Time is a healer….unless you’re the one doing the killing…
DCI James Craig is heading home to Fife for a family funeral after the discovery of his wife's uncle's lifeless body at home, having fallen down the stairs. The incident was classified as a Sudden Death, attributing it to the man's advanced age and fragility. Case officially closed.
Or is it?
Craig, inherently skeptical, approaches matters from a unique perspective, a skill honed on the streets of London. He hesitates to accept the neatly wrapped conclusion surrounding the old man’s demise.
As he contemplates letting the matter rest, certain details stand out, prompting him to reconsider the circumstances surrounding the death.
Ice Into Ashes by John Carson was published on 4 March 2024 and is the first in the DCI James Craig series. As part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour, I am delighted to share an extract from the book with you today.
Extract from Into The Ashes by John Carson
There was a fairy up in the attic, he was sure of it. She was up here messing about with the gnome, the ugly wee beast with the grotty hair and messy beard. Mind you, the fairy wasn’t in much better shape. Straggly hair, tattered dress and a face only a mother could love.
He was sure she was in with the Christmas tree lights, but maybe she had decided she’d had enough of sitting at the top of the tree and had jumped on a bus and left town.
Clark ‘Nobby’ Brown had been swithering about whether he would celebrate Christmas this year. Ever since his wife, Hilda, had passed four years ago, he had become less enthused as each year went by, and this year was no exception. But he knew Hilda loved Christmas, and if she looked down on him from above, she would be tutting and shaking her head. What are you waiting for? she would be thinking, he reckoned. Get the bloody thing up. December is only a day away and there’s nary a sight of any tinsel.
Now he was up his attic, looking around for the fairy that would sit atop the tree. He’d got the lights down, followed by the tree. In years past, he would pass the bloody thing down to Hilda, who would automatically assume the role of head Christmas tree contractor, and God forbid one of the fragile limbs would break off. He’d managed to get the tree down by himself by tossing it down through the hatch and hoping he didn’t break the landing window. A wing and a prayer had worked just as well as Hilda’s directions, which involved him sweating and swearing in equal measure.
Then he saw the box with the lid off further along, with the fairy peeking out at him. He could have sworn she wasn’t there the last time he looked. Maybe Hilda’s spirit was inside the doll thing now, and if that was the case, he would sell the house and bugger off. The only thing the fairy would be sitting on top of would be a bonfire.
She wasn’t moving, though, so he could sleep tight. He moved carefully along the wooden boards that served as flooring, knowing every inch of this space.
Then he heard it.
A sound, like somebody bumping into something downstairs.
John Carson is the author of the DCI Harry McNeil, DCI Sean Bracken and DI Frank
Miller series set in Edinburgh.
He is originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, but now lives in New York State with his wife and two daughters.
He shares his house with two dogs and four cats.
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