Thursday, February 11, 2021

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

First Line: What kind of man am I?
 
After a traumatic experience in Nottingham, Reverend Jack Brooks is transferred to the small village of Chapel Cross with her fourteen-year-old daughter, Flo. Hoping for a fresh start, Jack finds instead a village filled with conspiracies and secrets. The Harper family, in particular, is proud of having "Martyrs" as ancestors-- Protestants who were betrayed and burned at the stake in the village five hundred years ago. But wait, there's more... Thirty years ago, two teenage girls disappeared without a trace, and a few weeks prior to Jack and Flo's arrival, the vicar of the local parish hanged himself in the church. Yikes!

As Jack and Flo explore the town and get to know its citizens, the deeper they are drawn into age-old divisions and suspicions. Jack begins to feel as though she's jumped from the frying pan straight into the fire. There are ghosts in Chapel Cross that need to be laid to rest, but it's not going to be easy for Jack. Everyone has something to hide, and no one's going to trust an outsider.

~

I have to admit that it took me fully half of The Burning Girls before I stopped making comparisons to Phil Rickman's Merrily Watkins mystery series which is set in Herefordshire near the Welsh border and also features a single mother/Anglican priest and her teenage daughter. Did the similarities detract from my enjoyment of C.J. Tudor's suspenseful novel? Not one bit, although I do suggest that if you enjoy The Burning Girls, you might want to give Rickman's series a try.

I was swiftly drawn into this story because of two voices: Jack's and her daughter Flo's. It doesn't take readers long to discover that there's a lot more to Jack than meets the eye, and a good deal of the suspense of the novel hinges on just what's going on with this unconventional vicar who stands up to anyone who tries to intimidate her. The relationship between Jack and Flo is close and realistic, with just the right amount of teen angst. (In other words, you won't be in any danger of rolling your eyes and having them get stuck in the back of your head.) It's Flo's ability to roam around the village with her old camera that brings mother and daughter in touch with several of the villagers.

The setting is marvelously atmospheric, with "trees... creeping up when no one is looking." If I'd been the one to drive to Chapel Cross, I think I would've taken one look and driven right on through without stopping. Jack is made of sterner stuff, and that made for a wonderful tale.

The Burning Girls took hold of me like a creeping vine. You don't notice it's been growing until its tendrils have taken hold of your arms and legs and you can't move. I was so engrossed that I forgot all about trying to deduce the who's, the why's, and the how's. I simply let those tendrils wrap around me tighter so I could immerse myself in the atmosphere and in the story. What a fun ride-- and what a fun introduction to an author I'd never read before!
 
The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor
eISBN: 9781984825032
Ballantine Books © 2021
eBook, 352 pages

Thriller/Suspense, Standalone
Rating: A+
Source: Net Galley

10 comments:

  1. Aha! Is this the first A+ of the year? If so, it must be a very good mystery.

    I gather it's contemporary. Sounds interesting and worth checking out.

    I am reading The Distant Dead. It reminds me of some other books I've read, like coming of age stories of boys or young men. I think it's Allan Eskens and William Kent Kruger I'm thinking of. But it's good.

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    1. It is the first on my Best Reads of 2021 list, and I really enjoyed it. The Distant Dead was one of my Best Reads last year.

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  2. I do love the setting for this one, Cathy. And it sounds as though there's some great psychological suspense as the layers unfold, so to speak. And no eye-rolling moments? That's a real bonus. I can see why this one is already on your Best of 2021 list!

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    1. I have to admit that my tolerance for teen angst is very low.

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  3. I read The Chalk Man, which was extremely suspenseful, but boy, this one seems even more so!

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  4. I know it was on your Best Books of 2020 list. That and the review you wrote encouraged me to read it.
    I am finding it so poignant that I keep tearing up. It is very good, but many observations by characters and scenes are so emotional.

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  5. I'd love to get my hands on this one but sadly its on the wish list at Netgalley. No luck with that.

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    1. Oh, I hope there's some way you can get a copy of it, Mystica!

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