A Handful Of Ashes By Rob McCarthy

A handful of Ashes by Rob McCarthy is a mix of detective thriller and medical drama. It  starts with both of McCarthy’s two main protagonists, Force Medical Examiner Dr. Harry Kent and Acting Detective Chief Inspector Frankie Noble at strained periods in their lives and careers. After the sudden cancer diagnosis of her boss, Acting DCI Noble suddenly finds herself in charge of the Major Investigation Team.

Dr Susan Bayliss became a whistleblower on her boss, a renowned child paediatric surgeon at a renowned hospital, accusing him of negligence in the death of a few children who died after they had been operated on by the surgeon . The grieving parents of the children who died demand answers but the hospital is stonewalling. The ensuing inquiry cleared the surgeon of any wrongdoing and Susan was sacked.

When Susan is found dead from a suspected suicide, Harry is called to certify her suicide. But Harry thinks someone held Susan down and that she is murdered.

Harry’s life is in slowly falling apart at the seams, sleeping between fifteen and twenty hours per week and addicted to amphetamines to keep him going. To make matters worse, he now has to work with his ex-girlfriend Noble to try solve the case. He and Noble have recently broken up messily. Noble is under great pressure and feels insecure leading such a high profile case.

As they investigate the possible suspects, the twists are plenty. I did not manage to figure out who is the killer so when it is revealed, it really caught me by surprise.