Review: Blood, Ash and Bone by Tina Whittle

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (Mar 5 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1464200939
• ISBN-13: 978-1464200939

Book Description

 Tai Randolph doesn’t want to hear about homicide. She’s had enough of the dark and the dangerous, and decides some time out of Atlanta is exactly what she needs to put the recent spate of corpses behind her. It‘s a idyllic vision —selling her wares at the Savannah Civil War Expo, attending a few Confederate re-enactments, perhaps a little romantic rendezvousing with Trey, who has agreed to put aside the corporate security agent routine and join her for a long weekend in her hometown. But in the South, the past is never past. It tends to rise again. In Tai’s case, it shows up as her tattooed heartbreaker of an ex-boyfriend, desperate for her help. He spins a tale of betrayal, deceit, and a stolen Civil War artifact that Tai agrees to help him recover. Suddenly, Trey’s on the case too, representing a competing — and well-moneyed — client with eyes on the same mythical prize. As the lovers square off against each other, Tai discovers that her complicated boyfriend makes an even more intriguing adversary, revealing a ferociously competitive streak under his cool Armani exterior. But where there‘s money, there‘s usually murder, this time involving the KKK and Tai‘s unapologetically unreconstructed kinfolk. As she unravels the clues to a 150-year-old mystery, she digs up secrets from her own past — and Trey’s — forcing a confrontation with a ruthless killer, and with her own willingness to do whatever it takes to save everything that matters.


About the Author


 Tina Whittle is a mystery writer working in Statesboro, Georgia. Her short fiction has appeared in The Savannah Literary Journal, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and Gulf Stream, which selected her story “Lost Causes and Other Reasons to Live” as the 2004 winner of their Mystery Fiction contest. She is a columnist and feature writer for The 11th Hour, a local alternative newspaper, and also works as a professional tarot reader.


My Review

 I am enjoying the Tina Whittle series featuring Tai Randolph.  Blood, Ash and Bone which is the third book is also the third that I've read.  I think the stories and the writing are improving with each book.  I am enjoying the setting of this third book which is set in Savannah instead of Atlanta.  And as the series has been progressing the characters are being fleshed out and becoming familiar and relatable to the reader.

 We are meeting more of Tai's very interesting extended family in this outing.  The ghosts of the War Between the States make an appearance as do the KKK.  The developing love story between Tai and Trey progresses.  I am really starting to feel invested in these characters.   And there is plenty of action-packed drama to keep you on your toes.

I really enjoyed this mystery and I'm sure you will too.  It is available March 5th.