A Slow Fire Burning

By: Paula Hawkins

Narrated by: Rosamund Pike

Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The scorching Sunday Times number one best seller from the author of The Girl on the Train.

Penguin presents the audio edition of A Slow Fire Burning, read by Rosamund Pike.

What is wrong with you?

Laura has spent most of her life being judged. She's seen as hot-tempered, troubled, a loner. Some even call her dangerous. 

Miriam knows that just because Laura is witnessed leaving the scene of a horrific murder with blood on her clothes, that doesn't mean she's a killer. Bitter experience has taught her how easy it is to get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Carla is reeling from the brutal murder of her nephew. She trusts no one: good people are capable of terrible deeds. But how far will she go to find peace? 

Innocent or guilty, everyone is damaged. Some are damaged enough to kill.

Look what you started.

©2020 Paula Hawkins (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"Shocking, moving, full of heart.... Laced with humour and packed with moments of sheer horror, A Slow Fire Burning shows a writer at the height of her powers." (Observer, Thriller of the Month) 

"Superbly told, its twists and turns reveal the slow fire burning inside each which might just destroy them. Utterly compelling." (Daily Mail)  

"Fast-paced, highly charged and carried off with so much confidence that it is impossible to resist." (Sunday Times)

Quite confusing

All this going back and forth between characters, time and situations made this story quite confusing.

Excellent, another winner from Paula Hawkins

Fantastic story that develops at a slow, steady pace and keeps you hooked the whole way through.

Great Talking Book

The narration is perfect, ten out of ten. Great story line. Put this one on your wish list.

Masterfully read

What a brilliant audio book! Wow - Rosamund Pike is phenomenal - she inhabited each character and I instantly knew who was talking. I lurched between deciding which character was guilty. Riveting story, exquisitely narrated. 7-stars!

Interconnected characters you can really feel

Did not disappoint. Every character is flawed, some seem irredeemable, but all carry honest hurt and a fragility that connects us. Kept changing my mind about who I thought the culprit was and who I thought deserved to be guilty.

Good story

This was a good story but the jumping around between characters was particularly hard to keep up with, especially in an audiobook.

Couldn’t give this enough stars

Completely biased review coming up. I am already a big fan of both Paula Hawkins and Rosamund Pike. The girl on the train (the book, the movie was meh) and Into the Water were read in one day books. And I’ve watched I care a lot 4 times because Ms Pike’s performance in that particular story is simply brilliant.

Since I knew I’d be stuck at work all weekend (the joys of retail) I knew I wouldn’t get a chance to sit down and read this, so Audible to the rescue. I was not disappointed.

The story unfolds deliciously, the characters grab you and their stories are almost born fully formed. From the very beginning you think I know these people, personally or I’ve seen them in the news or something.

The performance is sublime. I always listen to things at 1.5 x speed but I had to slow this down to actual speed to fully enjoy the process. My husband always jokes that I like being read to like a child and in this particular case he is absolutely right.

What a wonderful book. Read beautifully making the dreary work day stuck behind a laptop better than bearable.

Not as gripping as hoped

A bit slow and the identity of the murderer was quite predictable, but I liked the character of Irene especially, and there were some surprisingly dark themes.

Unexpected twists and an excellent performance.

A blooming good book that gave many a reasons to keep listening. Rosamund Pike delivers an excellent performance, she makes it easy to follow the story and makes each character believable.

Laugh out moments at Laura and her ways, can't help but love her. We all need an Irene in our life!

Rosamund Pike was brilliant

I really enjoyed this audiobook, I loved Girl on the Train so was keen to explore Paula Hawkins other book. I liked the characters and how the story developed. I liked how author gave us insight into their individual backgrounds, I felt that through their collective experiences, mainly of the female characters experienced harm, loss and grief and I felt that it connected them all in a strange way. The story had various twists and I particularly felt bad for the character, Laura.

Rosamund gave an amazing performance throughout, I didn’t think she’d make a good voice actress but I was wrong. She was wonderful and authentic, which made it easy and enjoyable for me to relate to the different characters.

impressive voice performance by rosamund pike

story is ok but rosamund pike's narration is outstanding - great to see the novel fully dramatised by just one actor :)

worth waiting for

So enjoyed this thriller, superb characters. A page turner from beginning to end. Worth the wait.

Excellent story. Well performed, definitely will

Get on the best sellers list..narrator is one i will
Look out for again overall, would recommend!

What a great Narrator !

Thoroughly enjoyed this story made incredibly real by the perfect narration from Rosamund Pike . One of the best Narrators I’ve heard

Got bored halfway through

Got bored halfway through and never finished this book. It started well but 5 hours in I just gave up

Brilliant

Loved this book! would definitely recommend to anyone who loves a good thriller.
Gripping and didn't want to put it down.