Searching the darkness for something: OUT OF THE ASHES.

Out of the Ashes by Kara Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As a teen, Samantha Newsom's uncle Scott is pulled over by a cop in August 2021 and beat up. A month later, Sam's entire family is murdered: her uncle, dad, mom, and baby sister, Lyndsay. Over twenty years later, Sam returns to her hometown of Carney. While there, an investigator tells her a prison snitch has proffered up some new information about the night of the murder, and there's a chance Lyndsay may be alive.

So this book shouldn't have been so good. It's total trope city: a woman with a messed up past and dead family from a small town filled with secrets comes back and then starts her own misguided investigation. And, of course, she's drinking more than she should. Why with the investigations that only lead to certain trouble, why? I wanted to yell at Sam to just get out of Carney and never come back!

Yet this is an addictive read with a complex and tortured main character desperate to figure out the truth about her past. Sam has more than her share of survivor's guilt, but also plenty of secrets. Thomas weaves a twisty read that keeps you guessing, especially as Sam jumps from place to place searching for the truth. I wanted to wring her neck as she made a string of horrible choices, but she was a surprisingly strong character nonetheless. ASHES has that perfect small town feel, illustrating how trapping a corrupt and dying town can feel. There are corrupt cops, drugs, messed up families, horrible friendships, and so much more.

Overall, this is an addictive read that follows a lot of different paths. 4 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

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I'd have no home if you left me alone: THAT WEEKEND.

That Weekend by Kara Thomas
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Claire and her friends Kat and Jesse sneak away during prom to Kat's family's lake house for a camping trip. But everything goes wrong when Claire wakes up alone, covered in blood, with no memory of what happened over the weekend. Kat and Jesse are gone, and after a crazy series of events, the police and FBI declare them dead. The weekend plagues Claire and she sets out to figure out what happened to friends, only to realize she's not sure she wants to find the answers.

THAT WEEKEND is a definite page-turner; I flew through it. It starts off very exciting, as you desperately want to determine what happened to Kat and Jesse. Things get a little more convoluted as Claire returns home and starts conducting her own investigation. Soon you start wondering if and why the FBI cannot do what Claire is doing. Claire is also a bit of a listless character... she seems to have little personality beyond wanting to find her friends. There are also a lot of heartless characters, making it really hard to root for anyone here.

This is a fast read and it's interesting, but it lost the thread a bit for me as the story went on. Still enjoyed it overall. 3.5 stars.

Also, this was my first book of my 2023 random # generator shelves challenge, where I've numbered my bookshelves (in a spreadsheet) and used a random google number generator to pick the shelf and then the book!

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But lately all I do seems to wreck you: LITTLE MONSTERS.

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Kacey is new to the town of Broken Falls. After an explosive life with her mom and her endless string of boyfriends, life with her father; her stepmom, Ashley; her stepbrother, Andrew; and her half sister, Lauren seems rather docile. Kacey also has new friends, Bailey and Jade, who help make high school bearable. But then they start acting strange. When they don't invite her to the biggest party of the year, she knows something is up. But she doesn't get a chance to ask, because Bailey never comes back from the party: she has disappeared. Kacey finds herself obsessed with what happened to Bailey. And soon, it seems as if the town is wondering what role Kacey played in Bailey's disappearance.


"Girls are not princesses, and I know all the possible endings to the stories about girls in peril. They're rarely happy."


This was an interesting read that kept me guessing the entire time. I give Thomas points for its twistiness, as it was an engrossing read. These were some very complicated high school kids. I couldn't help but think that that Kacey was a little too involved in wanting to find her friend and that the high school drama seemed incredibly intense, even for the purposes of a novel. Maybe I'm just naive, but these girls were in deep. There is nothing quite so dark, at times, as the friendship of teenage girls.

Overall, I enjoyed trying to piece things together in this story, even if some of the overly dramatic parts turned me off a bit. 3+ stars.

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I thought of you and where you'd gone: THE CHEERLEADERS.

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


There are no longer cheerleaders allowed at Sunnybrook High School. It's been that way for five years, ever since five members of the team died within a short span of each other. One of those girls was Monica's sister, Jen. Jen committed suicide after four of her fellow cheerleaders died--two in a car accident and two in a brutal murder at the hands of a fellow Sunnybrook resident. That man is dead, killed by the police. Still, Monica doesn't understand why her confident, beautiful sister killed herself. And now she's finding strange things about Jen's death that don't add up: her phone, left behind in her stepfather's desk, weird letters in his drawer, and more. What really happened five years ago? And are people done dying?

This was my first book from Kara Thomas, but it won't be my last. While this is billed as a YA novel--and there are definitely some aspects--it's also dark and twisted. I found it to be a compelling mystery that kept me guessing the entire time. Thomas does a wonderful job of painting suspense and unease as Monica slowly unravels more and more details surrounding the cheerleaders' deaths. It's impossible to trust anyone in this novel, which makes it all the more delightful. From one page to the next, I was convinced someone else was the culprit.

There's a varied set of characters in this one, but Monica is definitely the star. She's a strong narrator, even she doesn't always make the best decisions. Again, this isn't a sweet, touchy feely YA novel and neither is our narrator. She's made some bad choices (and been through a lot), but she's also feisty and determined.

Overall, this has a Pretty Little Liars vibe at times, but it's also a captivating mystery with some heartbreaking, dark undertones. It will keep you guessing and engaged. Plus, there's that wonderful, twisty ending. 4 stars.

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