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holyheadharpie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rebsreadsbooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tarynwanderer's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kaityreads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jaci_derosso's review against another edition
2.0
A bit let down after loving Erin Kelly’s other books.
jaibee's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this thoroughly but I found myself disappointed with the ending - as many other reviewers have noted, the Macbrides are the central protagonists and I suppose we are supposed to see them as the ‘heroes’ albeit flawed - but I wanted them to be more grey, more flawed, I wanted their privilege and wealth to be sheltering them from more consequences, for them to not be good people at all, actually, but their level of comfort to have deluded them into thinking they were. I wanted Darcy to be vindicated, even a little, even if the revelation isn’t what he expected.
But the revelation was a little tame, and though it fit with the idea of the MacBrides sheltered lives that this guilt, this indirect action was this huge skeleton in her closet, and that his reaction to finding out was also over dramatic, I still felt like…and???
But the revelation was a little tame, and though it fit with the idea of the MacBrides sheltered lives that this guilt, this indirect action was this huge skeleton in her closet, and that his reaction to finding out was also over dramatic, I still felt like…and???
nkg202's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Death, Murder, Cancer, Death of parent, and Grief
graciemel_26's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ahinks's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
raven88's review
4.0
A taut and suspenseful tale that will keep you hooked from the outset, ‘The Burning Air’ is the latest psychological thriller from Erin Kelly (‘The Poison Tree’, ‘The Sick Rose’). Revolving around the MacBride family, Kelly weaves a story full of surprises and reveals, that consistently wrongfoot the reader, as the sins of the past come knocking at the door…
I am not going to dwell on the plot too much as that would entirely spoil the cleverly placed reveals that drive the central narrative. As a family gathers to mark the death of their mother and tensions are revealed within their relationships, Kelly then skilfully takes us back to the seemingly inocuous events of seventeen years previously, and how the desire for retribution for these aforementioned events, burns strongly in the psyche of a disturbed individual with devastating results. By using this parallel timeline and overlapping narratives and viewpoints of the MacBride family members, Kelly twists our perceptions of each character and it quickly becomes obvious that someone within the group is not all that they appear to be and there are dark surprises in store. This plot device works exceptionally well, and personally I found that it was very difficult to put the book down because as each individual narrative came into play a little more of the story unfolded, driving me on to discover just what was going to happen.
With the contrasting characters of the resolutely middle class family members, interesting tensions arose, particularly amongst the siblings and their partners, all under the stoical gaze of the patriarchal figure of Rowan MacBride who himself discovers some unpleasant truths about his late wife as the story progresses. All the characters are exceptionally well drawn and believable, from the interactions between parents and children, be they young or adult, and the different dimensions to the interplay between the MacBride siblings, Sophie, Tara and the unfortunate Felix. Without a doubt, the most intriguing and mesmeric character is Darcy, whose own personal experience and perceived slights by the MacBrides, is the most complex character to understand, and cleverly your sense of empathy to and disgust towards waxes and wanes as the plot develops. From Darcy’s unfortunate and frankly bizarre upbringing, Kelly consistently manipulates our feelings towards this character and their desire for revenge, whilst highlighting Darcy’s intelligence in the way that this seeking of retribution is planned and carried out. Darcy much put me in mind of one of the quintessential dark, disturbed characters of Ruth Rendell’s psychological thrillers, namely an individual utterly in the power of a controlling parent and highlighting the dangers of misguided nurture over nature.
As with ‘The Poison Tree’ that successfully made the leap from page to screen in a TV dramatisation, I think that ‘The Burning Air’ could achieve the same. Kelly carefully renders the sense of place and location throughout the book as the action circles between the town of Saxby, during the MacBride children’s formative years, and then to the rural setting of Far Barn in Devon and the sense of isolation that plays such an important role in the book as the tension and danger mount. This description of setting along with the nifty plotting and solid characterisation all added to my overall enjoyment of the book, and if you enjoy a dark, psychological tale with a clever surprise or two, this is definitely worth seeking out.
I am not going to dwell on the plot too much as that would entirely spoil the cleverly placed reveals that drive the central narrative. As a family gathers to mark the death of their mother and tensions are revealed within their relationships, Kelly then skilfully takes us back to the seemingly inocuous events of seventeen years previously, and how the desire for retribution for these aforementioned events, burns strongly in the psyche of a disturbed individual with devastating results. By using this parallel timeline and overlapping narratives and viewpoints of the MacBride family members, Kelly twists our perceptions of each character and it quickly becomes obvious that someone within the group is not all that they appear to be and there are dark surprises in store. This plot device works exceptionally well, and personally I found that it was very difficult to put the book down because as each individual narrative came into play a little more of the story unfolded, driving me on to discover just what was going to happen.
With the contrasting characters of the resolutely middle class family members, interesting tensions arose, particularly amongst the siblings and their partners, all under the stoical gaze of the patriarchal figure of Rowan MacBride who himself discovers some unpleasant truths about his late wife as the story progresses. All the characters are exceptionally well drawn and believable, from the interactions between parents and children, be they young or adult, and the different dimensions to the interplay between the MacBride siblings, Sophie, Tara and the unfortunate Felix. Without a doubt, the most intriguing and mesmeric character is Darcy, whose own personal experience and perceived slights by the MacBrides, is the most complex character to understand, and cleverly your sense of empathy to and disgust towards waxes and wanes as the plot develops. From Darcy’s unfortunate and frankly bizarre upbringing, Kelly consistently manipulates our feelings towards this character and their desire for revenge, whilst highlighting Darcy’s intelligence in the way that this seeking of retribution is planned and carried out. Darcy much put me in mind of one of the quintessential dark, disturbed characters of Ruth Rendell’s psychological thrillers, namely an individual utterly in the power of a controlling parent and highlighting the dangers of misguided nurture over nature.
As with ‘The Poison Tree’ that successfully made the leap from page to screen in a TV dramatisation, I think that ‘The Burning Air’ could achieve the same. Kelly carefully renders the sense of place and location throughout the book as the action circles between the town of Saxby, during the MacBride children’s formative years, and then to the rural setting of Far Barn in Devon and the sense of isolation that plays such an important role in the book as the tension and danger mount. This description of setting along with the nifty plotting and solid characterisation all added to my overall enjoyment of the book, and if you enjoy a dark, psychological tale with a clever surprise or two, this is definitely worth seeking out.