The Ash Suspense Thrillers is a compelling trio of psychological thrillers featuring author Poznansky’s plucky heroine, Ashley Winters (Ash to her friends and family).
In the first volume, Coma Confidential, we meet Ash, who is a coma patient. Told in the first person, Ash’s mind is alive, but she has no control over her body. We learn, from conversations she hears between doctors, nurses, and other characters who come to visit her, that Ash was the victim of a violent attack and subsequent rape. The motive for these acts, by person or persons unknown, is not initially clear. However, slowly, Ash’s memory returns and, with it, comes control over different parts of her body. Ever curious even in her comatose state, Ash seeks to find out who attacked her and why.
In the second volume, Overkill, Ash, recovered from her ordeal as a coma patient, has moved to Clearwater, Florida where her father and his new wife reside. Trying to put her life back together, she rents a dirt-cheap beach house which has a lingering odor of something unpleasant. Ash soon discovers why she got such a bargain when blood stains are found on the floor beneath the carpet and a hidden room is discovered behind a closet wall. To make things even more sinister, a teenage boy she encounters at the library, begins to stalk her.
The third volume, Overdose, returns Ash to California and to her postgraduate studies. She is, however, plagued by excruciating headaches and, in an effort to discover the cause, begins to research the past of her former physician, Dr. Neil Patel. The first clue she uncovers is that, while his resume states he did his residency at Duke Institute, there is no one named Neil Patel in their data base. Curious, she accepts Dr. Patel’s invitation to dinner and, from that moment on, the games begin in deadly earnest.
This is an exciting trio of thrillers featuring heroine, Ash Winters. Her character is quirky, fun, multi-faceted, and exceptionally well-drawn. Supporting characters in each novel – her boyfriend, Michael, her mother and father – are equally complex and play important roles in each volume’s plot development. Full of twists and turns, these are fast-paced page-turners that any thriller aficionado will enjoy.
Highly recommended for lovers of thrillers, medical thrillers, and suspense-filled reads. Five shiny stars!