A review by tessa_talks_books
Radiant Heat by Sarah-Jane Collins

4.0

 

One-word review: Atmospheric

Emojis: 🔥🧑‍🚒🤫

Rating: 4 🌟s

My review:

Radiant Heat by Sarah-Jane Collins began with a raging wildfire in the Victoria area of Australia. Allison survives the fire but finds a young woman who isn't so lucky in a car parked in her driveway. The fire creates a claustrophobic atmosphere throughout the story, setting the perfect stage for the mystery.  

As with most atmospheric tales, the pacing is relatively slow, and there is a back-and-forth in the timeline as Allison remembers relevant things from her past that might lead to the solving of the mystery of why the woman, who looks eerily similar to her, was in her driveway, to begin with. Full disclosure:  I struggle with atmospheric thrillers. I love and appreciate the use of atmosphere in telling the tale. Still, my personality's go-go-ness balks at slowing down with the story.

However, I loved the setting. I rarely get to read books set in Australia and written by an Australian writer. It's always something special to me when a book comes along like this one. I also enjoyed the suspense, which kept me guessing what was happening, if the main character was in danger, and by whom. The suspense kept me engaged when the pace threatened to waylay me. Radiant Heat is a wonderful thriller for people who enjoy an atmospheric tale.