I really enjoyed this book and was gripped throughout. I was surprised to see it had a few negative reviews as I couldn't fault it at all. Great characters and a really interesting plot. Can't wait for the next installment in the series!

Newham has crafted a good crime thriller which has has a very contemporary, current feel, delving into some challenging social issues with a good sense of its London setting and featuring an interesting main character who deserves to have a long, ongoing series.

I really enjoyed Turn a Blind Eye and meeting DCI Rahman. I was looking forward to reading this novel.

The book opens at the scene of the fire and DCI Rahman is called to investigate.

I really enjoyed this book. The author is very good at setting the scene and is a superb writer.

I think this book would also make a great tv programme!

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book - I read the first book in this series and really enjoyed it although I did find it slightly wordy however I found that this second book was just too much. The story seemed to be told so matter of factly and I struggled to retain interest

This is the second book featuring DI Maya Rahman, and I would absolutely urge you to read book 1, 'Turn A Blind Eye', because a) Vicky writes very convincing characters embroiled in intriguing thrillers and b)'Out Of The Ashes' builds on the events and backstories in book 1.

This time out, Maya is investigating an arson attack in the Brick Lane area of London, where a flash mob is derailed by an explosion in a Lithuanian run soup shop. Witnessed by an elderly Polish woman, Rosa Feldman, Maya quickly realises that this is not a random incident, that this area was intentionally targeted as an area of mulitcultural incomers who represent what some factions would wish Britain was rid of.

Hoping to spark riots between immigrants, and those who want to take over perceived slum areas and gentrify them, Maya needs to work quickly with her team to find out who did it, what motivated them and how to stop this happening again. Whislt doing this, she is juggling her feelings and her professional instincts to discover what happened to her missing father who she believed died when she was a child.

Drenched in atmosphere right from the start this is a great novel which focus' on a situation that is of growing concern to so many of us-'allowing' people to live here, the fourth richest country in the world and yet the UK has never seemed so unwelcoming to those who perceived as 'others'.

Without lecturing or proselytising, Vicky does a fabulous job creating a sense of time, and place, then ratcheting up the tension to unbearable levels.

Out of the Ashes is a solid, well-written, entertaining crime novel. Set in East London – Tower Hamlets, more specifically – this book really grabbed my attention because I currently live in that area, and I love reading books that mention streets and areas I’m familiar with (even if the nature of the story is less than happy-go-lucky!).

I loved reading about Brick Lane, both present day and in the past, when DI Maya Rahman was growing up and trying to remember the circumstances around the sudden disappearance of her father in the 80s. The idea of an organised flash mob being used to cover up crimes is a really interesting one, and something that I thought Vicky Newham wove into the plot really well.

Racial tensions are also highlighted, an issue that couldn’t really be left out of a story that’s set in Brick Lane and the surrounding area, and in a story with a DI whose family is from Bangladesh, as that makes up at least part of her identity. Maya, her team and the interesting array of people who feature in Out of the Ashes helped keep me wanting to read on, as they’re convincing and well-developed characters.

There are some twists, but the plot avoids being unbelievable complex as it doesn’t have a crazy twist at the end, meaning the story is far more convincing for its realism. It still brings the drama, though, and Vicky Newham’s great writing makes Out of the Ashes a truly enjoyable police procedural.

3.5 Stars
A solid outing for the second addition to the Maya Rahman series.
Good plotting, storyline and further character development. A few minor niggles here and there, but still a series I think I will follow.

I loved D.I. Maya Rahman’s first outing in Turn A Blind Eye and so eagerly looked forward to more of her East End investigations. I’m delighted to report that Out of the Ashes more than hits the sweet spot.

DI Maya Rahman is a British Bangladeshi, whose family came to the UK in 1982 and settled in Brick Lane. This time Maya is back in the rapidly changing East End, where a fire has broken out, following hard on the heels of a flash mob outside the door of an upmarket new soup shop run by a young married Lithuanian couple.

Among the people who came out to watch the flash mob and some to join in the dancing, was 75 year old Rosa Feldman, a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto, still running the local newsagents in a place where she has lived since her family escaped to Britain at the end of the war.

When the fire has died down sufficiently, two bodies are recovered and arson is determined. Identifying the bodies and finding out why they were killed is a job for Maya, and her team mate Dan.

In Maya, Vicky Newham has created a modern detective who is part of multi-cultural London. A woman who is herself watching as her home patch transitions from Bangladeshi to embrace and be subsumed by other cultures, just as Rosa saw the Jewish community of the East End move out to Golders Green and elsewhere, enabling the Bangladeshi community to settle.

Now the East End is home to a mix of ever changing cultures, some of whom are refugees, each with their own stories to tell.

Against this backdrop, and running alongside a theme of opposition to supposed gentrification of the East End, Maya and Dan must find the perpetrators of more than one gruesome murder.

For me, the characters and their personal stories are what really make this book come alive. Newham offers a perceptive look at the way that London’s communities move and migrate and takes in the changing status of nationalities as they become a part of London’s past and present. She sees the young immigrants, jobless and looking for homes in a city where no young person can afford to live and sets them alongside the £5 a soup carton franchises that are catering to the new richer city dwellers of the East End.

Newham’s familiarity with the East End and its people shines through; this is a multicultural London where cultures mix, clash and intertwine and not everyone has the confidence to understand how to approach the problems this can throw up.

Alongside this, both Dan and Maya have issues of their own. Dan is missing his wife and children who are back in Australia and Maya is still trying to piece together what really happened to her father, though her mother, in a home with dementia, isn’t really much help.

Nicely plotted, decently paced, Out of the Ashes is a great read and Newham’s own knowledge of the East End comes through onto the page strong and vibrantly in a vivid and authentic way.

Verdict: Vivid and authentic, this complex and sensitively told portrayal of murders in the East End is a gripping read.

Out of the Ashes is the second book in the DI Rahman series by Vicky Newman and whilst I had not read the first one i still found it a very well written and engrossing police procedural thriller.

The book moves along at a good pace with plenty of twists and turns. Both lead characters are well fleshed out and believable which adds to the story.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book which is definitely recommended

Out of the Ashes is the second police procedural in the DI Maya Rahman series, and although I wasn't sure this could surpass series opener Turn a Blind Eye in terms of how thrilling it was this instalment was even more action-packed, intense and immersive than the first. Based in present-day London the story revolves around the use of a flash mob to distract from a crime having taken place in a shop in close proximity to the mobs dancing. Soon the shop bursts into flames and Rahman is sent to investigate but discovers much more than she originally bargained for.

What is great about this book is that there are so many possible suspects and motives meaning you are kept guessing for the entire novel. It's well written, fiercely compelling and moves along at a good clip which keeps you turning the pages religiously. There are a plethora of twists and turns and each character is painted incredibly well with multidimensional personalities. I particularly enjoyed that Newham explores the cultural and ethical situation in multicultural Brick Lane, London, where the story is based, and the realities behind the changing face of the city, which I found interesting, and despite the many plot lines it was easy to follow and completely engrossing. Many thanks to HQ for an ARC.

A flash mob in Brick Lane is a diversion to something more sinister.
My interest was immediately piqued and could not wait to start reading.
This is a full on action crime thriller which kept me reading until the wee hours. This book has everything I expect from a crime thriller and so much more. I don't mean busy just that all these stories are needed. I loved reading the back stories of such an eclectic mix of people. A really good police procedural but shown in a different light which was very interesting. A fantastic crime thriller and so much more. I have laughed, cried, held my breath and had been shocked. In places I have been sat on the edge of my seat and tapping my kindle faster and faster. A thoroughly entertaining read and a great addition to a gripping and addictive series. Almost five stars and so Highly Recommended.
I would like to thank the author, HQ and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

I really enjoyed Turn a Blind Eye, the series opener, when I read it last year so I was very much looking forward to seeing how the author would do in her follow up book. And have to say that I was more than impressed. She has continued with the theme of diversity and multi-racial communities and spun a rather convoluted, interconnected tale around the lives of the people living in DI Maya Rahman's own childhood neighbourhood. Making this rather personal for her.
There's a flash mob on Brick Lane. People are leaving their shops and dwellings to have a look. Then the fun and frivolity is interrupted by and explosion, followed by a raging fire. Once deemed safe, two bodies are discovered in the ashes, turning apparent arson into murder. But who has died is initially unclear and why they died a mystery. Can Maya and Dan find that elusive lead that will blow the case wide open?
I do love a good character driven book and that's not usually what you get in a Police Procedural. They tend to be more plot driven. Here however, the author has created a wonderfully eclectic mix of people from many places, all with their own backstory which really does colour the crime(s) being investigated. Enhancing rather than distracting I hasten to add. I'm not from the same world as depicted herein, so it really is an eye opener for me to witness some of the intricacies of what goes on in such a multicultural neighbourhood. That said, it's not delivered with a political bent, rather concentrating on the everyday life and trials and tribulations that kick up for the residents.
The story itself, the nuts and bolts of it all was very well potted and executed. I do love the partnering of Maya and Dan - chalk and cheese themselves - and how they rub along and complement each other with regard to the investigation. As is common to the genre, they both have their pasts which have shaped their presents but this isn't too intrusive into the main story being told. We have the usual twists and turns you'd expect but they are also well done and the whole story flows well into its conclusion.
All in all, a cracking follow up which I thoroughly enjoyed and which left me both satisfied and hankering for more. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Out Of The Ashes Vicky Newham

I have rarely read a book which has so many possible motives for one crime.

When two people are killed in a shop fire on Brick Lane the possible motives are endless, bigotry, jealousy, hatred, anti-Semitism, racism, revenge, anti-gentrification all of them could be the reason the shop was torched, and worryingly they are all realistic motives in today’s society.

So, DI Maya Rahman has her work cut out, but she is the ideal Officer for the job. As a 41 year old Bangladeshi who grew up on, and around, Brick Lane she is used to the mixing pot of a society that live and trades on the famous street. She even knows some of the residents who live near the fire.

The investigation is hindered by the damage at the shop. The fire has destroyed everything and the bodies are not easy to retrieve.

The fire happened as a Flash Mob descended on the street dancing to loud house music. Could this be a coincidence or are the two things related.

The investigation follows Maya and her team as they track through the world of young people who follow a cause on line, for no other reason than the promise of a bit of cash and some free drugs. Are they being manipulated to cause a distraction or are they responsible for the fire.

They encounter homeless refugees, some of which are young orphans, and see the way they are used by some of the lower forms of life in the community who are either too clever, or too scared, to do their own dirty work.

The story revolves around the investigation into the fire and the deaths that occurred in it, but the main story for me is the story of life on Brick Lane.

I have a feeling this book gets very close to the truth of some of the matters that involve the people of Brick Lane, and other suburbs of the bigger cities in the UK.

Generations of traders struggling to make a living in an ever increasing society that buys into the latest fad of “artisan” traders and over inflated property prices.

And of course, where money is the driver crime is not far behind.

I really enjoyed this book and was surprised to find it’s is the second in a series. I’m off to find the first now and then I shall look forward to the third.

Pages: 384

I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ for an advance copy of Out of the Ashes, the second police procedural to feature DI Maya Rahmen of The Met.

When a flash mob appears in Brick Lane 75 year old Rosa Feldman is fascinated and soon gets caught up in the dancing. What she doesn’t realise is that it is a cover for something more sinister and is shocked when the posh soup shop across the road bursts into flames. Maya and her team are tasked with investigating not only the arson but murder when two bodies are found in the remains.

I thoroughly enjoyed Out of the Ashes which has a great plot and some very interesting vignettes of life in multicultural London. I was hooked from the first chapter which paints a warm picture of Rosa as an old lady who escaped the Warsaw Ghetto. Ms Newham uses few words to paint a life lived and the changing face of London. It says so much and really captured my attention. I like the plotting which is complicated in the sense that it has many strands and possibilities, often sending the investigation down the wrong track, but it is never difficult to follow as everything the team does is logical and based on the information available and I particularly liked the solution which is suitably mundane and full of miscommunication after all the excitement of the hunt.

I must admit that, coming from a small town, life in London seems like another world to me, alien and exotic. I found the anti-gentrification protest movement mentioned in the novel an interesting phenomenon but I preferred Ms Newham’s social commentary on the plight of immigrants. She doesn’t get into the politics but concentrates on the practicalities. It is interesting that many of her characters have an ethnic background.

I like Maya Rahmen who is a smart investigator with a big heart but she wouldn’t be a proper fictional detective without a hook. In this case it is her missing father who went out to buy candles one night 29 years ago and hasn’t been heard of since. Now it appears that he might be alive. Hmm.

Out of the Ashes is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

This was our first introduction to DI Maya Rahman and I hope we get to see a lot more of her. A really enjoyable police procedural book exploring cultural issues. I think she is a detective that will grow. A book with a great storyline to sink your teeth into. An author to watch