Beneath The Ashes is the second book in the DI Jackman series. It is easily read as a standalone but as always is even better read in order.
This book definitely does not disappoint. A body in a burnt-out barn is only the starting point, the levering of the lid of a can of worms that keeps the cops and the reader guessing. Jane Isaac's strengths are her attention to detail, especially with regard to police procedures, and her skill in weaving an intriguing, contemporary mystery and including surprises along the way.This comes in the forms of the twists and turns as the story develops.
An immersive read that I can recommend. Thanks to netgalley for the copy of the book.

Beneath the ashes by Jane Isaac.
This is book 2 of DI Will Jackman series.
Really enjoyable read. Jackman was my favourite. I loved the part he rescued Nancy. I do hope there is more to come. 4*.

Really enjoyable read. Good characters and a Good story. Well worth a read. Think others will enjoy.

This was an excellent police procedural book and the second in the DI Will Jackman series. Right from the first chapter this was a page turner and I look forward to reading more by this author.

I have loved the opportunity to spend time researching novels to re-stockl our senior bookshelves in the school library that plays a central role in the life of the school. When I first took over the library was filled with dusty tomes that were never borrowed and languished there totally unloved.
Books like this, play a central role in ensuring that the library is stocked with fresh relevant fiction that appeals to the readers. It has a strong voice and a compelling plot that ensures that you speed through its pages, enjoying both its characterisation and dialogue whilst wanting to find out how all of its strands will be resolved by the end.
I have no hesitation in adding this to the 'must buy' list so that the senior students and staff of the school can enjoy it as much as I did. This is a gripping read that will be sure to grip its readers whether they are fans of this genre or coming to it for the first time through our now-thriving school library recommendation system. Thanks so much for allowing me to review it!

This was the first of Jane's books I had read and I was struck by the realism of the police investigation which takes place. Beneath The Ashes is a pure police procedural, you feel that you are part of the team and there is an actual process and method being followed by the police. It is hugely satisfying watching Will Jackman chasing down clues, interviewing suspects and eliminating various possibilities. He has his work cut out as there are several characters in this story who seem to have secrets to keep!

A body is found in a burned out barn. Although the victim appears to be easy to identify, once the police start their investigations it soon becomes clear that the person they believe has died may actually have been living a lie. If the dead man in the barn is not who he said he was how will that impact upon his girlfriend - not only has she lost her closest friend she also learns that everything she knew about him was a lie.

What makes Beneath The Ashes work so well is the skill of Jane Isaac at capturing characters and making them believable. The anguish and worry of Nancy as her world crumbles around her, Jackman trying to conduct a complex investigation, juggle career choices and be a family man too. The interaction between the suspects and the police, between Jackman and his daughter and between the whole investigative team makes for engaging reading and was richly rewarding as it drew me into the lives of the characters.

I love when I learn that a character I enjoyed reading about will return/feature in other books.  Now that I have caught up with Beneath The Ashes I am planning to meet up with Will Jackman again soon and I am rather looking forward to that.

The second in a series, this is a strongly characterized police procedural is set in the West Midlands town of Stratford, Warwickshire, England.

The protagonist, Detective Inspector Jackman, is a likeable and complex character – a man torturing himself with guilt over the accident that changed his life forever. His wife was injured in an automobile accident while driving him home when he had had too much to drink. Now she is living in an extended care facility suffering from ‘locked-in’ syndrome. Jackman and his beloved daughter try to remain positive but this proves difficult with less and less real hope for her recovery. In this second in the series, Celia, Jackman's daughter, is twenty years old and living away at university. She brings her boyfriend home for the first time and Jackman has a difficult time getting used to the idea that his little girl is all grown up.

Also, this time around, Jackman is thinking of putting in for a promotion. He hasn't told his team, and he gradually has second thoughts due to the fact that he wants to be 'hands on' and not a paper pushing management drone.

"Beneath the ashes" begins with an intriguing scene. A woman in a cemetery with a knife... Clearly she is anguished.

We meet Nancy Faraday as she awakes on the floor of a farm kitchen. Nancy, who works in a floral shop has for the last three months been going out with a man called Evan Baker. Their relationship has developed quickly and Nancy thinks he may be 'the one'. Evan works at a local farm looking after the premises and animals whilst the owners are away having an extended trip to Australia. Upon awakening on the kitchen floor of the farmhouse where Evan is living, she realizes she has a nasty bump on her head and cannot remember anything about the night before. It would seem that while Nancy was unconscious, there was a fire in the barn and Evan's body was found beneath the ashes.

Jackman and his team are tasked with the investigation which becomes murkier and murkier as time goes on. It would seem that the man who Nancy knew and loved as Evan Baker was living under an assumed name. Then the old barn reveals other secrets which could have a bearing on the case. Also, it is revealed that Evan had rented storage space in the barn to a man who has three collector quality automobiles - all of which were heavily damaged in the fire.

Meanwhile, Nancy is grieving. With still no memory of the events leading up to his death, she cannot believe that Evan is gone forever. Then - she begins receiving threats. She is accosted outside her flat. She receives a cryptic note through the letterbox.

She is again threatened in the supermarket, where she gets a glimpse of the man's hand which has a tattoo with the letters CC.. With her friend's support she goes to the police. She thinks the threats are related to her alcoholic mother, but the police have other ideas.

With threats, secrecy, revenge, adultery, rape victims, and turf wars in the drug trade, this mystery novel is not short on intrigue.

I enjoyed the read, but to be honest I liked the scenes with Jackman much more than the pages centered around the criminal case. I really enjoyed the first novel in this series and plan to follow along with Jackman in future books. The third novel in the series is available now and its title is "The lies within".

When a body is discovered in a burnt-out barn in the Warwickshire countryside, DI Will Jackman is called to investigate.Nancy Faraday wakes up on the kitchen floor. The house has been broken into and her boyfriend is missing. As the case unravels, DI Jackman realises that nothing is quite as it appears and everyone, it seems, has a secret.
I loved DI Jackman and his complex personal life as well as his complex professional life. At every turn there were decisions to be made, at every turn there were secrets to uncover. The setting of Stratford Upon Avon was evocative and also added another layer of realism to this clever police procedural. Ms Isaac ratchets up the tension as you race to the conclusion, which does not disappoint.

This is a well written Police Procedural with plenty of action to keep you engaged throughout. I especially thought the police scenes were realistic and enjoyed them the most.

I was massively impressed with Beneath the Ashes because it was a perfect blend of solidarity and emotionally unhinged mayhem. In the book we follow DI Jackman and his investigation into a fire at a local farm which has taken a life. After evaluating the scene, Jackman is certain this is a case of murder/arson. The only lead on the farm is Nancy, who has awoken in a pool of blood and has no memory of the night before and her boyfriend Evan (who was minding the farm) is missing.

Jackman cannot be certain that the body is Evan's and his pursuit in identifying the body only generates more questions and inquiries. Nancy is unwilling to believe her loving, caring and thoughtful boyfriend would be involved in anything illegal and that anyone would want him dead. The journey that follows is one of uncertainty and emotional instability.

DI Jackman is a talented detective and is unrelenting in his pursuit of clues, pulling all the threads he can to gather together information that will give a clear picture of events. Nancy is panicking, though she and Evan had only been dating for 3 months, he represented a life that she had craved for her entire existence, she wanted to belong and have a family and he was willing to give it to her and now he is potentially gone forever. Her whole life is in the balance of this investigation and its highs and lows have positive or devastating effects on her.

There are two elements that I really appreciated about this piece. The first is that Jane Isaac has not set out to break new ground, instead she has put together a solid book with some potent and interesting themes. The other element I enjoyed was that each character in the book has their own life, their own dimensions and that though they are dealing with the events surrounding the case, it isn't the only problem each of them face in the duration of the book.

The format and pacing of the story was perfect, and Jane Isaac mixed it up nicely by adding in so many potential suspects and threats that it was difficult to keep track of everyone's involvement. This is the second piece in the DI Jackman series but it read just as well as a stand alone. Compared to the other crime books I have read this year, Beneath the Ashes ranks pretty high due to the quality of the characters and the unpredictably of the plot.

My only sizeable complaint about this book was that towards the end JI decided to add some additional plot depth and possible connections to the case that I felt clogged up the flow of the story and disrupted the usual coherent and fluid writing. It was only a slight issue but one worth mentioning as it confused me (not hard though!) and it made the ending feel rushed when she could have introduced the connections across a larger portion of the book. There are some strong themes in this book, from addiction, abuse, illness, mental health problems to violence and beyond so though I recommend this book to everyone, please tread carefully as it can be upsetting.

I have given this 4/5 stars because though there were a few discrepancies, Jane Isaac was consistent and enjoyable. The harsher tones, the conflicts the characters face and the emotional journey that Nancy faces are remarkable and I think readers and especially Drama/Crime lovers will appreciate what Jane Isaac has done with this novel.

This is another great read from Jane – who I know, but don’t let that make you think this isn’t impartial; it is. I’ve read books before from friends that I didn’t particularly enjoy. As a rule, I don’t review those books!

In Beneath the Ashes, Will Jackman’s life is getting even more difficult. He’s called to investigate a burned-out barn, and an assault on a girl in the farm house; a farmhand's girlfriend, Nancy. But the barn is hiding more than one secret, and with Nancy’s loss of memory, she might be too.

Jane’s books are well-written authentic (according to Lisa Cutts) police procedurals, but like all good books, they’re character driven. Jackman’s wife has locked-in syndrome (look it up; one of Mark Billingham’s baddies tries to inflict it on people on purpose!), so he has to cope with solving the case whilst not getting distracted by both caring for his wife, and in this novel, the guilt of a potential romance with a visiting colleague.

So if you like well-written, authentic, character-driven police procedurals, this is one for you!

This was a good, fast paced read. Sure to be enjoyed by readers of British police procedurals.