November 9, 2021

[Review] The Burning Girls - C. J. Tudor

Summary:
A dark history lingers in Chapel Croft. Five hundred years ago, Protestant martyrs were betrayed—then burned. Thirty years ago, two teenage girls disappeared without a trace. And a few weeks ago, the vicar of the local parish hanged himself in the nave of the church.

Reverend Jack Brooks, a single parent with a fourteen-year-old daughter and a heavy conscience, arrives in the village hoping for a fresh start. Instead, Jack finds a town rife with conspiracies and secrets, and is greeted with a strange welcome package: an exorcism kit and a note that warns, “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.”

The more Jack and daughter, Flo, explore the town and get to know its strange denizens, the deeper they are drawn into the age-old rifts, mysteries, and suspicions. And when Flo begins to see specters of girls ablaze, it becomes apparent there are ghosts here that refuse to be laid to rest.

Uncovering the truth can be deadly in a village with a bloody past, where everyone has something to hide and no one trusts an outsider.  
(Pub Date: Feb 09 2021)

 

I'm not sure what took me so long to start this book, but it was so good to read! I do think the ending was farfetched and gave me pause, but the reading was in general pleasing. 

Reverend Jack Brooks is a mother of a teenager and that's one of her bigger worries when she has to temporarily move to a small town after getting involved in a scandal in the place she'd been formerly stationed. The town comes with their own myths, the burning girls who'll appear to whom is about to get in trouble. Are they associated to the mysterious suicide of Jack's predecessor? And what is the connection with the two missing girls of years before? Above all, will it pose a danger to her daughter?

As I mentioned, I didn't like the conclusion. I do think it was a good idea, but the execution was weird and made me frown, because I'm not sure if the story validates it entirely. Maybe when I re-read it I can come back here and tell you, but for now, I can affirm that even it really fits, it was a weird fit that didn't satisfy me. 

At the same time, I'm not one to care that much about endings (unless they're really bad, which is not the case), so this was a book I liked. It still made me feel I've read this story somewhere else, which is a recurring problem with Tudor's works, but this time I didn't figure out where and that's already something. In other words, we can say it's not super original but the plot twists worked better without an exact reference of the book it's inspired on. 

I wish the burning girls myth had been explored a little more, though. It's not only the title, but it's actually a good mystery that ends up in the far sidelines. I also think there were more elements that maybe the author included to confuse us but that as a reader I felt disappointed that didn't come to more. Unfortunately, I can't think of how to be more precise here without giving out spoilers. Nonetheless, that added to my dissatisfaction with the conclusion. 

It's still a book with great twists, really, really good ones. It's not a marvelous read but will keep you reading and guessing for most of it. This hasn't been a good year for me bookwise, so it's not saying much, but this was one of the best thrillers I read in 2021 and at least my second favorite by Tudor, save for her debut.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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