I am so glad that Jane Isaac is back again with the lovely publicity team at Legend paper back books. What I like about Jane Isaac's writing is that she makes all her books so simple to read and follow, with crime scenes that are very convincing. You can imagine the scene with smoke in the valley, blanketing surrounding fields, it hovered above a brick-built barn like hefty clouds in the clear blue sky. A resident was woken by the smell of smoke. A body was found beneath some fallen debris on the floor of the barn. Was Evan Baker killed first and planted in the barn? Nancy Faraday remembers waking up on the kitchen bloodstained floor alone and her boyfriend missing. Could somebody have knocked her out and abducted Evan? The police failed to trace anyone who knew Evan Baker. But he did have a distant sister who he hadn't spoken to in quiet a few years . Was he really such a private person, or did he have something to hide?

Beneath the Ashes is professionally written and could easily be compared in my opinion to the likes of Ian Rankin etc in the criminal police procedural genre as this is a well researched story that isn't overly heavy, but easy to follow with a unpredictable ending and very likeable characters. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book by Jane who is a new author to me and will definetly be reading the second book in this series. Would not hesitate to recommend.

DI Jackman is called to investigate a partially burnt corpse found on the outskirts of a fire damaged farm outbuilding. There’s something suspicious about the scene though. How did the body get so far away from the site of the fire? Elsewhere Nancy Faraday wakes on the kitchen floor with no memory after a night out with her (newish) boyfriend. The broken glass and the missing boyfriend cause immediate alarm. What happened last night? If only she could remember. As DI Jackman investigates he starts to unravel a startling web of lies and nothing is as it seems… I really enjoyed this book; my introduction to DI Will Jackman and the work of Jane Isaac. There’s something about a well written police procedural that gives me the warm fuzzies and this is a well written police procedural. I love DI Jackman and I want to read the first book in the series (Before It’s Too Late) before it’s too late…(see what I did there!?). Book three is coming out next year and I, for one, can’t wait. DI Jackman is a new favourite of mine, despite the fact that he’s not my usual hard-boiled grumpy police officer. I didn’t warm to Nancy at all. I wanted to like her but her blinkered point of view frustrated me somewhat. It’s an intricate story with many seemingly unrelated threads. I spent a large proportion of the story wondering how things were going to tie together but oh boy, they do! There’s a brilliant twist which I didn’t see coming at all…absolutely brilliant! I was interested from start to finish and I’ll say it again…that reveal is FABULOUS! Would I recommend this book? I would, it’s a cleverly crafter police procedural with a brilliant reveal. More Will Jackman please, Ms Isaac! Four out of five stars. I chose to read and review an ARC of Beneath the Ashes.

After I read “Before It’s Too Late” by Jane Isaac, I said that I would certainly read more as I had enjoyed it so much so imagine my delight when I was offered to read "Beneath The Ashes" in return for an honest review by The Legend 100 Club. I wasn’t going to say no was I? We are quickly immersed in a riveting crime story being investigated by DI Will Jackman. I have said it before and I will say it again, I really like Will as a character. He is a really interesting, complex and likeable Police Officer who, despite carrying a lot of baggage around in his head, is methodical and driven to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Nancy and her missing boyfriend. The story moves at a good pace and flows really well so is easy to read. The story is told from the perspectives of DI Will Jackman and Nancy in alternating chapters which, I think, works really well. There are twists, turns, secrets, lies and red herrings before the reveal at the end which I didn’t see coming. This is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a great mystery with very likeable characters and if you haven’t read any of Jane Isaac’s work before, I would suggest you give her a go - she certainly doesn’t disappoint and I for one can't wait to read the third book in the series - The Lies Within - which is due out in May 2017.

I was slightly disappointed by this novel as I felt it was a very "run of the mill" crime thriller. There are so many out there already and there was nothing about it to really stand out from the rest. I am aware this was the second book in the DI Will Jackman series and that I have not read the first, nevertheless, it has not made me want to go back and read the first one. The characters I felt were never developed enough for us to care much about the outcome and perhaps too many people and names flitted in and out making it difficult to really get a grip on who or what were relevant and therefore connect with them. I felt the personal side of Will Jackman's life and that of his assistant would have been very interesting and wish that side had been a little more developed. I would rate it a 3 out of 5 stars Something to while away the time but nothing to make you think or dwell on any aspect at a later date. Quite average overall.