The Hour of Dust and Ashes-Kelly Gay

The Hour of Dust and Ashes
Kelly Gay
Pocket, Aug 30 2011, $7.99
ISBN: 9781451625479

Atlanta Detectives Charlie Madigan and Hank the Siren earn R&R after their successful confrontation with the Sons of Dawn in the Underground. Charlie wants to spend time with her daughter Emma and her sister Bryn, but the battle may have been won, but the war remains heated.

The two sleuthing partners have information that implies the addictive “ash” enables the otherworldly to possess the human host, which has led to deaths that some say are homicides and others insist are suicides. To Charlie she fears for Bryn who is addicted to ash and acts as if a dead Sons of Dawn zealot possesses her. Mysterious Alessandra suggests Charlie seek the sylphs since there is no exorcist is in town. However as she tries to prove her worthy of the sylphs, she realizes in order to save her sister she must go to hell and back; next stop is Charbydon which is easy to enter and impossible to leave.

The third Charlie Madigan urban fantasy (see The Better Part of Darkness and The Darkest Edge of Dawn) is an exciting thriller as the beleaguered heroine and her partner (along with another ally) struggle to save her sister as time runs out. Filled with action inside of the complicated Kelly Gay world, fans will enjoy this strong entry as Charlie makes decisions that she loathes to do knowing the likely outcome of what she chooses. The Hour of Dust and Ashes is an excellent character driven tale.

Harriet Klausner