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Ash McKenna #5
Potter's Field
The final book in Rob Hart's acclaimed Ash McKenna series shows that Ash can go home again...but it might cost him everything.
Amateur private investigator Ash McKenna is home. After more than a year on the road he's ready to face the demons he ran away from in New York City. And he’s decided what he wants to do with his life: Become a private investigator, for real. Licensed and everything. No more working as a thug for hire. But within moments of stepping off the plane, Ginny Tonic, the drag queen crime lord who once employed him—and then tried to have him killed—asks to see him.
One of her newest drag queen soldiers has gone missing, and Ginny suspects she’s been ensnared by the burgeoning heroin scene on Staten Island. Ginny wants Ash to find her. Because he’s the best, and because he knows Staten Island, his home borough. Ash is hesitant—but Ginny’s offer of $10,000 is enough to get him on his feet. And the thought of a lost kid and a bereft family is too much for him to bear.
He accepts, and quickly learns there’s something much bigger at play. Some very dangerous people are vying for control of the heroin trade on Staten Island, which is recording the highest rate of overdose deaths in the city. As Ash navigates deadly terrain, he find his most dangerous adversary might be his own past. Because those demons he ran away from have been waiting for him to come back.
Amateur private investigator Ash McKenna is home. After more than a year on the road he's ready to face the demons he ran away from in New York City. And he’s decided what he wants to do with his life: Become a private investigator, for real. Licensed and everything. No more working as a thug for hire. But within moments of stepping off the plane, Ginny Tonic, the drag queen crime lord who once employed him—and then tried to have him killed—asks to see him.
One of her newest drag queen soldiers has gone missing, and Ginny suspects she’s been ensnared by the burgeoning heroin scene on Staten Island. Ginny wants Ash to find her. Because he’s the best, and because he knows Staten Island, his home borough. Ash is hesitant—but Ginny’s offer of $10,000 is enough to get him on his feet. And the thought of a lost kid and a bereft family is too much for him to bear.
He accepts, and quickly learns there’s something much bigger at play. Some very dangerous people are vying for control of the heroin trade on Staten Island, which is recording the highest rate of overdose deaths in the city. As Ash navigates deadly terrain, he find his most dangerous adversary might be his own past. Because those demons he ran away from have been waiting for him to come back.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 10, 2018
15 people are currently reading
146 people want to read
About the author
Rob Hart
58 books1,080 followersRob Hart is the author of the USA TODAY bestseller ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS. He also wrote THE PARADOX HOTEL, which was nominated for. Lambda Literary Award, as well as THE WAREHOUSE, which has been sold in more than 20 countries. He also wrote the Ash McKenna crime series, the short story collection TAKE-OUT, the novella SCOTT FREE with James Patterson, and, with Alex Segura, the comic book BLOOD OATH and the novel DARK SPACE.
His short stories have been published widely, including “Due on Batuu,” set in the Star Wars universe, which appeared in FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and "Take-Out," which appeared in BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2018.
He’s worked as a political reporter, the communications director for a politician, and a commissioner for the city of New York. He is the former publisher at MysteriousPress.com and class director at LitReactor. He lives in Jersey City.
His short stories have been published widely, including “Due on Batuu,” set in the Star Wars universe, which appeared in FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and "Take-Out," which appeared in BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2018.
He’s worked as a political reporter, the communications director for a politician, and a commissioner for the city of New York. He is the former publisher at MysteriousPress.com and class director at LitReactor. He lives in Jersey City.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 3, 2018
Hart’s Ash McKenna is a bare knuckles brawler who is trapped in purgatory between the angels and the devils. He’s kind of like to become Sam Spade, but somehow he keeps getting roped in to a world of drug addicts, dealer territory disputes, and despair. In this fifth book in the series, he returns to New York and even to Staten Island. After Portland and Prague, he is still rootless and disconnected at home. This story is action packed from the getgo and, aside from a few reminisces, the action never stops.
January 3, 2019
A great end to a whirlwind series.
September 6, 2018
Ash McKenna's a modern prototype of a Chandleresque P.I. which works for me as I am a fan. He's a mixture of knight-in-tarnished armor, unrepentant tough guy and someone wanting to change his priorities and his life. Returning to NYC, specifically Staten Island, after sojourns in Georgia, Portland, and Prague, he reconnects with his high school friends. One friend hired him to find (save) a young drag queen. And that leads him down a very dangerous road. Gritty and full of action. I purchased the first three books in the series after getting underway with this one. I want to know more about Ash and how he came to be.Well-done storytelling.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 22, 2020
This isn't a review. I'm still reading through the book. I'm having a great time so far! Rob Hart's take on the modern gumshoe is once again compelling and fun and as addictive as your favorite TV show.
I don't usually review a book just to air out a few petty nitpicks. The problem is that this incomplete collection of nitpicks is frustratingly consistent, even taking up more real estate as the books go on. And yes it has to do with how painfully politically correct it is.
I don't mind changing how I refer to a group of people if the old way hurts their feelings. I mean, and I will not get into an inappropriate tirade here. That's not why I come to Goodreads and nobody here come here for it either, right? Right.
It's just hard to take this stuff seriously when a somewhat grounded story betrays physics, science or what we have learned throughout life. Rob Hart seems to think the smaller the girl, the more deadly she is using her bare hands and brute strength.
It got way over the top in the last Ash book set in Prague. With respect to all those who love these scenes and I'm certainly not saying women have no hope of handling themselves. A guy and girl going up against each other in a brute strength contest, I don't care how much Isreali judo (or whatever) she might know, the girl isn't going to win - not unless she takes out and eye or puts a foot square into his nuts. Neither happened in Prague.
In Potter's Field, it's not even a fight. Despite being described as fairly big and sturdy, Ash is easily debilitated by one lady and pinned Ash against the wall so firmly their able to hit a vein and inject a "hot shot" into Ash's blood stream while Hart notes Ash "thrashing" FOR HIS LIFE against the two women.
Meanwhile, as I'm still rolling through this last Ash novel, I PROMISE you he's going to face a mean looking dude, a real bruiser, and Ash will win. Hell likely win big. So which is it? Are women bad luck and they're lucky? Is the bruiser unlucky then? I'd says it's more about pandering. Dudes aren't the primary audience probably for any book genre at this point.
I have this suspicion about publishing houses these days. I've been wondering if the way it works now if they just hire someone whose job it is in editorial to read through everything and crowbar whatever new Twitter fanned buzzwords and euphemisms he or she feels is most appropriate. I'm not saying it's true, but I could see it. Whatever.
The next thing (I'll stop here) is Ash's unrealistic decree thou shan't use guns, even in a firefight. What does he want for battle? An umbrella. It's not even in character. Ash is a pragmatist when it comes to his survival. The "guns are bad" thing, particularly IN A FIREFIGHT, vibes much more like the kind of political ideal you'd expect from a former lit major anticipating a comfortable life switching back and forth between Word files and the browser running Twitter in the background.
*Shrug*
Even so, I'm happy with Potter's Field. If you're the type who gets intolerably triggered by petty political differences, well, good luck getting through anything. I just wish the common sense aspects wouldn't be changed based on the direction of the wind.
I don't usually review a book just to air out a few petty nitpicks. The problem is that this incomplete collection of nitpicks is frustratingly consistent, even taking up more real estate as the books go on. And yes it has to do with how painfully politically correct it is.
I don't mind changing how I refer to a group of people if the old way hurts their feelings. I mean, and I will not get into an inappropriate tirade here. That's not why I come to Goodreads and nobody here come here for it either, right? Right.
It's just hard to take this stuff seriously when a somewhat grounded story betrays physics, science or what we have learned throughout life. Rob Hart seems to think the smaller the girl, the more deadly she is using her bare hands and brute strength.
It got way over the top in the last Ash book set in Prague. With respect to all those who love these scenes and I'm certainly not saying women have no hope of handling themselves. A guy and girl going up against each other in a brute strength contest, I don't care how much Isreali judo (or whatever) she might know, the girl isn't going to win - not unless she takes out and eye or puts a foot square into his nuts. Neither happened in Prague.
In Potter's Field, it's not even a fight. Despite being described as fairly big and sturdy, Ash is easily debilitated by one lady and pinned Ash against the wall so firmly their able to hit a vein and inject a "hot shot" into Ash's blood stream while Hart notes Ash "thrashing" FOR HIS LIFE against the two women.
Meanwhile, as I'm still rolling through this last Ash novel, I PROMISE you he's going to face a mean looking dude, a real bruiser, and Ash will win. Hell likely win big. So which is it? Are women bad luck and they're lucky? Is the bruiser unlucky then? I'd says it's more about pandering. Dudes aren't the primary audience probably for any book genre at this point.
I have this suspicion about publishing houses these days. I've been wondering if the way it works now if they just hire someone whose job it is in editorial to read through everything and crowbar whatever new Twitter fanned buzzwords and euphemisms he or she feels is most appropriate. I'm not saying it's true, but I could see it. Whatever.
The next thing (I'll stop here) is Ash's unrealistic decree thou shan't use guns, even in a firefight. What does he want for battle? An umbrella. It's not even in character. Ash is a pragmatist when it comes to his survival. The "guns are bad" thing, particularly IN A FIREFIGHT, vibes much more like the kind of political ideal you'd expect from a former lit major anticipating a comfortable life switching back and forth between Word files and the browser running Twitter in the background.
*Shrug*
Even so, I'm happy with Potter's Field. If you're the type who gets intolerably triggered by petty political differences, well, good luck getting through anything. I just wish the common sense aspects wouldn't be changed based on the direction of the wind.
September 20, 2018
Potters Field
Mysterious Book Report No. 348
by John Dwaine McKenna
Three years ago, a new writing talent appeared and lit up the hard-boiled crime scene like machine-gun fire on a moonless night. The author’s name was Rob Hart, and his character, Ash McKenna, is a tough guy who—like Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe—gives bad-assiveness a good name. Happily, he’s now back in his fifth adventure.
Potter’s Field, (Polis Books, $25.99, 272 pages, ISBN 978-1-943818-93-8) by Rob Hart, finds Ash coming back to New York’s Staten Island from a year on the road, determined to face the problems that drove him away. He’s decided to turn his life around . . . less thuggery, more proper behavior . . . and a real career. Ash wants to keep doing what he’s best at doing, by becoming a licensed private investigator. But within moments of getting off the plane and clearing customs, Ginny Tonic, the drag queen and crime lord who once employed Ash, but later tried to have him killed, sends one of her thugs to ask for an interview. It seems Ginny has a couple of problems. One of her newest, and most favored, drag queen soldiers has gone missing and is either dead or sucked into the growing heroin scene on Staten Island . . . the city’s fifth borough, the place where Ash grew up, and where his mother still lives. Ginny’s willing to pay $10,000, enough to get Ash back on his feet. He’s sympathetic to the idea of finding a lost kid and helping a grieving family appeals to his sense of gallantry. Ash takes the job, but soon learns he’s betting with his life, and that there’s a lot more in play than he’s been told.
The Ash McKenna series just gets better and better, as he fights his way through the most life-threatening mystery yet . . . and the greatest danger of all may be from his own past! An edge of the seat thriller from start to finish and a perfect late summer or early fall read!
Mysterious Book Report No. 348
by John Dwaine McKenna
Three years ago, a new writing talent appeared and lit up the hard-boiled crime scene like machine-gun fire on a moonless night. The author’s name was Rob Hart, and his character, Ash McKenna, is a tough guy who—like Raymond Chandler’s Phillip Marlowe—gives bad-assiveness a good name. Happily, he’s now back in his fifth adventure.
Potter’s Field, (Polis Books, $25.99, 272 pages, ISBN 978-1-943818-93-8) by Rob Hart, finds Ash coming back to New York’s Staten Island from a year on the road, determined to face the problems that drove him away. He’s decided to turn his life around . . . less thuggery, more proper behavior . . . and a real career. Ash wants to keep doing what he’s best at doing, by becoming a licensed private investigator. But within moments of getting off the plane and clearing customs, Ginny Tonic, the drag queen and crime lord who once employed Ash, but later tried to have him killed, sends one of her thugs to ask for an interview. It seems Ginny has a couple of problems. One of her newest, and most favored, drag queen soldiers has gone missing and is either dead or sucked into the growing heroin scene on Staten Island . . . the city’s fifth borough, the place where Ash grew up, and where his mother still lives. Ginny’s willing to pay $10,000, enough to get Ash back on his feet. He’s sympathetic to the idea of finding a lost kid and helping a grieving family appeals to his sense of gallantry. Ash takes the job, but soon learns he’s betting with his life, and that there’s a lot more in play than he’s been told.
The Ash McKenna series just gets better and better, as he fights his way through the most life-threatening mystery yet . . . and the greatest danger of all may be from his own past! An edge of the seat thriller from start to finish and a perfect late summer or early fall read!
September 3, 2018
“It was a dance. We both knew why we hadn’t talked. I had—once again—gotten slightly more drunk than necessary and told her I loved her, that she should give me a chance, that maybe a relationship between us could work. She rebuffed me, again, told me she loved me, but not like that, and we were better as friends. It made me feel lousy and I drank to cover it up and that sent me into a spiral. Funny thing about a city of eight million people: it’s real easy to be alone if you want to be.”
The sad thing about relationships is that one person always feels stronger than other. It’s never one hundred percent equal, but best case scenario, the split gets pretty close. Sometimes, the difference is so far apart, it’s heartbreaking. In the case of Ash and Chell, he loved her with all his heart and she loved him like a friend. Even though his feelings weren’t returned the way he wished, it didn’t stop Ash from being destroyed by Chell’s death. Her tragic demise ignited his journey and POTTER’S FIELD has Ash reevaluating his life and his choices. He now has a focus that he earned by through his experiences in the first four books of the series.
In POTTER’S FIELD, Ash looks at his strengths and shortcomings and he works to make himself into something more than a hot head, a thug, a blunt instrument. Hart does a great job of looking to Ash’s past to get him to become the man with the tools to create a promising future.
The sad thing about relationships is that one person always feels stronger than other. It’s never one hundred percent equal, but best case scenario, the split gets pretty close. Sometimes, the difference is so far apart, it’s heartbreaking. In the case of Ash and Chell, he loved her with all his heart and she loved him like a friend. Even though his feelings weren’t returned the way he wished, it didn’t stop Ash from being destroyed by Chell’s death. Her tragic demise ignited his journey and POTTER’S FIELD has Ash reevaluating his life and his choices. He now has a focus that he earned by through his experiences in the first four books of the series.
In POTTER’S FIELD, Ash looks at his strengths and shortcomings and he works to make himself into something more than a hot head, a thug, a blunt instrument. Hart does a great job of looking to Ash’s past to get him to become the man with the tools to create a promising future.
September 19, 2019
I enjoyed the first three books in this series, but as with "The Woman from Prague," this the fifth (and, I gather, the last) Ash McKenna seemed stale to me. There is not enough complexity to Ash. He wants to help people, he gets into a lot of fights, he loves his mom and he thinks about Crystal. Nice enough, I guess, but he does not evolve in the series, even though he is described in the book as having done so.
I also found this book really bleak and dark, and that pushed me away. It is a story with no characters that you come to care about very much, though Bombay is always somehow likable.
Finally, this book lacks the witty repartee of the first three. Even Ginny has become ho-hum, and Lunette is not at all developed as a character.
Interestingly, my library copy has a reader slip in the back for comments. Both readers gave the book one star out of five, and indicated that did not finish it.
I also found this book really bleak and dark, and that pushed me away. It is a story with no characters that you come to care about very much, though Bombay is always somehow likable.
Finally, this book lacks the witty repartee of the first three. Even Ginny has become ho-hum, and Lunette is not at all developed as a character.
Interestingly, my library copy has a reader slip in the back for comments. Both readers gave the book one star out of five, and indicated that did not finish it.
February 4, 2025
The strongest installment in the Ash McKenna series and - alas! - the last. Loved every chapter, every paragraph, every line. Hardboiled mystery with a likeable hero.
All in all, I enjoyed all of the five installments of the series. The best are - in my opinion - the first, the second, and the fifth (i.e. the novels that take place in New York and Portland, respectively). The third novel is an outlier, because it takes place in the South in a rural area and deals with a terror plot. The fourth is even more an outlier since it takes place in Prague/Czech Republic and is in its core a spy thriller, not a crime novel. Still, all books are readable. Recommended for everyone who likes their mystery hardboiled and their protagonist heartfelt.
All in all, I enjoyed all of the five installments of the series. The best are - in my opinion - the first, the second, and the fifth (i.e. the novels that take place in New York and Portland, respectively). The third novel is an outlier, because it takes place in the South in a rural area and deals with a terror plot. The fourth is even more an outlier since it takes place in Prague/Czech Republic and is in its core a spy thriller, not a crime novel. Still, all books are readable. Recommended for everyone who likes their mystery hardboiled and their protagonist heartfelt.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2018
As with the prior installment of the Ash McKenna series, I was unable to put this book down, and tore through it over the course of two long New Jersey/Manhattan commutes and another hour or so at home. Hart's prose is as tight and propulsive as ever and provides a neat resolution to Ash's overall storyline- having followed this character from the beginning I'm sorry to see him go, but glad to see where he ended up. Even though this series is over there is more on the way from this author, and I'm looking forward to it.
May 9, 2018
At 12% into this book I am just waiting for something to just grip me and not let me go. This book is good but I wouldn't really call it gripping. I do like Ash, I am really interested to go back and read the other books to see what made him, him. I don't want to put too much into this review as I feel like I would giveaway some spoilers. But there are a few twists in there that you wouldn't expect. He starts a list of things he needs to accomplish at the start of the book. I am a lover a lists... It seems he is as good at accomplishing the items on the list as I am. If you read the book you'll see how good I am at accomplishing things on my list. :) I feel it wasn't until about 70% through this book that I was really drawn into this book that it really had me and I had gotten through it a bit quicker. That's when everything started to really get shocking and into the thick of things. I loved the writing all around, I loved the characters and the diversity. But based off of how slow it was at first and through a large portion of the book for me it makes it really hard for me to rate the book. I do recommend reading the book as I stated before I really want to read some of Ash's earlier adventures see what made him into the man. He is because from what I can tell in this book, he has gone down a difficult journey and really came out a wonderful man.
June 22, 2023
You can definitely tell the author has the character down by now, which is a bit sad as this is the last of the series. This book improved on all the others and got rid of a lot of the goofy/ hard to swallow stuff. This one felt more real and, in my mind, actually had some points for introspection. A little depth to it as opposed to just a good story. A fantastic end to a great series. I can’t say enough good about Rob Hart, I was lucky to find his books.
Read
August 17, 2022I'm on page 7 of this book and already found 3 typos.
I placed my hand on the umbrella attached my belt...
All that upper-body muscle was stacked on lean, skinny frame.
...I returned to the hallway, looked up the staircase, and found a skinny Asian women..
I placed my hand on the umbrella attached my belt...
All that upper-body muscle was stacked on lean, skinny frame.
...I returned to the hallway, looked up the staircase, and found a skinny Asian women..
March 15, 2024
A nice wrap up to the series. Glad Ash grew up a little. Am still here for Bombay!!
March 23, 2024
Excellent way to wrap up a very good series. Much more in line with the first book than the global adventures. Gritty and nihilistic, while also being funny. Loved it.
October 29, 2024
An excellent way to end the series. Hart is a very accomplished writer, and he uses the characters well. I feel that the dialogue in this book is the best of the series.
December 29, 2024
Man, I'm going to miss this series. All comes together in this one. Great read.
June 18, 2020
Final (for now) in the Ash McKenna series. Formulaic though good.
May 11, 2018
At 12% into this book I am just waiting for something to just grip me and not let me go. This book is good but I wouldn't really call it gripping. I do like Ash, I am really interested to go back and read the other books to see what made him, him. I don't want to put too much into this review as I feel like I would giveaway some spoilers. But there are a few twists in there that you wouldn't expect. He starts a list of things he needs to accomplish at the start of the book. I am a lover a lists... It seems he is as good at accomplishing the items on the list as I am. If you read the book you'll see how good I am at accomplishing things on my list. :) I feel it wasn't until about 70% through this book that I was really drawn into this book that it really had me and I had gotten through it a bit quicker. That's when everything started to really get shocking and into the thick of things. I loved the writing all around, I loved the characters and the diversity. But based off of how slow it was at first and through a large portion of the book for me it makes it really hard for me to rate the book. I do recommend reading the book as I stated before I really want to read some of Ash's earlier adventures see what made him into the man. He is because from what I can tell in this book, he has gone down a difficult journey and really came out a wonderful man.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews