Released October 18 2019

Book 3 in the Ashes to Ashes psychological thriller series.

AVAILABLE FROM YOUR FAVOURITE STORE IN PRINT AND E-BOOK. Learn More

On October 18th, From The Ashes, book 3 in the Ashes to Ashes series, was released in digital format worldwide. I’m thrilled to see this book out in the world after all the hard work. From The Ashes is the conclusion to the journey of journalist Charlotte Ashe to reveal the truth about Tyrone Garner, property developer and former Premier League Football star.

Is Charlotte’s obsession more dangerous than the truth?

Love a good twist or three? Love a book you can’t put down, one that surprises and intrigues and still has all the feels? Then you’ll love From The Ashes.

From The Ashes can be read as a standalone.

---

Lies kept her safe. Until Charlotte Ashe discovered the truth. 
And his enemies found his weakness.

Journalist Charlotte Ashe has sacrificed her credibility, her friendships and her career. With no job and no prospects and a soon-to-be invalid working visa, she needs a big story. Fast. Her single lead is Blaxon Hall, a private brain injury clinic owned by Tyrone Garner. 

And Tyrone Garner has become an obsession…

Then Blaxon Hall is consumed by fire. And one of the missing is Charlotte Ashe.

To expose the truth, she’ll trade the only thing she has left…

---

Set in rural Hampshire, From The Ashes is a new psychological thriller about truth lies and the lengths we’ll go to when we think everything is lost from award nominated Australian writer Rowena Holloway.

PRAISE FOR THE ASHES TO ASHES SERIES

Bad Things Happen #1

The suspense, dark secrets and sinister twists made for an adrenaline filled story, and one I have no hesitation in recommending.

This is a book that had me turning pages. If you love mystery and suspense this is a perfect story for you. Highly recommended.

This book will definitely leave you on the edge of your seat, and have you reeling after all the twists and turns.

See more reviews here

Less You Know #2

An amazing book. It grabs you at the beginning, draws you in until you think you will never understand what is going on then you have an ‘Oh my god” moment when it all makes perfect sense.

Filled with twists, red herrings and heart-0thumping action. Less You Know is a gritty psychological thriller. Recommended.

Oh my goodness this is a good story! As psychological thrillers go this is up with the best I have read.

See more reviews here

From The Ashes #3 available now

FROM THE ASHES

Chapter 1

CHARLOTTE

Blaxon Hall, Friday 21st June

Flames light the night sky, glowing through every window on the east side of the historical hall, slithering across the upper floors toward the west wing and turret room. Lia’s room.

Fear grips my chest. Lia! Is she safe?

‘Where’s Lia?’ I turn on Naomi, shouting to be heard above the roar of the flames, panic and fire engines.

Naomi Serrano stares at me, wild-eyed and silent.

I grab her arms and shake. ‘Naomi. Focus. Is everyone out?’

It’s a question I shouldn’t have to ask. But I don’t trust Naomi Serrano. Not now.

‘I’ve… I’ve ch…checked everyone,’ Naomi whispers, her voice hoarse. ‘Twice.’

‘Where’s Lia? Tell me she’s safe.’

‘Safe? Well… I…’

For God’s sake! Behind the drawn curtains of the turret room a light glows. A shadow appears. A scream pierces the night. Lia!

Ignoring the shouts to stop and the dense smoke filling the foyer, I sprint across the lawn. Lia needs me. Time is running out. The flames may not have reached her, but there is the threat of smoke inhalation… The fabrics, paint and varnish could release noxious gasses… There’s no time to wait for the firemen to erect a ladder to her window. And if they reach the window before I get to her, there’s no certainty Lia will let a stranger touch her.

I’m coming, Lia. Hold on.

I yank my t-shirt over my nose and mouth and race for the stairs. A cloying miasma of smoke stings my eyes and makes my breathing rasp, but after almost a week of tramping up and down these stairs, days going to and from Lia’s room, I can find my way sightless. I might need to. The pervasive smoke is like wearing a blindfold of needles.

By the time I reach the landing and turn right for Lia’s room, I’m coughing hard, my vision blurred. Screams ring in my ears, but I can’t tell if they are echoes of before or happening now, and the heat at my back signals flames aren’t far behind.

The smoke thins as I near Lia’s door. It’s closed. Good. Hopefully she’s remembered to shove a towel hard against the gap.

Another scream. I’m not imagining them. Lia is in the grip of panic.

‘Lia! I’m com—’ Smoke curls into my throat and swallows my words.

Another scream, this one cut short. Cut off? Is someone with her? Is that why she didn’t leave her room when the alarm sounded?

How did I not see this coming? Everything has been leading to this.

‘Lia!’

Digging deep, I run faster, blinking away fear-driven tears. Fear can come later, when Lia is safe.

No screams. Not a sound from behind that thick oak door.

Silence is more terrifying than her screams.

I turn the handle and shove open the door. A rumpled bed. Empty. I’ve seen Lia curled up on the bed so often that for one splinter of time I picture her there: dark hair framing her cheeks, knees pulled up, thin arms wrapped around her doll. A girl on the verge of womanhood. A girl who never speaks. I push away the vision and step inside.

Lia isn’t alone.

A man has one muscular forearm clamped across her chest, a hand covering her mouth. They have their backs to the window. Lia’s gaze locks on mine. She struggles to get free, but the man grips tighter. Pain joins the fear in her dark eyes. 

After a wordless nod of reassurance, I turn my gaze on the man.

I know him! Christ. How could I miss such and obvious link?

Because you were too busy looking elsewhere.

None of that matters now. I need Lia safe. And for that, Lia needs to trust me.

A dense, acrid cloud fills the hallway. Soon we’ll have no options left. Shit. Shit. What do I do? I force the panic down into my stomach. Think. Think! Shutting the bedroom door would keep the smoke at bay a little longer, but it will also cut off any retreat. Our only other option—the window—is blocked by the man holding Lia. He isn’t tall, but he’s muscular and determined. Worse, he’s a man with nothing to lose. There’s no time for cleverness or negotiation. We need to get out of here, fast.

‘Let her go.’ My voice comes out raspy and hoarse.

‘I take her, and all your problems disappear.’ He wipes his sweaty face with his free forearm. He’s holding a knife. A knife! It’s more dangerous than I imagined.

A ladder appears at the window. ‘You have more to worry about than me.’

‘How so?’

‘In about two minutes that will be your only way out.’ I nod at the antique glass pane behind him.

Uncertainty loosens his grip. Lia struggles. He repositions his arm, locking her shoulders against his chest bringing the knife close to her face. I have to do something. Now.

‘Do you think Dimitri cares if you live or die?’ I ask.

He frowns. ‘What’s he got to do with anything?’

If not Dimitri, then who is behind this? I glance over my shoulder at the black smoke billowing along the hallway. If we don’t move soon, no one is getting out.

The window shatters. He jerks around, dragging Lia with him. A sharp cry. Oh God, has he cut her? Lia struggles free and throws herself into my arms. He turns, raises his knife, his face a snarl. Blood drips from a crescent wound on his forearm.

A gloved hand reaches through the window and grabs his shoulder. ‘Steady on, mate. Let’s get you out of here.’

There’s no time to wait for the fireman to tackle him. No time to wait for rescue. And the heavily suited and masked fireman might further terrify Lia.

I snatch up her delicate hand and pull her toward the door. She refuses to move. For a girl little more than bones and silence, Lia can sure dig in her heels.

‘Lia, honey, we have to go.’

She points at her bed, at the doll discarded on the floor.

Christ! We don’t have time to go back for a doll. Channeled by the narrow walls, smoke and ash coil like a snake ready to strike. Flames won’t be far behind. Even if I could coax Lia through the window and down the ladder, we can’t get to it. It’s blocked by a man too stupid to know he’s lost. And soon the fireman will need to decide between his own life and that of a madman who refuses to be rescued.

‘Cover your nose and mouth, like this.’

I show Lia what to do with her shirt. She nods and follows my instructions. Motioning her to stay, I leap back into the room, grab the doll, tucking it into the waistband of my jeans, and then drag Lia along the hallway toward the encroaching smoke. Despite my impromptu mask, my eyes sting and my mouth fills with the taste of ash.

Lia slows, whimpers. I understand her fear, but if we don’t move, we are not going to make it. The stairs might already be smoldering. And if they aren’t yet gone, I’m going to have to dig even deeper to find the courage to drag Lia down into the smoke-filled foyer. For all I know we might be running headlong into an inferno.

God, please help us get out alive. Don’t let us die here. Don’t abandon Lia.

I wrap my arm around her narrow shoulders. ‘Trust me, Lia. Please, trust me.’

We must keep moving. We’ve no other option.

Please don’t let us die.

‘Lia!’ A male voice bellows from somewhere below. ‘Where are you?’

Thank God. Oh, thank God!

‘Here.’ My yell comes out weak. Smoke invades my throat, but I force the words out. ‘I’ve… I’ve got… her.’

A hellish angel in breathing apparatus appears through the ash-filled smog, a second apparatus dangling from his hand. Lia tenses, a bowstring ready to snap.

He removes his mask. Smiles as he blinks watering eyes. ‘It’s okay, sweetheart.’

Lia relaxes. I push her forward. There’s no time to process my surprise at her response to a stranger. ‘Go with him, Lia.’

He puts the second mask over Lia’s face, his touch gentle, then hands me his own apparatus. ‘Take it.’

I snatch it from his hands and fill my lungs. Once then twice. The sweet oxygen is like a hit of amphetamine. I’m still sucking air when he grabs my hand and hauls us toward the flame-licked stairs. The hungry crackle and pop almost drown out the frenzy outside. The stained glass at the top of the stairs explodes. The roof in the west wing crashes through the landing. Lia screams. Freezes.

The doll. It always soothes her. I tug it from my waistband and press it into her arms. She stops screaming but still won’t move. Shit! There’s only one choice.

After one last, long, sweet breath, I hand back the breathing apparatus. ‘Go. Take her.’

A shake of his head. ‘I’m not leaving you.’

Through the smoke and the mixture of tears and sweat, I can barely see, but know he’s serious. Any hesitation lessens all our chances of survival. ‘Carry her. I’ll follow.’

A razor-sharp nod. ‘Keep hold of my jacket.’

He pulls on the apparatus, gently strokes Lia’s hair then lifts her over his shoulder. I clasp his thick fireman’s jacket with one hand and grab the bannister with the other. It’s already smoldering, too hot to grip, but in our dash down the burning steps I’m afraid of tripping. The flames are at my back, so close my shirt is hot against my skin.

We are halfway down the stairs when Lia drops her doll. Her cries are stifled by her mask, but she struggles so hard I’m afraid he’ll drop her. I release my grip on his jacket, squat and feel around for the doll.

‘Leave it.’ His muffled voice is barely audible above the roar of the fire. He’s two steps below me, smoke billowing around his barely discernable shape. ‘Come. Now!’

My fingers find the fabric of the dolls dress. I snatch it up. ‘Go. Go!’

The fire is eating its way through the foyer. Flames leap through the dark haze of smoke and ash. I glance over my shoulder. Bright, flickering flames curl along the stair treads and railing. The intense heat leaves my skin feeling raw. Every shallow breath drags in fumes, smoke, suffocating heat. It’s difficult to breathe, hard to fight off the dizziness, impossible to make my limbs obey my brain.

Keep moving forward. Keep going. You can do it.

No longer able to see, hearing only the fire raging towards me, feeling its heat, I reach for him but find only air. Oh god. This is it. This is how it ends.

Don’t let me die here. Come back for me. Please, come back for me.

And then I feel rough fabric, a firm body. He’s back. My avenging angel.

Where’ s Lia? Is she safe? I long to ask, but can’t speak, can barely breathe, and my thoughts evaporate into the pluming smoke. His hand touches mine. I realise I still have the doll. Lia’s doll.

Lia is the key to all this. I must tell him. Now. Before it’s too late.

He pulls me forward, urging me to move, but I stumble. My foot punches through the smoldering stair tread. I look up into his masked face and know the truth.

It’s already too late.

---

I hope you enjoyed this excerpt of From The Ashes. If you would like buy a copy, you can do that here.

If you would like to download book #1 in the Ashes to Ashes series, you can find buy links to Bad Things Happen here.

If you would like to download book #2 in the Ashes to Ashes series, you can find buy links to Less You Know here.

If you would like to see my backlist of titles, including the multi-award nominated All That’s Left Unsaid check out my ‘books’ page here.