Fire and Ashes

Angela Richman, Death Investigator, Book 2

By: Elaine Viets

Narrated by: Tanya Eby

Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

In the exclusive, gated enclave of Olympia Forest Estates, death investigator Angela Richman watches a mansion go up in a fiery blaze. With it, seventy-year-old financier Luther Delor, a drunken, bed-hopping rhinestone cowboy. Embroiled in a bitter divorce, Delor may have scandalized Chouteau Forest, but his murder has united it against the accused: Delor's twenty-year-old girlfriend, Kendra Salvato, an "outsider." With an engagement ring bigger than Chouteau County, she's being railroaded straight to death row as a gold-digging killer.

All there is against Kendra is vicious gossip and anti-Mexican rage, and both are spreading like wildfire. Meanwhile, Angela is trying to douse the flames with forensic work that's putting the Forest on edge. After all, facts could implicate one of their own. Now, sifting through the ashes of a vicious crime - and the guilty secrets of the privileged - only Angela can get to the truth, and prevent an innocent woman from getting burned.

©2017 Elaine Viets (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Entertaining

This is a very entertaining book with engaging and realistic characters and plot. I like how the author gives a prologue at the end. I look forward to the next book.

Good second book in series...

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

When a Mexican woman and later her father are arrested for murder and then arson I knew this was going to be a good book. Add to that Racial unrest and wealthy bad boys who "Would never do that!)! and you can kind of predict how this story is going to end up.

What does Tanya Eby bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I always like listening to Tanya Eby. I think she did a great job narrating.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. Elaine Viets wrote a book that contains issues relevant today with unrest between locals and the Mexican immigrants. It didn't matter to the locals if they were here legally, were citizens or even if they had businesses and family. These people would never be part of the community.
When a wealthy local Caucasian man dies on a house fire, his younger Mexican fiancé is blamed by the good old boys in law enforcement and she is arrested.
When Angela Richmon the death investigator looks at the actual facts, they don't add up but convincing the authorities will not be easy
This is a good suspense and I HIGHLY RECOMMENDED it.
If you have Kindle Unlimited the cost is a whole $1.99!!
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Rich people can be harsh critics

At least that's what the author wants us to think. I DNF this book. I read Ice Blonde by the author because I love the narrator Tanya Eby and she really made Angela feel real but this story has a lot of repetition in the beginning. At least 2 chapters we're constantly reminded that the new fiancé of the dead guy is a manicurist and Mexican. The townies are so racist and elitist, which I expect from this series because of how the location is portrayed, however, it was too forced and repetitive. The author led Angela to talk to everyone on scene and they were saying the same thing again and again. If there was a clue to be taken from the dialogue early on in the book, I didn't catch it.

I do recommend Elaine's books however. They are well written, I love Angela and the deaths are always very interesting however, this one just bothered me too much at the start. I get it, the towns folks can be mean and uncaring, I noticed that in Ice Blonde too, but it was much less forced and obvious in that one.

I may finish this in the future because I wanna know how it ends but I can't stomach it right now.

Casual racism

I couldn’t make it past the first hour with the constant and unnecessary references to the character being Mexican (or speaking Mexican, or using a number of racial slurs). It wasn’t adding anything to the story and just became obnoxious.

Excellent police procedural; excellent narration!

Fire and Ashes is Book 2 in the Death Investigator Angela Richman series by Elaine Viets. I have not listened to Book 1. The brief publisher's summary provides a perfect setup to the novel, so I will not add to it. The suspense related to action is intense but not constant. The suspense related to the investigation is intense and constant. I enjoyed this novel. Tanya Eby narrates wonderfully as is usual for her.

Addicting!

I couldn’t put this down. I found excuses to go places so I could listen to it in my car. I love the cultural stereotypes that are broken down throughout the story. This is different from Elaine Viet’s more casual writing in her other series like the Dead-End Job Mysteries, but just as enjoyable to listen to!