Ashes of Destruction — Susan Grace

In a quiet rural town in, Alberta, Canada, a young woman finds herself drawn irrevocably to a love she never sought, then cannot escape by geographical distance or even spiritual plane. Can the link forged in life transcend the death of her lover as his spirit hovers around her? Ashes of Destruction is author Susan Grace's enthralling debut novel of love and hope, innocence and betrayal, that mines the depths of romance with its sometimes tragic fallout, when a life is shattered by the duplicity and perfidy of a lover. Ashes of Destruction tells the story of Stacey, a young British woman whose life takes an unexpectedly tragic turn after she and her husband, Jay, visit a small town in Canada to meet Jay's relatives. Once there, Jay is drawn to his new family, and decides to immigrate to sate his need to find his roots. This rash choice sets in motion an entanglement from which Stacey finds she cannot extract herself, even twenty years later. Ironically the challenges she and Jay face, closely reflect earlier family history. Her mother-in-law, Cassie, a Canadian war bride, had similarly moved to Canada decades before after meeting soldier Zack in London. She married him and returned to with him to his beloved homeland expecting to live in bucolic bliss. However, the fashionable Cassie, with her city style and provocative manner, inspires far more drama than Zack's family can tolerate, reaping hostility towards her. As a result the couple soon find themselves heading back to the United Kingdom, cutting all ties and leaving his Canadian family in disarray. After arriving in Canada to join Jay, Stacey is thrown together with Ted, the husband of Jay's cousin. The ensuing relationship summons far more tragic consequences as she is lured into a doomed relationship with him. It ultimately destroys the happiness, hopes, and dreams for her own life and also for her daughter. Expecting to share her future with Jay, she finds herself instead desperately fighting fear and loneliness. Although Stacey tries to move on she finally knows she has to flee Canada to try to pick up the pieces of her fractured life. Now years later she sees how closely Cassie and Zack's past was mirrored in the future of their son and his wife. Although Stacey attempts to move beyond the passion that holds her so tightly in its grip, two decades later, when she learns that Ted has died, she discovers that she never really escaped from him. An otherworldly spirit asserts itself in her home and her life leading Stacey down a path where although she recognizes the depths of his perfidy, she now understands the reasons behind it. At last Stacey sees that she made one final awful mistake that can never be remedied, and faces the realization that her broken heart will never find peace again. A gripping, harrowing tale of love and loss, Ashes of Destruction peers into the heart of darkness to reveal how the ties that bind us can defy space and time, and that some love may forever hold you in its fierce grasp. It's a must for anyone seeking a heart-pulsing testament to love that never dies.