Ashes To Ashes

by Christopher Thoma

What begins as a tragic mystery quickly darkens into something far more sinister.
In Reverend Daniel Michaels’ pocket is a flash drive. The files Claire left behind—journals, photos, recordings—implicate trusted leaders from a quiet Michigan town of an unspeakable dreadfulness.
They are names that Daniel knows. Faces that sit in his pews.
Now, Daniel stands at a line no seminary ever prepared him to cross. On one side, a pastor. On the other, something else entirely.
ASHES TO ASHES is a haunting and propulsive thriller about one man’s descent into holy violence—a deeply theological, unflinchingly moral tale about evil hiding in plain sight, and a pastor who dares to become its reckoning.

367 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 28, 2025

Reviews

[Madelyn Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like a grittier read, a plot for a gunslinger coming to "take names," one that'll have you on the edge of your seat and compel you from start to finish, this novel is for you. As Rev. Thoma has described, this is a psychological thriller, but I would call it a philosophical one as well. Not in a way that is in your face, but in one that will leave you pondering over even once you've finished reading. And I hope you will read and enjoy this latest book, Ashes to Ashes.

Read full review here:

http://madelynrosecraig.com/2025/04/1...

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I think of this book, and I'm going to be thinking about it for a while.
As a psychological thriller, it was good. It really kept me reading. But it leaps me with a lot of questions, chiefly, what was the author trying to do with this book?
I need some of my Lutheran friends to read it so that we can talk about it.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been able to put books down in the past- go back to them - 📚

This one- Could. Not. Put. Down.

Both shocking and compelling thriller!

Hope there is a sequel! 😉

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/18/25 Page 40 Vengeance is mine
Pantocrator
Pan·toc·ra·tor
/panˈtäkrədər/
noun
a title of Christ represented as the ruler of the universe, especially in Byzantine church decoration.
"an impressive Pantocrator in the dome"

"Maybe--just maybe--he still stood in the place of Christ.
But the Christ in question did not come to suffer this time.
He came as the Pantocrator. He came to judge." -

Thoma, Christopher I. Ashes to Ashes : A Novel. Angels Portion Books, 2025; page 135.

10/21/25 Page 273

[Lotzastitches · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle.