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Show Me #4
Show Me the Ashes
Someone wants us dead…
Laycock, Missouri, is not the peaceful refuge Phoenix Smith was expecting. Since returning to her hometown, the former CIA agent has solved a series of local murders with her best friend, Annalynn Keyser, the county’s acting sheriff. But now Phoenix is faced with her trickiest op ever: finding out whether wild child Jolene Hew is innocent of setting a fire and killing the man who tried to rape her.
As she investigates the case, Phoenix’s covert skills are tested by an array of ruthlessly venal suspects—one of whom turns up dead. And when Phoenix rattles one cage too many, someone strikes back hard. Now she must unravel a mess of duplicity, corrosive guilt and betrayal before a calculating murderer adds her and other innocent victims to the body count.
Laycock, Missouri, is not the peaceful refuge Phoenix Smith was expecting. Since returning to her hometown, the former CIA agent has solved a series of local murders with her best friend, Annalynn Keyser, the county’s acting sheriff. But now Phoenix is faced with her trickiest op ever: finding out whether wild child Jolene Hew is innocent of setting a fire and killing the man who tried to rape her.
As she investigates the case, Phoenix’s covert skills are tested by an array of ruthlessly venal suspects—one of whom turns up dead. And when Phoenix rattles one cage too many, someone strikes back hard. Now she must unravel a mess of duplicity, corrosive guilt and betrayal before a calculating murderer adds her and other innocent victims to the body count.
- GenresMystery
359 pages, Paperback
First published December 16, 2015
About the author
Carolyn Mulford
12 books66 followersCarolyn writes the award-winning Show Me mystery series featuring an ex-spy who applies her tradecraft honed in Eastern Europe to solving homicides in rural Missouri. Carolyn taught English as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia, worked as a writer and editor in Vienna and Washington, D.C., and freelanced as a nonfiction writer and editor before focusing on mysteries and historical MG/YA fiction.
To read book excerpts and and blog posts, visit http://carolynmulford.com.
To read book excerpts and and blog posts, visit http://carolynmulford.com.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 10, 2015
Loved this one even more than Show Me The Gold but I did figure out who did it early on despite a few interesting red herrings. Anytime Achilles is on the case I'll be reading
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March 23, 2016Lots of twisted relationships and interesting characters in PI Pheonix small town in Missouri. Complications around friendships, loyalties and hardships create an interesting background for murder and robbery. Usually I can guess who the killer is. But, this time its a surprise. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
Thank you to Carolyn Mulford and Good Reads for the opportunity to read this mystery story. I really enjoyed it and read it straight through the night.
Thank you to Carolyn Mulford and Good Reads for the opportunity to read this mystery story. I really enjoyed it and read it straight through the night.
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April 1, 2017Good book! Didn't put it down until I hit the end. Thank you, Carolyn Mulford for another page-turner!
August 1, 2019
SHOW ME THE ASHES is an intriguing read. With two mysteries unfolding simultaneously, the plot is rather fast-paced and the possibilities kept me guessing. I liked the heroine and her canine companion, and enjoyed following along with their adventures until the story's satisfying conclusion.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book.
August 20, 2019
What a thriller. Between murders and a mysterious fire that was not committed by the person who confessed to it and was convicted of the crimes, to some unsolved burglaries that left the town of Laycock afraid and bewildered this was one constant page-turner. Leave it to former covert operator Phoenix Smith and her trusty canine Achilles, to sniff out the true criminals guilty for these mysterious crimes while almost getting killed in the process. It's good to have a female heroine in a good storyline for a change.
July 2, 2019
very enjoyable characters and location!
June 12, 2019
This is a book I would read again. I really liked the way the characters interact.
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August 23, 2019Not long ago I read Show Me the Ashes and Show Me the Sinister Snowman by Carolyn Mulford. These books both grabbed me right from the start and kept me intrigued through the twists and turns. I really want to know more about the main character, by my library doesn’t have the first three books in the series. I have requested them. I hope everyone reads this wonderful series.
March 26, 2020
It was fun to revisit this group of three women friends and detectives. I love the occasional sly humor. For instance, pondering whether a woman could have had to strength to kill a large man...well, she did lift a toddler every day.
Full disclosure: I know the author.
Full disclosure: I know the author.
March 27, 2019
This book is dynamite. Same as all the others in this series. Love this author.
August 31, 2024
The investigator is such a strong curator that I keep picturing her as a man. I will be looking for more of her books.
August 10, 2026
Not a fan of the narrator.
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May 1, 2019Categories: Mystery & Detective
Miniseries: A Phoenix Smith Mystery
Miniseries: A Phoenix Smith Mystery
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews







