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Among The Ashes
HIS HUSBAND, SEBASTIAN, DISAPPEARED TWO YEARS AGO. JUST AS HIS LIFE IS ON THE UP-SWING, EVERYTHING BEGINS TO SPIRAL OUT OF CONTROL.
As one of the most up-and-coming criminal defense attorneys in St. John's, Newfoundland, Caleb Winters has virtually everything anybody could hope for: incredible friends, a new lover, and nearly perfect record of crushing his foe, Crown Prosecutor Andrew Murphy, in court.
An early morning phone call on the day of his closing submissions dredges up faded memories. Skeletal remains were found north of town and the constabulary believes them to be of his missing husband, Sebastian.
After losing his case in court, Caleb's new lover disappears. He suspects his angry client is responsible for his disappearance, but his pleas with the constabulary only drive them to put Caleb at the top of their suspect list. As the days go by, and the bodies pile up, the constabulary must consider the possibility someone else is behind the mayhem.
With a handful of suspects, all with a motive for wanting to ruin Caleb’s life, will the constables assigned figure out who's accountable for the chaos? Or will Caleb find himself like his friends; departed too soon?
As one of the most up-and-coming criminal defense attorneys in St. John's, Newfoundland, Caleb Winters has virtually everything anybody could hope for: incredible friends, a new lover, and nearly perfect record of crushing his foe, Crown Prosecutor Andrew Murphy, in court.
An early morning phone call on the day of his closing submissions dredges up faded memories. Skeletal remains were found north of town and the constabulary believes them to be of his missing husband, Sebastian.
After losing his case in court, Caleb's new lover disappears. He suspects his angry client is responsible for his disappearance, but his pleas with the constabulary only drive them to put Caleb at the top of their suspect list. As the days go by, and the bodies pile up, the constabulary must consider the possibility someone else is behind the mayhem.
With a handful of suspects, all with a motive for wanting to ruin Caleb’s life, will the constables assigned figure out who's accountable for the chaos? Or will Caleb find himself like his friends; departed too soon?
- GenresM M Romance
356 pages, Paperback
First published July 25, 2018
7 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
C.L. Brees
6 books18 followersAward-winning author, C. L. Brees, was born and raised in rural Indiana, a place where the environment was a bit too restrictive to contain his overactive imagination. He needed a place where he could expand his horizons.
In 2011, after relocating to Maryland, he followed his passion for forensics and law enforcement and enrolled at the University of Baltimore. Four years later he earned not only a B.S. in Police Studies but also an M.S. in Cyber Forensics.
In 2011, after relocating to Maryland, he followed his passion for forensics and law enforcement and enrolled at the University of Baltimore. Four years later he earned not only a B.S. in Police Studies but also an M.S. in Cyber Forensics.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 10, 2021
C.L. Brees' plot in "Among the Ashes" is a good one - there is a missing husband, a new love with a secret, an old acquaintance whose friendship has turned to hatred, a murder trial with a vengeful guilty party, close lifelong friends ... and absolutely nothing is as it seems. I realize I am in the minority here, but while I was impressed by the intricate plot, its implementation just did not work for me.
The author writes frequently in first person present tense, so we get plenty of details about Caleb's every action ("the butter liquifies and Caleb dumps the eggs into the sizzling pan. He waits, stirring the eggs ..."), but little in the way of character development. Missing husband Sebastian reads like a shadow with no substance or depth and new lover Gabriel is also lightly fleshed out. For example, I read for quite some time until I finally learned Caleb's age and general description and while none of that is essential to the story, it did not make me fully vested in Caleb nor interested in what happens to him.
There are numerous twists and turns but as the mystery finally unfolded, the conclusion was very improbable. I'm willing to suspend disbelief if a plot thoroughly engrosses me, but so much of what happens to solve the murder and answer questions about the various secondary characters just seemed so unlikely and bizarre.
For me personally, I was never captured by the characters and completely stymied by their motives, so I cannot personally recommend "Among the Ashes." However, I know this book has received generally good reviews, so I am willing to concede this may be a case of "It's not YOU, it's ME." Your mileage may vary.
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
The author writes frequently in first person present tense, so we get plenty of details about Caleb's every action ("the butter liquifies and Caleb dumps the eggs into the sizzling pan. He waits, stirring the eggs ..."), but little in the way of character development. Missing husband Sebastian reads like a shadow with no substance or depth and new lover Gabriel is also lightly fleshed out. For example, I read for quite some time until I finally learned Caleb's age and general description and while none of that is essential to the story, it did not make me fully vested in Caleb nor interested in what happens to him.
There are numerous twists and turns but as the mystery finally unfolded, the conclusion was very improbable. I'm willing to suspend disbelief if a plot thoroughly engrosses me, but so much of what happens to solve the murder and answer questions about the various secondary characters just seemed so unlikely and bizarre.
For me personally, I was never captured by the characters and completely stymied by their motives, so I cannot personally recommend "Among the Ashes." However, I know this book has received generally good reviews, so I am willing to concede this may be a case of "It's not YOU, it's ME." Your mileage may vary.
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
October 20, 2019
Thanks to Netgalley for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
This story was full on mystery/ suspense thriller. Once I started, I couldn't put it down and finished in one sitting.
Caleb's a criminal defense attorney and deals with some unsavory characters. He's also dealing with updated news on his husband who disappeared two years ago - remains have been found and this could be the answer and closure he's been looking for.
He's tried to move on and make a life for himself, but then he's threatened by goons and his current boyfriend disappears, and events seem to be repeating themselves.
I felt really bad for what Caleb was going through, but for a top defense attorney, he was pretty oblivious to what was going on in his own life. There were a lot of good twists and turns, and I was surprised by who the murderer ended up to be.
The mystery and police procedure were really well written, but I wanted more from the relationships between the characters. Also, the ending was left a little too open for my tastes.
This story was full on mystery/ suspense thriller. Once I started, I couldn't put it down and finished in one sitting.
Caleb's a criminal defense attorney and deals with some unsavory characters. He's also dealing with updated news on his husband who disappeared two years ago - remains have been found and this could be the answer and closure he's been looking for.
He's tried to move on and make a life for himself, but then he's threatened by goons and his current boyfriend disappears, and events seem to be repeating themselves.
I felt really bad for what Caleb was going through, but for a top defense attorney, he was pretty oblivious to what was going on in his own life. There were a lot of good twists and turns, and I was surprised by who the murderer ended up to be.
The mystery and police procedure were really well written, but I wanted more from the relationships between the characters. Also, the ending was left a little too open for my tastes.
July 7, 2019
Man this book was intense. The twist and turns this book took totally blew my mind. Man I am still riling from what I read. This book was a well thought out, well put together book. I have to admit I found myself questioning everyone that is involved with the main character. Once I thought I had it figured out and bought I knew who the murderer was, that person ended up dead. When the true killer was revealed, I was blown away.
Caleb’s husband Sebastian went missing two years ago. He vanished in Thin air never to be seen or heard of again. At first Caleb held out hope that he would be found but after finally coming to terms with that never happening, he moved on with his life. He met a man named Gabriel and he and Gabriel have been in a relationship for a while now.
On the morning of closing arguments for one of the biggest cases of Caleb’s law career he receives a call that remains have been found and that they believe that it is Caleb’s husband Sebastian. Then to make the day worse Caleb loses the case against his rival Drew.
This is when things start to take turns and twists in Caleb’s life that leaves him floundering and wondering if he will ever truly have a good life again. His boyfriend turns up missing and now Caleb is suspect number one.
Even though Caleb keeps telling the constables that he is innocent, they do not believe him. But when more people that are close to Caleb starts turning up dead and strange notes are found, the constables finally start to believe that maybe they are looking in the wrong direction. And right now Caleb only has one person to turn to, his enemy Drew. But the question is, who can Caleb trust and why is all of this happening to him?
This book was such a great read. I could not believe everything that went on. I will say that the ending kind of threw me so I am hoping that maybe there will be another book in the future because the way this one ended, there is definitely room for a new book. C.L. Brees did an incredible job on this book. Definitely a highly recommended read!!!
Was given this galley copy for free for an open and honest review
Caleb’s husband Sebastian went missing two years ago. He vanished in Thin air never to be seen or heard of again. At first Caleb held out hope that he would be found but after finally coming to terms with that never happening, he moved on with his life. He met a man named Gabriel and he and Gabriel have been in a relationship for a while now.
On the morning of closing arguments for one of the biggest cases of Caleb’s law career he receives a call that remains have been found and that they believe that it is Caleb’s husband Sebastian. Then to make the day worse Caleb loses the case against his rival Drew.
This is when things start to take turns and twists in Caleb’s life that leaves him floundering and wondering if he will ever truly have a good life again. His boyfriend turns up missing and now Caleb is suspect number one.
Even though Caleb keeps telling the constables that he is innocent, they do not believe him. But when more people that are close to Caleb starts turning up dead and strange notes are found, the constables finally start to believe that maybe they are looking in the wrong direction. And right now Caleb only has one person to turn to, his enemy Drew. But the question is, who can Caleb trust and why is all of this happening to him?
This book was such a great read. I could not believe everything that went on. I will say that the ending kind of threw me so I am hoping that maybe there will be another book in the future because the way this one ended, there is definitely room for a new book. C.L. Brees did an incredible job on this book. Definitely a highly recommended read!!!
Was given this galley copy for free for an open and honest review
November 17, 2019
The writing was stiff and wooden, the choice of present tense added nothing. Toss in head hopping plus forced and artificial dialogue that did nothing to convey appropriate emotions for any given character or scenario. Character actions and reactions had no basis in reality. The suspense part of the plot might have hung together if it had stopped at a particular point, except it went completely off the rails and passed the boundaries of realism. I borrowed through KU in hopes better formatting would help. It did not.
*An ARC was provided by the author, publisher or a promotional service and I have chosen to publish a fair and honest review* #NetGalley
*An ARC was provided by the author, publisher or a promotional service and I have chosen to publish a fair and honest review* #NetGalley
March 23, 2019
Thought I knew who dunnit but I was wrong. Great twist, well done!
June 7, 2020
There is a lot to like about this book. The story is intriguing and the characters are interesting, to be sure. I think that this genre (Crime Thriller) is probably one of the most difficult to write, and write well. In the end, for me, there were several issues that brought down my overall impression of the book.
First, there were several incidental inconsistencies in the descriptiveness that bothered me. In one passage the weather and the action didn't add up. In another, an obvious investigative measure never happened- and it was the first thing I thought of, when the plot line was introduced. Then there was the sketched-out, but not fleshed out finale, tying everything together. It just didn't add up to me, satisfactorily. And as interesting as the characters are, only Caleb is fully drawn out.
The main character is gay-- and much of the plot surrounds his (Caleb's) romantic life, yet I don't consider this a romance at all, and there is no hint at any steamy interactions among any of the characters.
There is enough intrigue to keep the pages turning. I just wish there had been a little more detail and better editing.
I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
First, there were several incidental inconsistencies in the descriptiveness that bothered me. In one passage the weather and the action didn't add up. In another, an obvious investigative measure never happened- and it was the first thing I thought of, when the plot line was introduced. Then there was the sketched-out, but not fleshed out finale, tying everything together. It just didn't add up to me, satisfactorily. And as interesting as the characters are, only Caleb is fully drawn out.
The main character is gay-- and much of the plot surrounds his (Caleb's) romantic life, yet I don't consider this a romance at all, and there is no hint at any steamy interactions among any of the characters.
There is enough intrigue to keep the pages turning. I just wish there had been a little more detail and better editing.
I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 19, 2020
Title provided via Netgalley for an honest review.
First things first - I love story plots like this - opposite ends of the same world with a frienemies to lovers type feel. That is absolutely something I really love, especially when it comes to law enforcement type backgrounds. That is what sparked my interest. However, and most unfortunately, My interest was lost the first page. I abhor present tense writing and second person point of view. Heck I'd even settle for first person and I really don't like that either, but second is an automatic no for me. That is also in part of why it took me forever to review this because it took me forever to read. I almost didn't even want to because of the tense. That says a lot about how the author can draw the reader into the story and for me I was disconnected from the get go.
Once I was able to get into the story, ages later, the characters where likable, but the execution of the story in second person just soured the entire book for me and I really couldn't get into it, even with the twists and romance.
First things first - I love story plots like this - opposite ends of the same world with a frienemies to lovers type feel. That is absolutely something I really love, especially when it comes to law enforcement type backgrounds. That is what sparked my interest. However, and most unfortunately, My interest was lost the first page. I abhor present tense writing and second person point of view. Heck I'd even settle for first person and I really don't like that either, but second is an automatic no for me. That is also in part of why it took me forever to review this because it took me forever to read. I almost didn't even want to because of the tense. That says a lot about how the author can draw the reader into the story and for me I was disconnected from the get go.
Once I was able to get into the story, ages later, the characters where likable, but the execution of the story in second person just soured the entire book for me and I really couldn't get into it, even with the twists and romance.
May 13, 2019
Another thrilling adventure.
Mr Brees brings his best book yet in Among the Ashes. This mystery novel kept me guessing until the end. Good characters and backstory really lend credibility to the reader stepping in to a well established world.
Mr Brees brings his best book yet in Among the Ashes. This mystery novel kept me guessing until the end. Good characters and backstory really lend credibility to the reader stepping in to a well established world.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews