Customer Reviews

Ashes to Ashes

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When Rebecca Reid, a historian working on her doctorate, is offered a job evaluating the estate of James Forbes, she can't help herself, she has to go, despite the protests of her clinging fiancé. Forbes' estate includes an exact replica of a Scottish castle in the middle of Ohio that is chock-a-block full of Scottish treasures and collectables, plus Rebecca knows that Forbes owned the Erskine Letter, a letter that may very well prove that Mary, Queen of Scots' son had been switched at birth. What a coup that would be for her Ph.D. dissertation. And as a bonus the job would give her some time away from that fiancé who she's no longer so sure about.

However when she arrives the castle seems haunted. Something is stalking the halls, tossing around dishes, messing with the lights, but when valuables start vanishing, Rebecca suspects more than just ghosts. Her quest to find out just what is going on is further complicated by a couple of gorgeous guys - Michael Campbell, a Scottish professor on the scene to decide which of Forbe's treasures would go home to Scotland and which would go to the historical society and Eric Adler, the handsome executor of the Forbes estate. It's not long before she breaks her engagement as she attempts to solve both the mystery of the vanishing valuables and the mystery of which gorgeous guy is the guy for her.

I couldn't put this book down and that's saying something, because I first read ASHES TO ASHES several years ago, then bought it again in eBook format after my hardcover went south somewhere about three years ago. I have it again now in paperback and it's still as good, still as intense as ever. I just loved this book and I think you will too.

When historian Rebecca Reid heard about the chance to help catalog Dun Iain's treasures, she jumped at the chance. After all, how often does a historian get to visit an exact replica of an ancient Scottish castle in the middle of Ohio? She knew that James Forbes, the castle's owner who had just passed away, owned the Erskine letter - a letter which just might prove that Mary, Queen of Scots' son was switched at birth for another woman's. It was just what she needed for her Ph.D. dissertation. It also gave Rebecca a chance to get away from Ray, her cloying fiance, whom Rebecca was slowly falling out of love with.

When Rebecca arrived at Dun Iain, she immediately was embroiled in old feuds and shadows of the past. Nothing could have prepared her for the ghostly presences that stalked the halls clunking loudly up and down the stairs, throwing dishes in the kitchen, turning on and off lights in rooms, moving crystal bottles from floor to floor. And nothing could have prepared her for the living people at Dun Iain: Michael Campbell, the Scottish professor sent from the museum to separate out the Forbes' family treasures and decide what would go to home to Scotland and what would stay with the historical society; Eric Adler, the charming, handsome executor of the Forbes estate; Dorothy, the eavesdropping busybody of a housekeeper who had been cleaning Dun Iain for thirty years of more; Steve Pruitt and his girlfriend Heather who always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time; James Forbes, who, even after death refused to leave his beloved castle and stumped up and down the corridors and stairways; and Elspeth, James' beautiful mother, who threw herself from the 5th story window when she lost her daughter...

When priceless treasures turn up missing and Rebecca and Michael keep getting involved in mysterious "accidents", Rebecca is forced to admit that the ghosts aren't the only spooky things at Dun Iain. Eric is quite charming and she does enjoy their evenings together, but there is something holding her back from going all the way. Michael alternates between exasperating and loveable, but he may be stealing valuables to fund his own schemes. She wants to believe the best of everyone, but she knows that her time is running out...

This was a great book by Lillian Stewart Carl, full of romance and intrigue and priceless treasures lost and found. It is an updated version of a Gothic romance, with the heroine feeling lost and alone and plenty of handsome men around to choose from. All of the characters were well drawn and absolutely fascinating, whether hero or villain, all of them had shades of gray in their characters. I am looking forward to reading the sequel - Dust to Dust. Definitely worth your time to check out this author!

A Scottish castle in the middle of Ohio? It's big as life and twice as scary, built by the late John Forbes who was recently found dead at the bottom of the stairs and still hangs around. The characters in this novel have good reason to remember the old Scots prayer: "From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggety beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord deliver us."

We meet Rebecca Reid from Dover College in Missouri and Michael Campbell from the National Museums of Scotland. As academics and historians, Rebecca and Michael have a deadline for cataloguing the castle's artifacts. James Forbes and his father, John, scooped up Old World treasures with both hands. The castle, top to bottom, is crammed with them.

Michael's job is to choose which among the Forbes' family treasures should go home to Scotland. He's a bit snotty about the whole setup and Rebecca suspects he has a hidden agenda. She has an agenda of her own. Eric Adler, James Forbes' executor, has assured her she can do her own research on the side.

She is eager to find "the Erskine letter," a letter which might prove that the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, died at birth and was secretly replaced by another woman's baby. The letter was written by Arabella Erskine, Countess of Mar, to her sister, and is said to confirm that she traded her newborn child for Mary Stuart's dead one. Mary's son, to whomever he belonged, became James VI of Scotland and James I of England.

The castle--Dun Iain or "John's Fort" in Gaelic--is so real it's hard to remember that it sits in Ohio, not in Scotland. Part of the charm of this book for me is the contemporary setting for legends of the ancient past. Periodically a scene pops up to keep a reader grounded in present time. Dorothy, the nosy housekeeper, shops at Wal-Mart. Rebecca visits Jan, an old family friend who lives in town with her husband and two children.The lawyer takes Rebecca into town for dinner and they pass a pizza place where teenagers hang out.

Adler, too, has a job to do. Unless he can find a living relative, James Forbes' estate will go to Ohio.

But the castle is the setting for action. Artifacts vanish and accidents happen. Rebecca suspects more than just ghosts are at work. Someone wants her and Michael out of Dun Iain. After a good scare that brings the sheriff running, Rebecca and Michael change the locks on the castle door and settle in to do their work, with the ghostly disturbances being no worse than static on the radio.

They ignore the pervasive scent of lavender and what seems to be a permanent imprint of a head on Rebecca's pillow. When Jan brings her children for a visit, three-year-old Brian has a conversation with the ghost of James Forbes and reports, as matter-of-factly as only a child can, that James may have been pushed down the stairs.

The denouement, both harrowing and humorous, involves a wily killer, a pair of silk long johns and a cat named Darnley.

A fascinating story with delightful characters. I will read more in this series.

I picked this up looking for a Gothic mystery. It didn't disappoint. It has all the right stuff, a castle, some pretty wild weather, ghosts and just enough romance to add to the intrigue but not bog down the rest of the tale. It had enough meat to the book to last awhile, not one of those that are so short they aren't even worth getting started on. Great book to curl up by the fire with and get lost for awhile. I'll be looking for other stuff she's written.

While sifting through the antique treasures of the replica of a Scottish castle in Ohio, historians Michael and Rebecca discover two plots one ancient one modern, both linked by the death of a child and both deadly to those involved. Followed by the equally good Dust to Dust and Garden of Thorns.