A Slow Fire Burning

A Novel

By: Paula Hawkins

Narrated by: Rosamund Pike

AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER


The scorching new thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train.

“A Slow Fire Burning twists and turns like a great thriller should, but it's also deep, intelligent and intensely human.” – Lee Child

“Only a clairvoyant could anticipate the book’s ending” – New York Times

With the same propulsion that captivated millions of readers worldwide in The Girl on the Train and Into the Water, Paula Hawkins unfurls a gripping, twisting story of deceit, murder, and revenge.

When a young man is found gruesomely murdered in a London houseboat, it triggers questions about three women who knew him. Laura is the troubled one-night-stand last seen in the victim’s home. Carla is his grief-stricken aunt, already mourning the recent death of yet another family member. And Miriam is the nosy neighbor clearly keeping secrets from the police. Three women with separate connections to the victim. Three women who are – for different reasons – simmering with resentment. Who are, whether they know it or not, burning to right the wrongs done to them. When it comes to revenge, even good people might be capable of terrible deeds. How far might any one of them go to find peace? How long can secrets smolder before they explode into flame?

Look what you started.

Fantastic Read!

I’ve never read anything by this author, only downloaded it on a whim after seeing an interview on GMA. It absolutely did not disappoint! Great story, well written mystery. This narration is hands down the best I’ve heard on Audible thus far. Many characters and view points and the performance is impeccable. Definitely worth the credit.

So Dark, Not her best but still worth a read

This book is exceptionally dark. And I mean DARK. When you have this many moving parts you must have at least ONE very well developed character so that the reader actually feels invested in the outcome.
That was the beauty of The Girl On The Train and Into The Water (which was also quite dark but it was sensibly dark, considering the material. Those characters were so well developed and you are transported to another time and place.
In this tale, we never get a strong sense of place, it is so lacking in this sense. There is almost no descriptive language with the exception of the very violent and disturbing scenes.
I love horror, I love to be scared, but this book has an undercurrent that is so dark, the characters are sad, twisted, damaged,broken, and there seems to be not a shred of light to be found.
I loved listening to Rosamund Pike but this book let me down.
It was still readable, I mean, I did finish it.
But I agree with the other review that this book felt lazy. Mildly entertaining but lazy.
Worth a listen but I hope we get something much, much better in the next pass.
This one let me down a little.

Rosamund Pike takes this slow burner a notch higher

🌟 🌟 BOOK REVIEW 🌟 🌟 💫

Paula Hawkins is back! I loved her first “The Girl on the Train” and felt a bit let down by her second “Into the Water”. The 3rd one makes up for everything.

The story goes back and forth between past and present and unravels incidents leading to the death of Daniel Sutherland, through the eyes of 5 damaged individuals- Laura, Mariam, Carla, Irene and Theo. Laura, a survivor of a hit and run trauma dealing with a disinhibition condition, Carla and Theo, aunt and uncle to Daniel, separated and still recovering from the untimely death of their young kid, Irene- next door neighbour to Daniel’s mother, Angela and a homage to Agatha Christie’s Marple and the prime witness, Mariam- a thread connecting all the characters and a serial killer attack survivor.

The non linear narrative and the story within a story(told from two point of views) is pretty interesting but can get confusing as well. The author has multiple aces up her sleeve, and the way she unravels the plot, the reason, and the killer are engaging and justified. The character development is the highlight in this book, with each character having motives and means to kill and holding the suspense until the final few chapters- Carla and Laura stand out.

The only negatives- the non-linear narrative with a story within a story angle might be a bit confusing, and not giving closure to the characters apart from Irene, Carla and Laura, felt like a bit of a letdown. Oh, before I end, go for the audible version and witness the magic created by Rosamund Pike. Absolutely loved what she did with the characters. Overall a strong comeback- 4.5 ✨

Great story and storytelling!

I loved this story, and how it tells us how profound grief and the choices we make can affect our lives. Great Thriller as well! Rosamund Pike is a terrific performer, I couldn't wait to listen to this each day!

A Real Stemwinder

Great story! Lots of unexpected plot twists and chilling events. Gruesome, sad, and very British. The narration was superb. Highly recommend this novel!!