From The Ashes (DI Nick Dixon Crime Book 14)

I've been following the series since book 1, and they are my favourite series of this genre, all set in around Somerset, so the places are quite familiar to me. They just get better and better, with a familiar cast of officers and some new ones to keep it fresh. As ever, I love the Westcountry descriptions, so many settings that I've grown up in. In this case, I spent much of my childhood in Babbacombe and Torquay, so it's easy to visualise the books as I'm reading. Obviously, the book revolves around killings, but there's never anything too graphic and distasteful. I'm looking forward to seeing the new characters develop in future books, as well as old favourites such as Nigel Cole, who I think first appeared in As The Crow Flies. My summer reading will have to include the entire 14 books from the very beginning to refresh the back stories, and I'm looking forward to that.

Like so many others I am a huge fan of Damien Boyd and have read (and listened to) all the Nick Dixon books. Each one is awaited with huge anticipation and then enjoyed enormously. I read this one more of less at one sitting, as I couldn't wait to find out what was going on. An extremely complicated plot, very well constructed and, eventually, with all the ends tied up. Like many others, I can't wait for the next one and, even though I think My Boyd manages to produce his books with remarkable speed, given how complex and well written they are, the wait for the next one always feels too long. Really looking forward to eventually getting to Nick and Jane's wedding and the baby!

Good procedural, decent characters, a very likeable book. I’m looking at his other ones. Worth the money indeed. Quite convoluted in parts.

Great storyline, extremely well told. Why some of these superb Nick Dixon books haven't made it onto TV or even film is a mystery.

I’ve read all Damien Boyd’s books in order and enjoyed everyone, real ‘page turners’.The stories are well constructed, but not too many red herrings as to make it difficult to follow. He produces well drawn characters and I’ve enjoyed seeing their personal story lines developing. I never work out who did!I hope very much the series will continue. Thank you Damien!

The DI Dixon series came to my attention thanks to Amazon. I started with As The Crow Flies on Kindle and just went from one to the next and the next. Nick and Jane have been my constant companions for months.Yesterday, I went to a talk given by Damien (even the book sales were in aid of charity). He was very funny, told us exactly how he started, therefore generously giving us many tips, and refreshingly open. Thank goodness he went against the advice and hasn't given either of his protagonists a major character flaw. I gave up with one detective because I didn't like her self flagellation, another for his alcoholism, another for his depression (too close to home). Apart from Poldark (slightly different genre!), this is only the second series I have read in its entirety, and will read again and again, from book to book (the other being the Adrian McKinty Sean Duffy series).Publishers - we like ordinary! And we like supportive bosses - there doesn't always have to be suspicion and dishonesty with the superiors. There is a little, but not too much. And Damien uses this to inject most of his humour, which is so important. Ditto the sex. It's suggested occasionally and left to our imagination.I have found some of the stories a bit too gruesome but can't complain as they are based on reality. And ideas have to come from somewhere. I don't have the best memory and wasn't able to read a couple of them in a condensed enough period of time and look forward to understanding them better second time around.Living in Devon, an added joy is knowing many of the locations. His description of getting round the RDE hospital in Exeter is spot on! It is confusing and on a huge footprint.Overall, a fantastic, top notch achievement. IMO Damien is up there with Robert Harris and Ken Follett (and I haven't read all their books!). Can't wait for number 15.

I have read & enjoyed all the Nick Dixon books. Like a lovely pair of old slippers. Good story, twists & turns, believable characters. Would recommend.

Well built mystery. Keeps your interest going to the very last page of the book. A really good book to read

This crime series by Damien Boyd continues to be one of the best, and smartest, I've read. Amazing story lines, well-drawn characters, and flawless writing. I'm eagerly looking forward to Book 15.

Another twisting crime novel which goes down to the wire and still has you guessing who did it. Well done to Damien Boyd on another great book in the Nick Dixon series and I can thoroughly recommend this series.

I love the Nick Dixon series. I wait each year for next one to come out, and this new one did not disappoint. There isn’t a book in the series that doesn’t stand out on its own, but this one proves, once again, Mr. Boyd’s writing, inventive characters, and intriguing plots just gets better with each book. This one kept me guessing to the very end. I’d think I had the bad guy and the motive picked out, and then twist, and I’d think it was someone else for a completely different reason. I’d read more, then another twist and I’d find myself thinking it was still another character. I think every single non-police character had a time at the top of my list, and even one of the police personnel hit the list, too. Without giving anything away, someone is killing retired school teachers, or maybe just retired people. How are those retired people connected? Who wants them dead? Nick, along with his crew of regulars, including of course, Jane and Monty, go all out to find the culprit. Spoiler alert: my only quibble is that it’s taking too long for Nick and Jane to tie the knot. No wedding yet. Sad.

As Ever, Nick Dixon, Jane, Lou and the crew all spring to life on the pages (or, on the screen , if like me you read the Kindle versions) as Damien Boyd weaves yet another tapestry of intrigue on the loom of his computer. That said, who knows, maybe it’s a quill and ink, he uses? One thing’s for sure, good old fashioned “whodunnits” in a “Police Procedural” don’t get much better.

Excellent character development, genuinely tricky, twists, and turns. Witty, funny, gritty, and just overall fantastic reads - all of them, in fact!