Congratulations to Fredrick Soukup and Vine Leaves Press on the release of Ashes, Ashes, a heartbreaking murder mystery for readers who enjoyed Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, There, There by Tommy Orange, or Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley.
★★★★★ "Unflinching acknowledgement of society's unseen. You may be uncomfortable watching, but you won't look away." ~David R. Roth, author of The Femme Fatale Hypothesis
Ashes, Ashes
NEW RELEASE: April 16, 2024Genre: Psychological Thriller
Paperback: From $17.99
Ebook: From $5.99
Dorian is carving a life for himself in Minnesota’s Northwoods. White-knuckle sober, haunted by the memories of his tumultuous childhood and adolescence. He owes his reformation to the wisdom and love of Miss Bonnie, a foster mother to him and so many others—though shame and painful memories have kept him from returning to thank her. After learning of her sudden passing, he resolves to pay his respects. However, what he discovers back home will alter the course of his life forever.
Upon returning to his childhood home, Dorian reunites with Heath, a brother bound to Dorian not by blood, but by the years they spent together under Miss Bonnie’s roof. When Heath unburdens himself of a horrifying secret—that the local police covered up her murder—Dorian sets out to discover the truth and bring the killer to justice.
Laying bare the struggles foster children experience in their pursuit of identity, belonging, and love, Ashes, Ashes a unique and essential tale.
Praise for Ashes, Ashes
★★★★★ "Edgy. Smart. Exhilarating. This breathtaking thriller of small town intrigue demonstrates the heartbreak and redemption that can rise from the ashes of a pillaged youth." ~Martha Engber, author of Winter Light
★★★★★ "Soukup perfectly captures how growing up with trauma leads to harsh choices and, ultimately, a kind of grace." ~Dan Kopcow, author of Prior Futures and Madcap Serenade
★★★★★ "Fredrick Soukup returns to familiar territory—rural Minnesota and its disenfranchised—capturing the abject despair of foster care youth while at the same time offering up a heartbreaking murder mystery." ~Janet Goldberg, author of The Proprietor's Song
★★★★★ "Soukup offers up a heartfelt and genuine slice of life. His characters jump from the page with crackling dialog that transports the reader into an intoxicating, though often terrifying, world. Truly gripping." ~Steve Zettler, author of Two for the Money and Careless Love
★★★★★ "Soukup conducts a chorus of seductively unreliable first-person voices to relate a heartbreaking coming-of-age parable that delves into the depths of human despair and celebrates the redeeming power of compassion." ~David R. Roth, author of The Femme Fatale Hypothesis
About the Author
Fredrick Soukup’s works include Bliss (2020) and Blood Up North (2022). He’s been named an IPPY Bronze Medalist, a semifinalist for the American Short Fiction Prize, and a finalist for both the Erik Hoffer Book Award and the Minnesota Book Award. Blood Up North won the NYC Big Book Award for Literary Fiction and Ashes, Ashes was longlisted for the Petrichor Prize. He lives in Saint Paul with his brilliant wife, Ashley, and daughters/muses, Clare and Nora. To learn more, visit Fredrick-Soukup.com.
About the Publisher
Vine Leaves Press likes to blur the line between commercial and experimental works. They publish book-length vignette collections, writing reference books, short story collections, memoir/autobiography, and character-driven novels with a literary bent. Subscribe to the Vine Leaves Press newsletter to receive FREE advanced review copies of upcoming new releases, news about their authors and subscribers, and/or to read the monthly opinion column, SPILL IT! or a daily dose of 50-word stories. Learn more at VineLeavesPress.com