Ashes to Ashes by Mel Starr

Ashes to Ashes by Mel Starr ISBN-13: 9781782641339 Trade Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Kregel Publications Released: November 27, 2015

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Master Hugh, Kate, and their children attend the Midsummer’s Eve fire. The next morning, tenants collecting the ashes to spread upon their fields find burned human bones. Hugh learns of several men of Bampton and nearby villages who have gone missing recently. Most are soon found, some alive, some dead. But one remains missing, and he was a very unpopular man...


My Review:
Ashes to Ashes is a historical novel set in 1369 in England. It's the 8th book in a series, but you don't need to read the previous novels to understand this one. This novel referred to events from previous novels.

The story contained many details about life during this time period, and these details were worked into the flow of the story. The story was told from a distant viewpoint. We're told what Hugh thought and did like he's telling us the story after the events. The characters were interesting and varied.

Hugh's not clever, but he's determined. He steadily followed up each lead and stuck to his investigation even when it got dangerous. There were plenty of clues, but the difficulty lay in proving things. Some suspense came from physical danger to Hugh and to those who could tell him the information he needed to prove whodunit and why.

The Christian element was mainly in Hugh's internal debate about if it was worth pushing for truth and justice when it's so dangerous to his health. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting historical novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.