A Slow Fire Burning
The addictive new Sunday Times No.1 bestseller from the author of The Girl on the Train
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3.7 • 132 Ratings
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
The new SCORCHING bestseller from bestselling author of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN and INTO THE WATER
'Here are characters who are real and likeable, even when they are complicated and flawed. Paula Hawkins is a genius'
Lisa Jewell
IT'S THE QUIET ONES YOU HAVE TO WATCH
Three women, connected by one brutal crime.
Three women, determined to right the wrongs done to them.
Three women, with everything to hide.
When it comes to revenge, even good people are capable of terrible things.
But only one person killed Daniel Sutherland.
How long can their secrets smoulder, before they explode into flame?
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'This twisted story with its cast of damaged characters builds to a brilliant conclusion.'
Shari Lapena
'From the first sentence to the last, this explosive, startling novel grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. Fiendishly clever'
Kate Mosse
'Shocking, moving, full of heart'
Observer
'Twists and turns like a great thriller should, but it's also deep, intelligent and intensely human'
Lee Child
'Gripping and intriguing, I loved every moment'
S J Watson
'Superbly told... utterly compelling'
Daily Mail
'Paula Hawkins' best novel yet'
Harriet Tyce
***PAULA HAWKINS' ADDICTIVE NEW THRILLER, THE BLUE HOUR IS AVAILABLE NOW***
A Slow Fire Burning, Richard & Judy Book Club Pick, Summer 2022
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Put your phone in airplane mode and clear your daily calendar, because Paula Hawkins is back. Daniel Sutherland has been found dead in his houseboat on the Thames by a nosy neighbour. We learn about this troubled young man’s life from the women who were a part of it, including his bitter mother, Angela; her ostentatiously grief-stricken sister, Carla; and Laura, a damaged young woman who was the last person seen leaving the houseboat. Author Paula Hawkins leaps back and forth in time between these characters as their guilty secrets, intertwined tragedies and shocking revelations get more and more tangled and sordid. (There’s even a novel within the novel, but to say more about it would spoil the fun!) Plus, there’s a genuinely shocking, jaw-dropping conclusion. If you thought Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train was the last word in devious, deliciously complex domestic thrillers, you haven’t seen anything yet.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The stabbing murder of 23-year-old Daniel Sutherland on his houseboat in London's Regent's Canal drives this twist-laden if unremarkable page-turner from bestseller Hawkins (The Girl on the Train). Miriam Lewis, who lives in the neighboring vessel, finds the body and removes a bloody key from the scene before notifying the police. Decades earlier, Miriam survived a horrific attack, wrote an unpublished memoir about it, and shared the manuscript with Theo Myerson, who used it, without attribution, as the basis for a novel, The One Who Got Away. Theo, it turns out, is Daniel's uncle by marriage, and his toddler son died from a fall at Daniel's mother's home. Another suspect is Laura Kilbride, who slept with Daniel on the night of his death; as a child, she suffered a skull fracture that affected her ability to self-regulate and has trouble functioning as an adult. Sections from The One Who Got Away and flashbacks add to the challenge of putting the puzzle pieces together. The result is a satisfying whodunit, but its overreliance on coincidence makes it fall short of the high standard of Hawkins's previous work.
Customer Reviews
Not her best work
Loved previous books by Paula Hawkins but this one disappointed. Confusing and hard to follow without the thrill of who done it. Don’t waste your time.