A book series is akin to comfort food for me. Why? Because I read so many pre-release books by authors unfamiliar to me that are sort of like buying a pig in a poke (no disrespect intended), it's a wonderful respite from anxiety when I can return to an old friend. Accordingly, finding a promising new series is a special treat - as is the case with this one. Now that I've finished, I'm looking forward to meeting the main character, classical pianist and budding detective Riley Forte, again (and again and again). At the outset, though, I wasn't so sure; having lost her beloved husband and young son two years earlier, Riley remains so stuck in the throes of grief that she can't finish her "comeback" concert and is barely able to function without help from her ever-at-the-ready friend Teren. A fan of weepy, self-questioning female characters I'm not (one reason I read very few cozy mysteries). But as the story moves along, Riley starts to take charge of her own life and becomes a character I not only like, but want to read more about.
Three main scenarios kick off the plot: An on-the-prowl serial killer who has spent many years perfecting his craft, a geologist who strives to be known as the man who saved Seattle-area dwellers from a killer volcano eruption and Riley's struggle to return to some semblance of normalcy. That did make it a bit hard for me to keep all the characters straight early on, but after reading quite a few books that take this approach, I figured (correctly) that at some point the threads would be woven into a single fabric.
The geologist actually gets his wish; Mt. Rainier is, in fact, set to blow any second - and his warning comes soon enough to allow most folks to get out of the way. Among them is Riley, who ends up isolated at Mountain Vista, about 80 miles from Rainier's deadly spews. Her buddy Teren, a few neighbors and hunky detective Nate are there too - separated from his partner Rick. When mutilated bodies turn up, the Mountain Vista crowd are stunned to learn that the killer is in their midst as well. Rainier's deadly fallout makes communication with and travel to the outside world impossible, though, so Nate knows he must catch the killer before he (or she) catches them and grudgingly accepts Riley's help.
Overall, it's quite a ride, complete with some surprises. Within the first few chapters, I narrowed the killer list down to two, but I didn't find out for sure till near the end (and yes, one of my picks was spot-on). It's an engrossing tale, and now that Riley has her head together, I'm hoping to see what her future holds. Many thanks to the author for offering me a copy to read and review.
Nocturne in Ashes by Joslyn Chase (Amazon Digital Services LLC, July 2017); 394 pp.
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