Thriller

A Slow Fire Burning

A Slow Fire Burning

  • Downloads：4145
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-23 12:31:23
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Paula Hawkins
  • ISBN：0593453158
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Linda ，

I really enjoyed this novel， lots of interesting characters and a twisty turvey plot。 We are introduced to the characters one by one and at first you can’t see how they are connected。 Sisters， neighbours， the damaged and the lost。Daniel is found dead on the house boat he is renting。 A nasty stabbing and his throat was cut。 The police have not a lot to go on。 There is the busy body of a neighbour， the young girl who was the last to see him， his aunt and uncle who don’t have anything to do with hi I really enjoyed this novel， lots of interesting characters and a twisty turvey plot。 We are introduced to the characters one by one and at first you can’t see how they are connected。 Sisters， neighbours， the damaged and the lost。Daniel is found dead on the house boat he is renting。 A nasty stabbing and his throat was cut。 The police have not a lot to go on。 There is the busy body of a neighbour， the young girl who was the last to see him， his aunt and uncle who don’t have anything to do with him but all who seem to have secrets to hide。 It’s a brilliant book and the characters are all so believable。 They are damaged by loss and betrayal， and their is a lot of grief in their lives。 。。。more

Robin ，

I was hoping for a good read from the author of The Girl on the Train and Into the Water， but I don't think this one quite measures up。 I had a difficult time keeping the characters straight in this murder mystery， plus the story is told out of sync， with action jumping from the past to the present and back again。 This writing style seems to be almost a requirement in recent novels。 In fact， one of the characters in this book even complains about it: "。。。all the to-ing and fro-ing， all that jump I was hoping for a good read from the author of The Girl on the Train and Into the Water， but I don't think this one quite measures up。 I had a difficult time keeping the characters straight in this murder mystery， plus the story is told out of sync， with action jumping from the past to the present and back again。 This writing style seems to be almost a requirement in recent novels。 In fact， one of the characters in this book even complains about it: "。。。all the to-ing and fro-ing， all that jumping around in the timeline。。。Just start at the beginning， for god's sake。 Why couldn't people just tell a story straight any longer， start to finish？" （Kindle location 3133） Amen to that！ There is also a novel-within-a-novel trick that is important to the story， another writing style that is gaining popularity in current works: Anthony Horowitz's novels about Susan Ryeland， and the upcoming， and excellent， The Plot， by Jean Hanff Korelitz。 Overall， A Slow Fire Burning is a less-than-riveting murder mystery。 Thanks to NetGalley and Riverhead Books for providing an ARC。 。。。more

Julie Le Cras ，

A proof copy that was passed on to me。 Throughly enjoyed it， I went from feeling sorry for each of the characters but also suspicious of each of them too。 Worthwhile read 📚

Dorie - Cats&Books :） ，

This was my third Paula Hawkins book and while I found it somewhat slow going， the writing was superb。 It was the pacing and the large cast of unlikable and unreliable narrators that bogged this one down for me a bit。 Otherwise this would probably have been a 5*。I thought the title was very apropo because of the slow burn of anger， hatred， jealousy and deceit brewing within these characters。 We start in this book at the ending and follow through the back stories of all of the characters， switchi This was my third Paula Hawkins book and while I found it somewhat slow going， the writing was superb。 It was the pacing and the large cast of unlikable and unreliable narrators that bogged this one down for me a bit。 Otherwise this would probably have been a 5*。I thought the title was very apropo because of the slow burn of anger， hatred， jealousy and deceit brewing within these characters。 We start in this book at the ending and follow through the back stories of all of the characters， switching back and forth also through various timelines。 Then we also have a “book within a book” which was incredibly clever and well done。 All of these things makes for a well written but sometimes hard to follow narrative。Even knowing the ending does not take away from the shock value at the end of the novel。 Because no matter how many red herrings the author threw at me， I DID NOT SEE THIS ENDING COMING！！！！！！！！The main cast of characters:Theo Myerson and his wife Carla， who had the start of an incredible marriage， until their young son Ben died accidentally at only 3 years of age。 They are both hiding enough secrets to bury any average human being。 You may think you know their secrets， BUT JUST WAIT UNTIL THE ENDING！！！！！！！！！！Laura is a poor young soul。 She was in a horrific accident at the age of ten which left her with some brain damage， causing all kinds of unacceptable and out of control incidents to occur。 She was also left with a terrible limp， all of which left her with a terrible self image。 Add to this a mother who is not supportive and a father who is emotionally absent and you have one troubled young woman。Miriam is a middle aged woman， living just several boats down from the boat where Daniel is brutally murdered。 She sees， hears and knows a lot。 She also has a vendetta against at least one of the characters。Angela is Carla’s sister， living a lonely and unhappy life。 She lived with her son Daniel until recent years when Daniel went to live on his own。 They had a caustic， unhealthy relationship。Daniel himself is hard to read。 We begin to learn more about him， his unhappy and caustic relationship with his mother， his aunt Carla and others， but don’t really understand him even at the end。This is a very cerebral mystery so I wouldn’t recommend reading this after several glasses of wine， or whatever unless you reason better this way！！ You will need to think， untangle story lines and understand this myriad cast of characters and convoluted but ultimately brilliantly written novel。This novel is set to publish on August 31， 2021I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley。 。。。more

Wendy ，

A Slow Fire Burning inside for so long has led someone to murder in Paula Hawkins’ latest thriller。Is the killer Laura， a physically and emotionally damaged young woman who was thought to be the last one with the victim and had his blood on her T-shirt？Perhaps it was the strange， hobbit-like Miriam。 She said she found him that way， but did she leave him that way before she found him？Then there’s Carla， the victim’s grieving aunt who lost her own son 15 years ago， whose former husband Theo has b A Slow Fire Burning inside for so long has led someone to murder in Paula Hawkins’ latest thriller。Is the killer Laura， a physically and emotionally damaged young woman who was thought to be the last one with the victim and had his blood on her T-shirt？Perhaps it was the strange， hobbit-like Miriam。 She said she found him that way， but did she leave him that way before she found him？Then there’s Carla， the victim’s grieving aunt who lost her own son 15 years ago， whose former husband Theo has been led to believe that his wife and her nephew were having an affair。 Could a jealous， grief-stricken ex who writes crime novels for a living have slit the throat of the young man？An unpublished memoir by Miriam about being kidnapped as a teenager along with her best friend who was murdered and a seemingly plagiarized novel from that memoir by Theo adds an interesting thread that is woven throughout this clever novel。 Paula Hawkins， author of the best-selling The Girl on the Train， was a journalist for 15 years before turning to fiction writing。 Born in Zimbabwe， she splits her time between London and Edinburgh。My review will be posted on Goodreads starting May 4， 2021。I would like to thank Penguin Group Riverhead and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review。 。。。more

Georgette ，

Meh， meh， meh。 Not a thrilling ride at all。 I did like the characters of Laura and Irene， but that's where it ends。 What an incestral （should be a word） mess。 Meh， meh， meh。 Not a thrilling ride at all。 I did like the characters of Laura and Irene， but that's where it ends。 What an incestral （should be a word） mess。 。。。more

Tilly Fitzgerald ，

To say I was excited when this dropped through the door would be quite the understatement - I am a big Paula Hawkins fan！ Thankfully I wasn’t in any way disappointed - this is just as clever， just as human， and just as addictive as The Girl on the Train and Into the Water。 When a young man is found brutally murdered on his boat， it’s easy for the police to assume that the troubled young woman with a chequered past who was last seen leaving his is responsible。 Yet， whilst Laura admits to spending To say I was excited when this dropped through the door would be quite the understatement - I am a big Paula Hawkins fan！ Thankfully I wasn’t in any way disappointed - this is just as clever， just as human， and just as addictive as The Girl on the Train and Into the Water。 When a young man is found brutally murdered on his boat， it’s easy for the police to assume that the troubled young woman with a chequered past who was last seen leaving his is responsible。 Yet， whilst Laura admits to spending the night with him and getting into a fight， she’s adamant he was alive when she left him。 Miriam has her own reasons for wanting to protect Laura - she wants someone else held responsible for the murder。 But with everyone in this story hiding something， and some secrets best left buried， how will we ever find out the truth？ There are so many things I love about this novel aside from the fact that it’s impossible to put down！ The characters are all flawed and whilst their secrets are far more dramatic than most， they feel very real and vulnerable。 I loved the fact that we don’t get any kind of police viewpoint either - it is all unravelled through this small cast of characters， most of them elderly。 From the young man’s aunt Carla， to his dead mother’s neighbour Irene， everyone in this story is either hiding something or just trying to cope with something which makes for a very intriguing and exciting reading experience！ I don’t know how the author does it， but the surprises and layers to this novel just blew me away - and yet， once the shock had passed I found myself thinking that of course that is exactly how it should be。 The ending was an especially mouth gaping moment and I loved the fact that I never saw it coming！ A very， very smart plot and troubled， imperfect characters are precisely why I keep coming back to Hawkins and this one is certainly no exception - absolutely loved it， and will no doubt be counting down the days until the next。 。。。more

Juni Mond ，

Paula Hawkins ist definitiv eine meiner Lieblingsautorinnen。 Habe das Buch verschlungen

karen ，

hawkins' debut thriller The Girl on the Train came out hot on the heels of the film-adaptation of Gone Girl， when the psych suspense market was craving MORE LIKE THIS， PLEASE， and it became a runaway bestseller that everyone either loved or loved to hate， but its success ushered in a WAVE of twisty suspense novels trying to hitch a ride aboard the gone girl on the （gravy） train， so many of which unabashedly featured the word "girl" or "woman" in their titles。 her follow-up， Into the Water， was a hawkins' debut thriller The Girl on the Train came out hot on the heels of the film-adaptation of Gone Girl， when the psych suspense market was craving MORE LIKE THIS， PLEASE， and it became a runaway bestseller that everyone either loved or loved to hate， but its success ushered in a WAVE of twisty suspense novels trying to hitch a ride aboard the gone girl on the （gravy） train， so many of which unabashedly featured the word "girl" or "woman" in their titles。 her follow-up， Into the Water， was a much quieter release， and wasn't even a mystery， IMO; it was a character-driven investigation of a situation that happened to have a body count， in a similar vein to ivy pochoda's exquisite These Women。A Slow Fire Burning is a return to the twisty twisty murder myst'ry style that put hawkins on the map， with a large cast of unlikable， unreliable characters full of secrets and hidden agendas， carefully clipped clues and misdirection。 there aren't any trains this time， but there are SEVERAL boats。 it also features a mystery novelist character who gives a little meta-commentary on the genre as well as roadmap to the novel itself:It was a book that exposed the way the sympathies of the reader might be manipulated， laying bare how quickly we jump to conclusions about guilt and innocence， power and responsibility。 there's even a novel-within-the-novel， giving the book an unusual shape hawkins seems to anticipate will invite criticism， which she cheekily addresses， using the novelist character:"I thought it was so interesting， the way you turned the whole thing around， you know， telling the story backward in some parts and forwards in others， letting us see inside the killer's head—that was so brilliant！ At first you， like， you don't know what's going on， but then it's just like。。。woah。 So cool。 I loved the way you turned everything on its head， playing with our sympathies and empathies and all that business。""Really？" Theo laughed， faking incredulity。 "I thought everybody thought that was a terrible idea。""Well， I didn't。 I thought it was clever。 A new way to tell a story like that， makes you think， doesn't it？" the title， however， does not describe the book—this fire burns fast—a highly engaging page-turner that whisks the reader to and fro—edging close to the truth before shifting the focus away each time in a delicious flurry of NOT YET， MY LOVELIES！unsympathetic characters， unintended consequences， unexpected connections。。。and murrrrderrrrrr。i dug it。come to my blog！！ 。。。more

Janet ，

The newest of Paula Hawkins creations truly is A Slow Fire Burning。While initially slow， Hawkins builds a web of unlikable characters that keep the plot twisting and turning until， like a runaway train， you crash into a fiery ending。 A twisted tale of secrets， lies， resentments carried， revenge plotted， and culminating in murder。。。 this thriller is sure to be a scorching end of summer treat。 Though Hawkins always gets mixed reviews， I will tell you that she is one heck of a story teller， and you The newest of Paula Hawkins creations truly is A Slow Fire Burning。While initially slow， Hawkins builds a web of unlikable characters that keep the plot twisting and turning until， like a runaway train， you crash into a fiery ending。 A twisted tale of secrets， lies， resentments carried， revenge plotted， and culminating in murder。。。 this thriller is sure to be a scorching end of summer treat。 Though Hawkins always gets mixed reviews， I will tell you that she is one heck of a story teller， and you can’t go wrong reading A Slow Fire Burning！ I’d go ahead and pre-order this slow roasting thriller now as Hawkins plans to fan the flames of this gem August 31， 2021。 I am so grateful to #NetGalley， #PenguinGroup #RiverheadBooks （ @riverheadbooks ） and the bonfire building wordsmith herself Paula Hawkins for sending me an electronic ARC in exchange for my honest opinions。 You can see a full review on http://oceansofbooks。com on August 31， 2021。 I will definitely recommend this title as it’s sure to be a summer hit。 。。。more

Miss L ，

Thanks to Penguin Random House for the proof copy。A gripping read with characters you really want to root for。

Azhar ，

meh。 too many characters/voices that didn’t intertwine together well。 didn’t care that much for them or the murder mystery and guessed the killer a quarter of the way in。 compared to “the girl on the train”， this one’s kind of a bore。

Iz ，

This one is hard to review。 I wanted to like it more than I actually did。 It was just so sad。 Like everybody lost， in a way。 There were so many different plots going all centered around the murder of Daniel。 Laura’s circumstances。。。。sad。 （And her stupid mother， ugh）。 Carla and Theo’s situation。。。。sad。 Miriam， beyond sad。 Like every character just had a bum out story。 And it was pretty clear who the killer was before it was revealed。 So overall， Hawkins delivers an entertaining story but kind of This one is hard to review。 I wanted to like it more than I actually did。 It was just so sad。 Like everybody lost， in a way。 There were so many different plots going all centered around the murder of Daniel。 Laura’s circumstances。。。。sad。 （And her stupid mother， ugh）。 Carla and Theo’s situation。。。。sad。 Miriam， beyond sad。 Like every character just had a bum out story。 And it was pretty clear who the killer was before it was revealed。 So overall， Hawkins delivers an entertaining story but kind of a bummer。 I’ll round up from 2。5 stars just because the ending is decent。 And what am I missing about the Jeremy connection？ Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC。 。。。more

vicki honeyman ，

Get ready to have the rug pulled out from under you with this rollercoaster of a who-dun-it。 Paula Hawkins has yet again come up with an entangled thriller complete with a bloody murder on page one， full of creepy people， seemingly normal people， and truly messed up people who fill the pages of this brilliant new page-turner。 Needing to put all the pieces together in my head， I read it in one day， getting more and more creeped out as the truth started to unravel。 Wow！ What a page-turner！

Lisa M。 ，

A family with a tragic past。A murdered nephew。Outsiders （with equally damaged pasts） that have a connection to the murder victim。Twists and turns as each character is developed throughout the story。Not one of Paula Hawkins best work， but still a well told story that fans of herwriting will enjoy， along with a statisfying ending。

Sheri ，

I’ve loved every book by Hawkins that I’ve read， so it is no surprise that I loved this too。 A suspenseful， twisty murder mystery that kept me guessing until the end - perfect！

Lisa Mayoras ，

Thank you to Edelweiss+ for the ARC。A family with a tragic past。 A murdered nephew。 Outsiders （with equally damaged pasts） that have a connection to the murder victim。Twists and turns as each character is developed throughout the story。Not one of Paula Hawkins best work， but still a well told story that fans of herwriting will enjoy， along with a statisfying ending。

Michelle ，

I wanted to like it， truly， I did。。。 but it fell way short for me。 I just never connected to or cared about any of the characters。

Tammy ，

There is a murder because of course there is。 Tenuous connections， deception， and betrayal embroil members of a family， a pitiable young woman， and a meddlesome middle-aged spinster in the investigation that ensues。 Moving back and forth in time， the characters’ backstories are slowly revealed as Hawkins turns you every which way but loose。 There is even a book within in a book。 I was held breathless。

Kat ，

#ASlowFireBurning#NetGalley#EdelweissA definite slow fire burning！ If you enjoy Paula Hawkins writing you will naturally enjoy this one。

Kirsten ，

review to come。。。

Michelle Richter ，

DNFI didn't like or care about any of the characters。 While there were some interesting interconnections， there wasn't enough there for me to hang on to to stay with it。 Who killed the young man and why just wasn't captivating enough for me to finish。 DNFI didn't like or care about any of the characters。 While there were some interesting interconnections， there wasn't enough there for me to hang on to to stay with it。 Who killed the young man and why just wasn't captivating enough for me to finish。 。。。more

Jillian Doherty ，

Like most I can't wait for her new release， and feel each new release offers just what I'm hoping for~ Here she combines a broad cast of characters， like I enjoyed from Into the Water， with the captivated and propulsive style that initially grabbed reader with Girl on the Train。 Three different women are at the center of a murder investigation， and of course because it's Hawkins - the setting is as much a character， as how each of their exposed connections make you question what really happened。 Like most I can't wait for her new release， and feel each new release offers just what I'm hoping for~ Here she combines a broad cast of characters， like I enjoyed from Into the Water， with the captivated and propulsive style that initially grabbed reader with Girl on the Train。 Three different women are at the center of a murder investigation， and of course because it's Hawkins - the setting is as much a character， as how each of their exposed connections make you question what really happened。 Galley borrowed from the publisher。 。。。more

CaraDico ，

*Thank you to NetGalley， Paula Hawkins and Penguin Random House for an Arc in exchange for an honest review**Previously published at https://www。mysteryandsuspense。com/a-。。。A Slow Fire Burning， the latest from Paula Hawkins， is about a young man found brutally murdered on a houseboat。 The story follows Laura， a career criminal with a traumatic brain injury， who has a one-night stand with the victim the night before he dies。There are a plethora of characters， many with their own chapters， includi *Thank you to NetGalley， Paula Hawkins and Penguin Random House for an Arc in exchange for an honest review**Previously published at https://www。mysteryandsuspense。com/a-。。。A Slow Fire Burning， the latest from Paula Hawkins， is about a young man found brutally murdered on a houseboat。 The story follows Laura， a career criminal with a traumatic brain injury， who has a one-night stand with the victim the night before he dies。There are a plethora of characters， many with their own chapters， including: Miriam， the woman who found the body， who has secrets of her own; Theo and Carla， a divorced couple， who have been through their own tragedy; and Irene， a gentle older woman who lives next door to Angela， a drunk found dead several weeks before her son， the murder victim on the houseboat。 With the exception of Irene， every character is more unlikeable than the next。 Yet Paula Hawkins is a genius at taking unique characters and interweaving their stories from each perspective。Theo and Carla Myerson used to be a power couple。 Young， successful， with a beautiful son， it is all taken away from them in the blink of an eye when their child falls to his death on a sleepover with his aunt and cousin。 Theo， once a successful writer， could write nothing substantial for years after the tragedy。 Carla， an accomplished businesswoman， no longer has the energy to put into work she once had。 It has been years since their son， Ben， died and they have divorced。 It has estranged both from Angela， Carla’s sister， whom they blame for Ben’s death and Daniel， her son。 When Angela dies unexpectedly and then her son， Daniel， dies a few weeks later， it throws Carla into a depression she can’t seem to get out of。 Though at the time of death， she is not close to either of them。Hawkins’ book goes back and forth between a tragedy that happened 35 years ago and Daniel’s death today。 Some flashbacks are Miriam’s memories， and some are a book that Theo has just written about the tragedy， perceivably stolen from Miriam’s unedited manuscript。There are so many sub-plots in this novel that attention to detail is a must， along with keeping all the characters straight。 All of them lead back to the death of Daniel， and the actual murderer remains a surprise until the very end。 There are some “triggers” in this book that may upset readers， including child death， negligence， and incest。 Still， A Slow Fire Burning is a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat and not one you will easily put down。 。。。more

Nanor Pogosian ，

I found myself so engrossed in the stories of all the characters。 This is a true psychological suspense novel， in that we delve into all the suspicious characters’ state of mind。 So much darkness and pain， regrets and revenge lurking underneath the surface。 I loved it。

Cheri ，

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫“Innocent or guilty， everyone is damaged。 Some are damaged enough to kill。”Meet a cast of characters that are damaged and unlikeable。 Then expose a few past secrets and something is apt to burn。 I enjoyed this slow-burn， character-driven whodunnit。 The story is worth it just to meet Irene who， at 80， was the star of the nov in my eyes。 I definitely recommend this one。Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC。

Natalie ，

This was a really engaging mystery involving several people and the death of a young man。 The author twists and turns and confounds the reader with evidence against potential suspects， as well as endless confusion。 Obviously this is a very engaging story， but I found a problem， I could not identify with or empathize with any of the characters。 They were all so incredibly flawed and all harboring deep secrets and hatred。 The closest I could come was to caring about the pathetic Laura， deformed ph This was a really engaging mystery involving several people and the death of a young man。 The author twists and turns and confounds the reader with evidence against potential suspects， as well as endless confusion。 Obviously this is a very engaging story， but I found a problem， I could not identify with or empathize with any of the characters。 They were all so incredibly flawed and all harboring deep secrets and hatred。 The closest I could come was to caring about the pathetic Laura， deformed physically and mentally after an accident。 The only other sympathetic character is the stereotypical nosy old neighbor， who turned out to be the closest thing to a heroine n this very bizarre mystery。 Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this new novel by a great mystery writer。 。。。more

Cyndi ，

I was beyond excited to have received this ARC from Netgalley。 I’m a huge fan of Paula Hawkins and it’s been awhile since she has released a book。 What struck me most about the plot of this was the intense and complicated interactions between the characters。 There was a lot going on in this， but it wasn’t difficult to follow。 Hawkins character development is superb and she reveals their deep dark secrets layer by layer。 Hawkins’ writing just gets better and better。 I know that this will be a hug I was beyond excited to have received this ARC from Netgalley。 I’m a huge fan of Paula Hawkins and it’s been awhile since she has released a book。 What struck me most about the plot of this was the intense and complicated interactions between the characters。 There was a lot going on in this， but it wasn’t difficult to follow。 Hawkins character development is superb and she reveals their deep dark secrets layer by layer。 Hawkins’ writing just gets better and better。 I know that this will be a huge 2021 hit。Many thanks to Netgalley， Riverhead Books and Paula Hawkins for my complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more

Noreen13 ，

Thanks to #NetGalley I enjoyed this absorbing thriller！

Jd ，

1/2