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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Easy read, solid thriller. Damaged female protagonists with memory loss issues are becoming a bit rote in the world of thrillers though.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5* — Great Hook, Messy Middle
A Slow Fire Burning opens with an intriguing murder, but the plot quickly becomes tangled in too many POVs and meandering subplots. Pacing is uneven — slow at the start, aimless in the middle, then rushed at the end. Some character motivations feel forced, and a few resolutions are too neat. Hawkins’ atmospheric writing and flawed characters keep it engaging, but the story loses focus along the way.
A Slow Fire Burning opens with an intriguing murder, but the plot quickly becomes tangled in too many POVs and meandering subplots. Pacing is uneven — slow at the start, aimless in the middle, then rushed at the end. Some character motivations feel forced, and a few resolutions are too neat. Hawkins’ atmospheric writing and flawed characters keep it engaging, but the story loses focus along the way.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Incest, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Infertility, Mental illness, Rape, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt
First real dud of 2022. I really didn’t like this book. It was a real slog to read and the way the author used people’s bodies to suggest they were suspects in the murder (Laura’s physical disability, Irene’s being elderly, Miriam’s fatness were all described in ways that were intended to make the reader think they were somehow violent or worthy of suspicion) really turned me off from the story. There were too many layers of complexity that didn’t get resolved satisfactorily - I don’t like when mysteries have to use epilogues to explain red herrings - and the actual plot was predictable and sort of boring.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really like Paula Hawkins. Her books are slower paced, but, in the end, it's worth it. I loved The Girl on the Train, and this one was almost as good. It's about a murder that happens on a houseboat in England and an investigation takes place. The cast of characters lives are all intertwined. Miriam is the neighbor of Daniel, the victim. She is in everyone's business and a busybody. There's Laura, a young woman with a head injury from an accident in her childhood who's had a very troubled life. Carla and Theo Myerson whose little boy died in an accident while Carla's sister, Angela, was watching him. Then there's Irene, Laura's friend and Angela's nosy neighbor. Even though their lives are very different, they are closer than they know. It was a really good book, but I just found that it was hard to keep track of the characters at first. However, the twist ending made up for all of it. It will be worth the read.