Review: The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

Author: C.J. Tudor

Genre: Adult Thriller

Published by: Michael Joseph

Publication date: 21/01/21

Pages: 400

My rating:  ★★★★★

I received a free review copy from Michael Joseph in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

An unconventional vicar moves to a remote corner of the English countryside, only to discover a community haunted by death and disappearances both past and present–and intent on keeping its dark secrets–in this explosive, unsettling thriller from acclaimed author C. J. Tudor.

Welcome to Chapel Croft. Five hundred years ago, eight protestant martyrs were burned at the stake here. Thirty years ago, two teenage girls disappeared without a trace. And two months ago, the vicar of the local parish killed himself.

Reverend Jack Brooks, a single parent with a fourteen-year-old daughter and a heavy conscience, arrives in the village hoping to make a fresh start and find some peace. Instead, Jack finds a town mired in secrecy and a strange welcome package: an old exorcism kit and a note quoting scripture. “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.”

The more Jack and daughter Flo get acquainted with the town and its strange denizens, the deeper they are drawn into their rifts, mysteries, and suspicions. And when Flo is troubled by strange sightings in the old chapel, it becomes apparent that there are ghosts here that refuse to be laid to rest.

But uncovering the truth can be deadly in a village where everyone has something to protect, everyone has links with the village’s bloody past, and no one trusts an outsider.

Trigger Warnings:

• Child abuse
• Suicide
• Murder

Hello, welcome to today’s messy ‘I loved this book so much’ review! Where do I start? The Burning Girls is phenomenal, I don’t remember the last time I devoured a book with such enthusiasm, or one I re-read just weeks later! I feel like it deserves to have all the stars thrown at it, five just isn’t enough. This is the first book by C.J.Tudor I’ve read and it definitely won’t be the last. I’m already hunting down my copy of The Chalk Man and I’ll definitely be getting my hands on the others asap!

The story is told from the perspectives of Reverend Jack Brooks, Chapel Croft’s new vicar and daughter, Flo, hoping for a fresh start. Instead they find themselves drawn into both the town and it’s inhabitants secrets, secrets they will do anything to keep hidden. I don’t want to go into too much detail as so don’t want to spoil it for anyone, it’s so good though! I tore through it, eager to find out what was hovering on the next page.

The Burning Girls is by far my favourite thriller I’ve ever read, the way the author incorporated elements of the supernatural into a story that is primarily a thriller was brilliantly executed. I could not get enough of it. It’s even more unsettling and leaves you questioning just how reliable the characters are, are they seeing ghosts, aren’t they? So many questions, so many secrets just waiting to be revealed, and I was far from disappointed! I can confidently say this will be in my top ten reads at the end of the year.

The Burning Girls is a must read. It’s gripping, tense and completely unputdownable from start to finish!

Buy from: Waterstones Hive