A Slow Fire Burning Review

 

Title: A Slow Fire Burning 

Author: Paula Hawkins

Publisher: Riverhead Books / Penguin Audio

Publication Date: 31 August 2021

Source: Libro.fm

Format: Audiobooks

Pages: 306 / 9hrs 19min

Rating: 5 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

Book Review:

Pre-Reading Thoughts:

I am so excited for this book, you have no idea. I was so excited to see it part of the advanced listening copies provided by Libro.fm. I've been wanting to read a book from Paula Hawkins for so long and now I could finally do it! I am going into this one blind and with only one expectation; that it will be good. 

Thank you so much to Libro.fm and Penguin Audio for providing me with an advanced listening copy. Just a quick disclaimer for those reading this review, I have received this book for free. Please note that this does not affect my opinions in any way. All thoughts are my own. 

Writing Thoughts:

I loved the writing in this book. Listening to this book was such a breeze, there were no awkward moments, the dialogue between the characters was natural and did a fantastic job of escalating certain situations. The atmosphere created by the writing was incredible. I had literal chills trying to determine who the killer was. Hawkins is most definitely a skillful writer and her writing translates incredibly well into audiobooks. 

Plot Thoughts:

This plot was so gosh darn good. I was so invested in the actually story that I didn't have time to sit and decipher who the actual killer was. I loved the unreliable point of view that Laura gave. One of my favourite writing devices in a thriller novel is an unreliable narrator. I also really enjoyed that we got to see more than three suspect's point of views. We also got to experience the point of view of certain predominate characters in these women's lives. I loved how the story unfolded in parts and the way in which the character's backstory was revealed. 

Character Thoughts:

The characters in this book had me feelings things and it just made me love this book way more. I loved listening to Laura's perspective. I felt like her story was the strongest one out of the three. However, I absolutely loved getting to the know the women at the heart of this book. They each had a different story to tell and I loved how each story came to light. Their perspectives were rich and filled with trauma that changed the characters lives forever. 

Final Thoughts:

Overall, this is one of my favourite thrillers out there to date. The book met everyone of my expectations. Paula Hawkins has written a fantastic story that kept me on the edge of my seat. I could not stop listening to this audiobook. Not only was the narrator phenomenal, but the character's stories left me wondering what was going to happen next. I loved the way this "who done it" novel was written and I really enjoyed the unreliability of  Laura's perspective. Hands down one of the best books of the year and my only five star read for the year to date. A huge shout out to Libro.fm and Penguin Audio for providing me with this incredible read! If you would like to check out my vlog for this audiobook, you can find that here. 

Yours in Reading, 

Melleny