Ashes Ashes

by Julie Coulter Bellon

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Are you ever really innocent until proven guilty?

Sophia Naziri is wanted for questioning in the murder of a U.S. senator. She's worried the police will show up on her doorstep any moment, but when Detective Colby Black appears, it's to help her put out a kitchen fire, not take her in. Yet. His easy smile and persistence in getting to know her pushes all her troubles to the back of her mind, until a hit man tracks her down. Getting arrested becomes the least of her worries and the handsome detective could be her only way out---if she tells him the truth.

Colby Black's sniper skills have been a blessing and a curse to him. As a member of a Hostage Negotiation Team, he can use them to save people, but sometimes he can't protect the innocent despite his best efforts. When a hostage situation goes bad, he tries to put it behind him by helping out his mysterious next-door neighbor, Sophia Naziri. But she pulls Colby into a web of lies and conspiracy that will force him to use every skill he has in order to survive. Faced with the moment of truth, can he trust anyone around him---including the woman at the center of it all?

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Book Details

Genre

Romantic Suspense/Romantic Mystery

Subgenre

Action/Adventure, Detective / Law Enforcement, Firefighter / Police / First Responder, Military, Spy / Espionage

Series

Hostage Negotiation Team • Book 2

Audience

Adult

Bell Peppers

🫑🫑

Profanity

1 None

Violence

2 Mild

Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco

2 Mild

Publication Date

May 2, 2013

Language Versions

English

Fiction Form

Novel

Sensitive Themes

Murder or attempted murder

Editorial Reviews

"Fans of action novels will enjoy reading Ashes Ashes." ---Meridian Magazine

"A well-written thriller with romantic elements threaded throughout keeps the reader cheering the hero on to save the day." --- InD'Tale Magazine

Good series but wrong packaging

What I liked is the story, the characters and the writing. The books are intertwined but each set of two are stand alone.What I did not like is having to buy two books to get the full story. Tired of that ploy with authors. This one had a new twist though. The first book is a full length novel and the second was a novella that was almost as much as the full length novel. Read the first two in the series Ashes Ashes and All Fall Down, because I did not look at the # of pages in each book (my bad) and already purchased them before I started reading a few weeks later.Because of the packaging will not read anymore of hers.

LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!

WOW!Two hundred and nineteen pages of action-packed and romance-laced intense suspense!SO. GOOD!Page one throws you right into the action and it doesn't stop until she kisses "him with all the fire in her soul."SO. SO. GOOD!I couldn't put it down! I read it in a matter of hours!SO. SO. SO. GOOD!This is book two of the Hostage Negotiations TeamBook one is All Fall Down.Colby Black is on the special hostage negotiations team and today wasn't a good day.First, the hostage situation he was trying to handle didn't end well.Then he comes home to find his next door neighbor's house on fire.And the house has been rented to a woman named Sophia.What Colby doesn't know is that Sophia is wanted for questioning in a murder case and she is on the run trying to prove her innocence.Not knowing who else to turn to Sophia asks Colby for his help.Together they find themselves face with another hostage situation...this time Sophia is the hostage.OH. SO. SO. SO. SO. GOOD!If Julie Coulter Bellon wrote the book you KNOW it will be GOOD!

Good

I really liked this book. I read it too close to book one--I should have had a breather between them so I wouldn't have noticed the similarities. If I had done that, I am sure this would have been five stats.

Action, suspense, and romance

What I liked or found interesting:• The hostage situation at the beginning of this story drew the me into the story instantly. Instantly, I felt the anxiety and tension of the situation.• There was lots of intrigue.• There were many twists and turns to the plot. Lots of suspense, excitement, and action.• The secondary players in this were varied, well developed, and interesting. They added depth to the storyline.• I sensed there was a traitor in the police or homeland security force. I kept trying to guess if there was one. If so, who could it be?• The romance between Sophia and Colin was one that the reader wanted to be successful.• The descriptions of locations and emotions were well done, easy to visualize, and to feel. I felt a part of the scenes.• The pacing of this story was good. It was neither too fast nor too slow.• There was a smooth, coherent flow to this book. The author was a great writer.• This was a clean read and I appreciated that.I will be reading or listening to more books written by this author because I enjoy her books so much.