienced significant violence over slavery’s legality prior to the Civil War. As readers will discover, there are certainly flashbacks and relevance for some historical events in the mid-1800s. In the present day, however, Warshawski is battling her own demons after the death of her lover’s student. She is, surprisingly, a mere shadow of her former highly resilient self. Locating and helping a drug-addicted college student goes some way towards recovery – she even accepts a new case but is then abruptly fired and forced to confront the discovery of another body. Under suspicion for murder and feeling off her game, Warshawski persists and utilizes her full coterie of supporters – Lotty, Mr. Contreras, Murray, and locals from Lawrence, including an aspiring journalist and two scrapyard operators – to fight corruption, greed, and evil.

Paretsky cites two recent books as influencing her writing in PAY DIRT. One, The Agitators by Dorothy Wickenden focuses on the lives of Harriet Tubman, Frances Seward, and Martha Wright as they fight for abolition and women’s rights. I plan to review it here soon. The second, This Is Not Dixie by Brent M. S. Campney, is an academic work about the racist violence in Kansas from 1861 to 1927 published by University of Illinois Press. I was amazed to learn that Paretsky “wrote and discarded seven drafts before arriving at the storyline that makes up the book.” Her hard work is evident and fans will truly appreciate another great mystery filled with danger and suspense.

The Hunter by Jennifer Herrera

THE HUNTER by Jennifer Herrera is a complex blend of police procedural, psychological study, and murder mystery – pretty impressive for a debut novel. The main character is Leigh O’Donnell, an impulsive former NYPD detective. She’s relocating, at least temporarily, to Copper Falls, Ohio where her brother is on the police force and has wrangled a job for her. Corruption abounds in the small town, but Leigh is more interested in solving the multiple homicides: three men died recently in a pattern similar to that of several years ago when three high school students were also found dead near the falls. Questions about drug use, a history of illegal activities, and thwarted family relationships add to the tension and the elaborate plot. Herrera is not afraid of raising questions about discrimination, abuse of power, and the lies we tell ourselves. For me, that connected to some real world reflection in the New York Times piece “What These 11 Cops Think People Don’t Understand About Crime.” I am curious to see how Herrera further develops some of these themes in future adventures for Leigh O’Donnell, a brash risk-taker with extraordinary insight. THE HUNTER by Jennifer Herrera received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. 

The House Party by Rita Cameron

THE HOUSE PARTY by Rita Cameron revolves around the very poor choices that unformed teenage minds make at times. Several high school students break into a new construction house and hold a party with drugs and booze and then some engage in sexual assault and ultimately cause over a hundred-thousand dollars damage when they wreck the house. That new home was a kind of last hope for Maja and Ted Jensen, transplants from New York who have not been successful at getting pregnant and struggle with their relationship. These are not minor crimes, but who gets blamed by local authorities? The kids with working class parents, with less privilege and less clout. Cameron does an excellent job of evoking emotion – the dread and fear, the embarrassment, the jealousy, the entitlement that lurks in this suburban Philadelphia community. Therefore, this novel was quite uncomfortable to read at times and it was difficult to empathize with the well-drawn, but basically selfish characters. THE HOUSE PARTY received starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly (“Cameron does a stellar job at demonstrating how easily stereotyping and wealth can influence outcomes”).

You'll be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

YOU'LL BE THE DEATH OF ME by Karen M. McManus has been widely anticipated by her many fans (watching One of Us Is Lying on Peacock anyone?).  In another young adult mystery, McManus introduces three students who haven’t really connected since junior high. Meeting by chance, Ivy, Mateo, and Calvin decide to ditch school; instead of spending a fun day recreating memories, they end up finding the body of a dead classmate. Suspicion soon falls on them and social media once again fuels the flames. Perfect for mystery fans looking for plenty of teen angst, secrets, and deception (including romance and rumored drug dealing), YOU'LL BE THE DEATH OF ME is told from multiple perspectives and received starred reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal. 

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

IN THE WILD LIGHT by Jeff Zentner is the latest young adult novel from this award-winning author and I cannot say enough good things about the story-telling and writing that Zentner has done here. The narrator is named Cash Pruitt, a high school junior who lives in rural Sawyer, Tennessee with his grandparents, Papaw and Mamaw. That’s because Cash’s mom died from a drug overdose and his best friend, Delaney Doyle, is also coping with drug addiction in her family. Delaney has a photographic memory and is a treasure trove of “random factoids” (e.g., “Tears have the same salinity as seawater” or “Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes shook hands with John Quincy Adams and John F. Kennedy”). She is portrayed as a genius of sorts and her recent scientific discovery resulted in a scholarship - for her and Cash - to a private school, Middleford Academy, in New England. Leaving the only life they know, despite its many hardships and ghosts, is not an easy choice for Cash and Delaney. His great Aunt Betsy ultimately convinces Cash to take the risk, saying “You’ll never regret a decision more than the one you make out of fear. Fear tells you to make your life small. Fear tells you to think small. Fear tells you to be small-hearted. Fear seeks to preserve itself, and the bigger you let your life and perspective and heart get, the less air you give fear to survive.”

There is so much emotion in this book, including finding courage and self-acceptance, making new friends, dealing with homesickness and Papaw’s terminal illness. There is a great deal of sadness, but also some remarkable resilience. Throughout, Cash shares his feelings and his love of nature as he exquisitely describes the sights, sounds and smells of new experiences. A gifted teacher encourages him to write poetry and observing his growth in finding his voice is amazing. She tells Cash, “Being a poet takes bravery, Yes, the courage to bleed on a page. But also to bleed for the world we write poetry about. You have it.” Zentner, too, provides some foreshadowing when Cash muses early in the story: “I’ve always loved when the light finds the broken spots in the world and makes them beautiful.” IN THE WILD LIGHT is not to be missed – it received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.