‘Left in the Ashes’ by Anna Britton

Published by Canelo London,
18 September 2025. 
ISBN: 978-80436-528-1(PB)

This unusual and complex novel opens with two very different scenes of crime.  The first describes a child’s body found in a barrel floating in Hythe Shipyard in Southampton, whilst the second is a suspected arson attack that has taken place within the grounds of Dunlow Estate.  The Hythe incident bears all the hallmarks of a child killer who has evaded the law for years and is known as The Barrel Man.  DI Paul Willis along with DS Nicole Stuart are tasked with interviewing the shocked informant who made the gruesome discovery.  Their colleagues, DI Juliet Stern and DS Gabe Martin, meanwhile, are sent to the scene of the fire, but their enquiries are put on hold until the scene has been made safe. 

What complicates, and provides an interesting twist, to these two investigations is that whilst Gabe is professionally involved with the arson enquiry, the Barrel Man case affects her personally because she and her brother were abducted by the twisted killer when she was a little girl.  She lives with the memory of her ordeal and still grieves for the sibling killed by the “Bad Man” as she calls him.  Since her dreadful experience, Gabe has been routinely interviewed each time the killer strikes.  This latest atrocity requires her to confront her demons again.  Yet she must remain strong; she has her own investigation to consider and does not want her loss and trauma to impede her professionalism.  Her partner, Juliet, is herself recovering from the pair’s last traumatic encounter and both women are dealing with tricky relationships on the home front.  However, for now they must put personal considerations to one side because the discovery of a woman’s body Left In The Ashes at Dunlow, means Juliet and Gabe are now dealing with a murder enquiry.

 

The narrative unfolds through a variety of text types such as police reports, text messages, newspaper articles and Gabe’s first person narrative.  These enable the writer to echo not only the intricacies of the two cases, but also Gabe’s inner turmoil as she struggles with destructive and haunting memories.  Juliet is more reserved than Gabe, indeed she often presents as cold and aloof.  At times Gabe struggles to reach out to the higher-ranking officer, only to be rebuffed.  As the story nears its conclusion, however, more of Juliet’s situation peeks through – possibly the focus of a future novel?  I hope so.  In this book, though, it is Gabe’s character, is centre stage and invites the reader’s empathy.  Other characters in the book provide plenty of suspects to keep our intrepid officers on their toes as they investigate the killers, new and old.

 

Left In The Ashes explores the reality of life for police officers dealing with difficult and complex cases whilst juggling with personal issues.  This is the third in the series featuring the Gabe and Stern duo.  It works very well as a standalone.  The resolution is unexpected, and the author leaves a tantalising taste of what might come next in the final pages.

 

A well-structured and fascinating novel with believable characters, intertwined plots and an unusual ending. Recommended.

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Reviewer Dot Marshall-Gent

Anna Britton lives on the Isle of Wight with her husband and their chronically clumsy Labrador. An avid reader, she began writing around ten years ago and hasn’t stopped since. Anna works as a freelance editor and loves helping out other authors. When not filling her head with stories, Anna enjoys baking (and eating) cakes and exploring rivers in her kayak.  

Dot Marshall-Gent worked in the emergency services for twenty years first as a police officer, then as a paramedic and finally as a fire control officer before graduating from King’s College, London as a teacher of English in her mid-forties.  She completed a M.A. in Special and Inclusive Education at the Institute of Education, London and now teaches part-time and writes mainly about educational issues.  Dot sings jazz and country music and plays guitar, banjo and piano as well as being addicted to reading mystery and crime fiction.