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A review by northie
Final Orders by Gregory Ashe
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow. Really - just, wow.
In a series finale, Gregory Ashe always seems to pull out the stops. He does so here, but more than before?
Final Orders is a rollercoaster with highs and lows and sudden momentary pauses which turn your emotions inside out. In many ways, this has been a fraught series. Colt's effect on Hazard and Somers; Hazard navigating parenthood; Somers growing painfully into his new job as chief of police. There's not been much in the way of unalloyed happiness.
There's more emotional sunshine here - hard-won but perhaps all the brighter for it. However the intervals are still patchy. There's plenty of anger, resentment, and bigotry which come across as alarmingly real. A febrile, poisonous atmosphere drives the plot, an atmosphere which is too close to the bone for Hazard and Somers and many other characters.
As ever with a finale, Ashe draws together many of the outstanding plot threads and weaves them with consummate skill. This is the best finale novel so far. Tightly-written, compelling, emotionally charged, it held me in its grip like few other novels have.
Tristan James is Hazard and Somers, his characterisations honed over 16 novels. Perfect.
In a series finale, Gregory Ashe always seems to pull out the stops. He does so here, but more than before?
Final Orders is a rollercoaster with highs and lows and sudden momentary pauses which turn your emotions inside out. In many ways, this has been a fraught series. Colt's effect on Hazard and Somers; Hazard navigating parenthood; Somers growing painfully into his new job as chief of police. There's not been much in the way of unalloyed happiness.
There's more emotional sunshine here - hard-won but perhaps all the brighter for it. However the intervals are still patchy. There's plenty of anger, resentment, and bigotry which come across as alarmingly real. A febrile, poisonous atmosphere drives the plot, an atmosphere which is too close to the bone for Hazard and Somers and many other characters.
As ever with a finale, Ashe draws together many of the outstanding plot threads and weaves them with consummate skill. This is the best finale novel so far. Tightly-written, compelling, emotionally charged, it held me in its grip like few other novels have.
Tristan James is Hazard and Somers, his characterisations honed over 16 novels. Perfect.