The Abbey (Ash Rashid) [Kindle Edition]

Chris Culver (Author)

Book Description

Ash Rashid is a former homicide detective who can't stand the thought of handling another death investigation. In another year, he'll be out of the department completely. That's the plan, at least, until his niece's body is found in the guest home of one of his city's most wealthy citizens. The coroner calls it an overdose, but the case doesn't add up. Against orders, Ash launches an investigation to find his niece's murderer, but the longer he searches, the more entangled he becomes in a case that hits increasingly close to home. If he doesn't solve it fast, his niece won't be the only family member he has to bury.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Chris Culver is a writer to watch for years to come." (C.J. Box, New York Times bestselling author of Breaking Point and The Highway)

"A properly good. . . thriller." (The Guardian)

"Chris Culver is a daring new voice in crime fiction." (Jeff Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of Downfall)

"A tale that offers...novelty within a standard cops versus drug dealers plot." (Publishers Weekly)

"A likeable protagonist and a lively plot make for a very enjoyable read." (The Morning Star)

About the Author

Chris Culver is the New York Times bestselling author of the Ash Rashid series of mysteries. After graduate school, Chris taught courses in ethics and comparative religion at a small liberal arts university in southern Arkansas. Between classes, he wrote The Abbey, which spent sixteen weeks on the New York Times ebook bestseller list. He, his wife, and their Labrador retriever currently live near St. Louis, Missouri, where Chris is working on his next novel.

Product Details

• File Size: 461 KB
• Print Length: 401 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004M18ZRS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,293 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #77 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Hard-Boiled
  • #81 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Hard-Boiled

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

450 of 465 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent - Suspenseful, Fast Paced, and Challenging April 10, 2011

By ndanielle

Format:Kindle Edition

I purchased this .99 book as one of my first electronic downloads. For .99 I wasn't looking to be wow'd but I was. Most surprising is the main character (Ash) is Muslim. Ash is a Muslim version Dirty Harry! Chris Culver weaves the detective's religion into the story in such a manner that displays Ash as a spiritual man, but a bad boy cop at the same time. As a Christian, I found myself chuckling at the way that Ash recognizes his duty to his religion but does what the 'flesh' tells him is necessary to seek justice; he does it without apology. No turning the other cheek here! Hooray for Ash and Chris Culver in this amazingly fresh look at crime fighting.

138 of 146 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Very Very good value for money.... August 15, 2011

By David Topping

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is my genre and for $2.99 is a great deal (I live in Jamaica, so its 0.99c for people in the US) the prose and writing style is similar to Robert Crais, sans the snappy/type humor we have come to expect from Elvis Cole.

I bought this based on the reviews here and 100% agree with all the good, I was a little concerned that the protagonist being Muslim, I would be bogged down with the writer using this as a forum for Muslim religion, thankfully it wasn't and only made small references which helped/remind the reader, in much the same way as Daniel Silva's "Gabriel Allon". (I add quickly that whether our hero was Christian, Jew, Muslim- I just did not want the story bogged down REGARDLESS of the religion)

In conclusion, the story moved along at a cracking pace and I finished this book in one sitting (1.00am), I saw the twist/Backstab coming but nevertheless great great read.

To the author: I loved Ash's parting comment to his law professor!...Nice *lol*

196 of 213 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Abbey August 1, 2011

By Janine Smith

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book was very good! I didn't really expect much, considering it was only 99 cents. But when I started reading, I didn't want to put it down. I absolutely fell in love with the characters. I can't wait to read more from this author.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read August 7, 2011

By Lorri5

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I think that what I found most appealing in this book was the believability of the main character. Ash is a religious family man with flaws that he recognises. He goes out of his way and out of his depth risking his career in order to get justice for the people closest to him and in the process gets involved in some pretty tough stuff. Well done to Chris Culver on a great first novel.

83 of 103 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't do it... September 3, 2011

By LizzyS

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Never before have I felt the need to review a book, but the positive reviews for this book have compelled me to.

In a word, this book is TERRIBLE. There is nothing that rings true about the central character (a somewhat troubled, but ultimately good, Muslim detective from Indianapolis, with a bit of an alcohol problem!), but I found the number of cliches crammed into the first couple of chapters mildly amusing. However, as the cliches began to pile up I just got irritated by them and the bad writing style. I only finished to book so that I could write an informed review.

This book is about murdered teenagers, vampires, drug gangs, the Russian mob and biological weapons, although it would appear good value to get that many plot lines for 99c...I advise you not to bother.

My advice to the author...don't bring this character back in Fall 2011, like you threaten to do at the end of the book. Instead enroll in a writing class and learn how to develop credible characters and coherent plot lines.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing August 27, 2011

By Douglas

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I want to add my praise to that of all the other reviewers who found "The Abbey" to be a compelling work. Occasionally, I will be intrigued by a low price book on Kindle and figure that I have little to lose by buying it. Most often those books are disappointing and are abandoned before I've fully read them.

I bought "The Abbey" based upon the positive early comment of some of the above reviewers. What a surprise!? This is a book I'd expect to pay full price for and which I'd still consider a good buy. It's very difficult to believe that this is a first effort. It's uniformly laudable; the plot, character development, economic but fulfilling description. They all satisfy. I'll be buying more books by Chris Culver.

I really don't understand how digital publishing works, but I know that many cheaper books have an unpleasant font, are rife with errors and generally make it an effort to read them. Not so here. The quality of the proofreading and editing are immediately apparent. The Abbey is the real deal. It's an effortless and entirely enjoyable read!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Susan H. August 23, 2011

By Susan L. Hunter

Format:Kindle Edition

Very pleasantly surprised at the depth of character development in this terrific mystery. I can't say I had the highest expectations but I was completely caught up in Ash's drama and can't wait for the next chapter in Ash's life.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast Read, Compelling September 11, 2011

By Linda E. Koehler

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book for my Kindle, because it sounded interesting and it was only .99. What surprised me was how good the story was and how quickly it moved. I read this book in a few days during the first week my students were back in class. This NEVER happens!
Ash Rashid is your average detective working in middle-America who just happens to be Muslim. He gets caught up in the death investigation of his niece, and the more he looks into the case the more complicated the situation gets. His bosses believe the case is solved when the girl's boyfriend commits suicide. Rashid is warned off the case, but you know, this wouldn't be a good story if he did that.
The only thing that disappointed me was that the follow-up novel has yet to be released.

More About the Author

Chris Culver is the New York Times bestselling author of the Ash Rashid series of mysteries. After graduate school, Chris taught courses in ethics and comparative religion at a small liberal arts university in southern Arkansas. While there and when he really should have been grading exams, he wrote The Abbey, which spent sixteen weeks on the New York Times bestseller's list and introduced the world to Detective Ash Rashid.

Chris has been a storyteller since he was a kid, but he decided to write crime fiction after picking up a dog-eared, coffee-stained paperback copy of Mickey Spillane's I, the Jury in a library book sale. Many years later, his wife, despite considerable effort, still can't stop him from bringing more orphan books home. The two of them, along with a labrador retriever named Roy, reside near St. Louis where Chris is hard at work on his next novel.