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A review by realityczar
Bonfire by Krysten Ritter
3.0
Bonfire suffered a little from holes in its plot and a little from deploying two-dimensional, stereotypical characters. The protagonist gives us no reason to believe she is a lawyer other than her repeatedly describing herself that way, and while IANAL, the passing references to legal matter both civil and criminal were not passing enough to obscure their unlikelihood. Perhaps worst of all, the denouement feels a little bit undeserved, in the end.
That said, I really liked this book. Other than her profession, Abby Williams is sharply, convincingly, and strongly rendered as a woman returning to the gravity well of her hometown. Her father, her childhood, and the reality of small-town life are portrayed unflinchingly, good and bad, and rural Indiana in high summer comes alive as a character.
A little more effort at plotting, a little more legal research, and this book would have been a top-notch thriller. I’d read another book from Ritter if she writes one.
That said, I really liked this book. Other than her profession, Abby Williams is sharply, convincingly, and strongly rendered as a woman returning to the gravity well of her hometown. Her father, her childhood, and the reality of small-town life are portrayed unflinchingly, good and bad, and rural Indiana in high summer comes alive as a character.
A little more effort at plotting, a little more legal research, and this book would have been a top-notch thriller. I’d read another book from Ritter if she writes one.