Slammed by disaster, playing for her life!
With the death of her husband and son, concert pianist Riley Forte’s life and career shattered. Her comeback performance bombs, her sponsor pulls out, and she faces the tattered ruins of a once-happy life.When Mt. Rainier erupts, isolating her in a small community stalked by a serial killer, it seems like the end of everything, but it brings a new … like the end of everything, but it brings a new chance for Riley.
If she can evade the clutches of a determined killer.
In a riveting action story filled with breathtaking suspense, Riley fights to hang on to the one thing she has left—her life, and the one thing she needs to turn it around—redemption.
“Just when I thought I had the killer in a cage, a bombshell reveal, chapters later, knocked me out of the park. This book is a force to be reckoned with and a must for the avid reader.” ~ Terry A. Benedict-Devine (reader, Amazon.com)
Fans of Jeffery Deaver, Lisa Gardner, and Peter Robinson will be captivated by this page-turner.
If you like a gripping, suspenseful tale, grab your copy of Nocturne in Ashes and prepare to burn the midnight oil!
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Nocturne In Ashes (A Riley Forte Suspense Thriller Book 1)
By: Joslyn Chase
5 out of 5 stars
The story Nocturne In Ashes (A Riley Forte Suspense Thriller Book 1) by Joslyn Chase is a thrilling book to read. It is a story that had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. It has mystery, suspense, and an atmosphere that will keep you on your toes. I loved reading about the characters of Riley Forte. She is a concert pianist whose career has been shattered with the death of her husband and son. Riley is a woman who is haunted by guilt. She also is intelligent, strong, and independent. She finds herself cut off in her small community by both mother nature and the unnatural evil of a killer. Will she discover who the killer is? Read this book to find out. This story has action, danger, and a cast of amazing characters. The book is written in such a way that I felt like I was right there with Riley experiencing what she does. Riley is a character that I grew to love with each chapter that I read. The other additional characters are quite interesting and many of them are also enjoyable to read about. There are twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. The story will keep you guessing. This is an author who has written an amazing book with wonderful characters. I would highly recommend reading it.
Nocturne In Ashes by Joslyn Chase is Book One of A Riley Forte Suspense Thriller series. This novel goes beyond only entertainment. It is informative and introduced me to several subplot areas that I have never seen put together in such an informed way. Some novels I think of as good reads; this novel was a good reading experience. My Kindle app informed me the novel has 394 pages and should take me 5 hours 44 minutes to read. It took me exactly the predicted time for reading the novel in one session. It is a page turner, but I cheated a bit while reading when I looked up a few words and even went to YouTube to find some of the referenced music.
To attempt a description of the overall plot would risk too many spoilers so I will address a few subplots identifying key characters. Joslyn Chase skillfully connects subplots, then injects a few surprises, then connects things again in an interesting cycle; weave, disassemble, weave, repeat. With each subplot, the author presents an impressive depth of knowledge that came from her experiences but also extensive research. On page 383 of my Kindle edition, the reader will find “Author’s notes.” The notes are worth reading. They answered the first question I had after reading sample chapters. How can one person have so much detailed knowledge of so many diverse areas?
The novel begins with a killing. An unnamed killer has a belief that he must occasionally kill to make mother happy. The killings must follow a specific ritual. Those killed would be happy and even thank their killer if they knew how honorable their sacrifice was, at least that is the perception of the killer. His best boyhood friend had not expressed appreciation when he realized he would be the first victim. After that, with only a couple of exceptions, the killer had stopped trying to explain to his victims how privileged they were.
The reader will find accounts of Riley Forte, a concert pianist. The name “Forte” has the accent on the first syllable. Riley plays classical music. I will demonstrate my ignorance of all things music when I state that I think a concert pianist could play music that is not solely classical. Riley is the character that sent me to YouTube where I downloaded some of the classical selections Riley was attempting in her first comeback concert bid. I found it fun to read the novel while listening to the music cited.
Riley has an interesting mental view of music. She sees patterns and attempts to make connections that inspire her to “feel” the music. She gives private piano lessons and tries to train students in techniques so that they will see patterns. There is an interesting instructional resource Chase describes in Author Notes. Riley is a troubled artist unable to get through performances after the loss of her husband and son. She must get past the grieving process if she ever wants to perform again. Life doesn’t wait for her to grieve; unexpected events occur in her life to which she must react. A volcanic disaster, potentially the worst disaster ever in the United States, will trap her in her small, closely knit community of Mountain Vista. Everyone knows almost everything about everyone else. But someone is lying, and that person is a threat to Riley’s life.
Topper is the next character to appear with an interesting tale. I know little about music; I might know even less about volcanoes. Topper knows a lot and lives most of his life in the mountains. He works as a field agent for the Seismology Lab at the University of Washington. Topper has been fascinated by volcanoes ever since he saw a seismic event as a child. As the reader meets him, he is preparing to give final warnings of an imminent volcanic eruption of Mt. Rainier. The eruption that happens will isolate Riley in her community.
Nate and Rick are a couple of detectives who have just been assigned a case to find a serial killer. Rick is a novice detective and must succeed in his first case. Nate is the temporary lead detective also highly motivated to solve this high-profile case. The two detectives will separate in following leads. While separated, Mt.Ranier will blow up and make communication between the two impossible. Nate will be stranded in Mountain Vista. Rick will learn information that he knows Nate must have. How can the two get together?
Rick will make several attempts to get to Mountain Vista, but the most interesting will be the helicopter attempts. Finally, something I know a little bit about. I am impressed by the research the author has done. Joslyn Chase made me feel like I was in the helicopter. Until someone fell out. Almost.
The novel is far more complex than I have outlined in my brief character sketches. Nocturne in Ashes is a five Amazon star read. I am thrilled when I read something that entertains and educates. Here are a few things that made this an enjoyable reading experience.
Geoscientists primarily monitor three predictive factors for a volcanic eruption—thrust faults, earthquakes, and tiltmeter readings. (p.29). I didn’t know this fun fact from science, and I live in Indonesia on an island with an active volcano. Falling volcanic ash makes a garage or carport a necessity. Motorcycle riders wear masks. I need to read more.
“lahars” (p. 43) Think of flash floods but with snow, rocks, broken trees, and debris rolling downhill at 40 mph.
“What’s a gooey duck?” (p.51). I had to look this up. I never want to meet one, let alone eat one.
“she reviewed some chord theory and introduced C.P.E. Bach’s Solfeggietto, pointing out how the patterns are established” (p. 219). I liked researching to figure out what this meant.
“Rachmaninoff, next, the militant maneuvers of the Prelude, Op. 23, No. 5, building, firming, triumphant, with the heart-tugging arpeggios halfway through” (p. 266). Same.
“The playful doctor gradus ad parnassum came next,” (p. 266). Same.
This novel should be of great interest to musicians, especially pianists. I liked being forced to learn new things. New information on music was the most interesting part of the novel for me, but this is also a very good mystery. I could not predict the “principal” surprising ending. There is more than one surprise ending. I highly recommend this book for the complexity of diverse backgrounds and subplots.
When I read the blurb for Nocturne in Ashes, my interest was caught. I haven’t read a lot of books that take place in Washington state. I also haven’t read a lot of books that deal with catastrophic eruptions of volcanoes. Add in that there is a serial killer loose in a community isolated by the eruptions and I had to read it. I am glad that I did because this book was a fantastic read.
Nocturne in Ashes starts with Riley Forte having a breakdown during her come back tour. Once a promising concert pianist, Riley’s world was torn apart when her husband and young son were killed. That concert was supposed to usher back into the spotlight. Instead, she is left with no sponsor and her career in shambles. She is at home when Mt. Rainier erupts. She discovers that there is a serial killer in the gated community. As the body count rises, suspicion is cast at everyone in the community. Will the killer be caught? Who will it be?
Nocturne in Ashes was one of those books that started with a bang and kept its momentum for the entire book. I couldn’t believe how fast-paced the book was. Usually, when a book is fast-paced, there is lag at some point in the book. There wasn’t any, and I loved it.
I felt awful for Riley during the book. She was struggling to overcome and understand why her husband and son had to die. She was struggling to get her career back on track. She had so much on her plate. Then to get involved in an investigation that involves a serial killer? Which is why I didn’t blame her for taking off when she did. Was it a stupid move? Yes, but she needed to do it. She would have never figured out who the killer was if she didn’t.
I did figure out who the serial killer was early in the book. But, there was a twist in that plotline that I didn’t see coming. It blindsided me. I had to put down my Kindle to process what I read. I was that shocked.
Nate’s investigation was another plotline that I loved. I liked that his investigation went on even though he was cut off from the rest of the state. I found it fascinating how he handled different situations.
I found Rick’s journey to get to Nate fascinating. He knew who the killer was and he wasn’t going to leave Nate stranded. He had some creative ways of getting to Nate. There were specific points in the book where I doubted if he would get there.
The end of Nocturne in Ashes was intense. Like I mentioned above, there was a twist in the plot that took me by surprise. What I liked the most is that the author didn’t end the book after the twist. She kept it going. She showed what happened to the characters afterward. Loved it!!
I first thank the author for providing me a copy of this novel through Bookfunnel, which I’d never heard about before. I agreed to receive it for free in return for an honest review. I did like it a lot, and stand in awe of the extensive research done by the author and the meticulous plotting which produced this complicated and busy novel.
I had trouble keeping everything straight because the story is told in multiple points of view (about 6 I think) and every POV character has a plot of his/her own. It’s exhausting. To my mind, Nate, an investigator who is part of most of what I believe is the central plot, seems to be the main character. However, he is not. The main character is Riley Forte, a concert pianist who is unable to perform following the deaths of her husband and son. If I understand this correctly, the series will be about Riley, who travels the world as a renowned concert pianist but spends her time in various venues assisting law enforcement to solve murders. Actually I didn’t fully realize even that until I had finished the book and was reading the afterward by the author. I sort of wanted to read more books about Nate and his young investigator assistant, Nick (who also had a POV and a plot).
Joslyn Chase can write; there’s no doubt about that, and I did like the book. The multiple plots were all resolved by the end and the reader was not left with a cliffhanger…thanks so much for that (I hate cliffhangers). But I was so exhausted by the time I finished that I didn’t want to read anymore about Riley Forte. Nate and Nick were much more interesting to me. I might keep an eye out for the next one, because this author is great at inventing interesting characters.