Bunny's Reviews: Hot Ash Review Spotlight

Angela Hardwicke is back and this time she's taking on her toughest mystery yet! Read on for more info about Hot Ash by Russ Colchamiro!

Camille Enquist is on a quest for answers. What has recently happened to her is just too hard for her to believe. So the truth must be something else...anything else than what it actually is. So, in her bid to find the answers she’s looking for, she seeks out and hires Angela Hardwicke, intergalactic private eye. Will she be able to handle the answers that she gets as Angela digs deeper into all that surrounds the Enquist family? Will Angela manage to survive the dangers that she’ll face along the way?

Hot Ash is an Angela Hardwicke sci-fi mystery novel that will grab you from the beginning and keep you page-turning to the end. While this book is part of a series, rest assured that this novel can be read as a stand-alone. Angela thinks that this case with Camille Enquist is simply family drama. A widow angry because her step kids are the ones who solely inherited their father’s business with her being cut out. Camille cries foul, and the signs point to something unethical having happened, but is there more to the story? She feeds Angela the information that she feels will benefit her, but beneath the surface the story goes deeper.

Hot Ash is an intriguing sci-fi mystery novel from beginning to end. Brace yourself for some shocking moments, but the author uses those to keep you coming back for more. Angela is tough as nails in this book, but with her protege, Eric Whistler, growing up on her, she’s having to learn to let go of the reins a bit. Of course, there is growing pains between the two. Eric is ready to step out of Angela’s shadow, but is he really ready?

Whistler (Eric) has made some major steps in his life, but as you’ll see as you read this book, that he’s still got a ways to go. The thing is, in certain moments – when he’s solid, he’s solid. But when he stumbles? Boy does he stumble hard. It’s a bit funny and infuriating at the same time. Especially when he’s quick to read Angela the riot act in how she handles things with him. You’ll sit there and think “I get it, you want the training wheels off, you want to be treated as an equal. Then own your shit, too man!” Trust me, you’ll applaud Angela when she holds her tongue in a couple of situations.

There are going to be some scenes that are going to have you literally on the edge of your seat. You’re going to be rooting for success only to slump when failure seems to be the only path they’re on. Just try not to pull out your hair. LOL! It won’t do you – or the characters any good.

Angela really shines as the main character in this book, but Bernice and Dolores really threaten to outshine her at times. Bernice especially in my book. Bernice is a riot and a half. She’s one of those characters that you have to look out for, because before you know it you’ll be owing her half your life savings. LOL! Dolores is another character who really pulls no punches either. Especially when it’s date night...and it is.

The twists and turns in this book add another level to the overall suspense levels. This case is complicated and in more ways than one. The truth that Angela is digging up isn’t what she’s expecting, but it’s also leading down a dangerous rabbit hole. There are somethings that – if you’re not ready for, you just shouldn’t go probing into them.

Readers of sci-fi novels are going to enjoy the amount of tech in this book. The author really pulls you into a futuristic world brimming with advanced technology. There are, of course, familiar elements, but things have really progressed. The bigger surprises come off-world. It’ll be awhile before you get there, but the wait is worth it.

*** Trigger Warning*** Mention of Suicide

Now, there are some shocking situations in this book, so this book might not be for every reader. There is a mention of suicide by one character in this book. Then there is an actual suicide that happens on page. If suicide is a sensitive subject for you, you might want to either skip this book or steel yourself for the situations. They don’t happen until later on in the book though so you can still enjoy the majority of this story. There isn’t a “trigger warning” but the author does give you some warning in the storyline before the incidents happen.

The final chapters in this book are going to have you all over the place. You’re literally going to be on the edge of your seat with amount of tension ahead. Try not to fall off your chair. Apparently the author decides to remind us that nothing is what it seems, but the truth is out there – if you’re willing to dig for it.

I’m rating this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to the author, Russ Colchamiro, and R&R Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Hot Ash

Publication Date: September 6th, 2022

Genre: Sci-Fi Mystery

Intergalactic private Angela Hardwicke is Eternity’s most daring spy for hire…

Following the mysterious and ill-timed death of her elderly husband, Camille Engquist was set to inherit the family’s real estate development company. But her stepkids stole it from her first. Or so she claims.

As Hardwicke and her protégé Eric Whistler dive into the world of affordable housing, synthetic concrete, and corporate succession planning, their investigation put them face-to-face with the haves and have-nots, a new form of cocaine, a boundary-pushing neurobiologist, a majestic domed city and a violent conspiracy that stretches farther and deeper than they ever could have imaged. But the most insidious betrayals are sometimes closer to home.

In Hot Ash, Russ Colchamiro’s most action-packed Sci-Fi mystery yet, Angela Hardwicke must grapple with the worst pain of all—that the people we love are the ones we should fear most.

And don't miss the first two books in the series, Crackle and Fire and Fractured Lives!

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About the Author

Russ Colchamiro is the author of the rollicking space adventure, Crossline, the zany SF/F backpacking comedy series Finders Keepers: The Definitive Edition, Genius de Milo, and Astropalooza, and is editor of the SF anthology Love, Murder & Mayhem, all with Crazy 8 Press.

Russ lives in New Jersey with his wife, two ninjas, and crazy dog Simon, who may in fact be an alien himself. Russ has also contributed to several other anthologies, including Tales of the Crimson Keep, Pangaea, Altered States of the Union, Camelot 13, TV Gods 2, They Keep Killing Glenn, Thrilling Adventure Yarns, Camelot 13, and Brave New Girls.

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