The Burning Girls by CJ Tudor is a horror/thriller novel set in the Sussex village of Chapel Cross. The village is welcoming a new vicar after the untimely death of their previous pastor. Vicar Jacqueline Brooks is temporarily assigned to Chapel Croft and arrives in town with her teen daughter Flo in tow, finding the chapel to be small and plain and the cottage to be uninviting and worn down. But the thing that Jack notices right away is that Capel Croft has quite a sinister feel. We find out that the town and the church have quite the history - five hundred years ago eight villagers were burned at the stake during the purge of the Protestants by Queen Mary. The town commemorates this event every year by burning twig dolls on the anniversary. Townsfolk believe that the ghosts of the burned protestants roam and if you see them, something bad is going to happen. Creepy, right? Well we also find out that the town has recently suffered another unfortunate event - Thirty years ago, two teen girls vanished without a trace. While some think that the girls ran away, many believe something more sinister was at play.

Well, not too long after Jack and Flo arrive, things get creepy - they get a present from the former pastor which is an exorcism kit and ghosts begin to appear to both Jack and Flo. And on top of all of this, an ex-con murderer is released from prison and starts to hunt down Jack, leaving trouble following him across England.

When I say this book is creepy - it truly is. But despite the foreboding feeling in the book, I kind of really enjoyed both Jack and Flo's characters. I thought they were pretty great. They were brave (if not a little stupid) in the face of scary and dangerous situations.

I think that CJ Tudor is a great storyteller - and while this might have crossed from thriller to horror, it was suspenseful and I raced to finish it.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The Burning Girls is the first book I've read by C.J. Tudor, but I'm definitely interested in checking out more. Overall, I had a lot of fun with this eerie, gothic thriller and was able to binge it in a couple of sittings. I loved the rotating POVs and timelines and how the creepy atmosphere added to the overall mystery. I did get confused during the last 10% or so of the book with some of the reveals but still liked it in the end!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor.

The way the author talked about the “history” of the setting is what got me wanting to read it. However, it lacked of being like a horror story. It was mostly a crime book in my opinion. It felt kinda forced to have some paranormal elements because it didn’t really make sense to what what was happening in the plot. It was a crime book.

I’m usually not a big horror/thriller fan, I usually go for the basic murder mysteries if anything. But C.J. Tudor somehow convinced me to keep picking them up. There were some breaks in reading necessary to quiet my imagination…. But this is horror done right! Never saw the twist either, great book.

This book is creepy and weird and has plenty of stuff happens. I didn’t like how predictable the characters were; if you paid attention you could probably figure it out somewhat. I loved the setting and that the vicar was a woman. In my mind she is Emma Thompson so I really really loved her character.

A new vicar is in town, along with her daughter, Flo. As soon as they arrive, the vicar learns about the Sussex Martyrs, who died in the 1500's and the tradition of the Burning Girls. Soon after, weird things begin to happen in the village as things have been covered up. There are bodies buried in the church and they might not be as old as the town thinks. This is a book that could go several different ways, which kept me guessing. Enjoyed the ending and the suspense.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

unfortunately this book wasn’t for me and I found myself being taken out of it by some of the characters. the mystery was what kept me wanting to push through, but ultimately it was not enough.

What an absolutely insane and intense novel. I loved it so much because it kept me on my toes and wide awake, long into the night. I love books that have a history that you discover as you read and while this one was disturbing, it didn’t take away from the excitement. Overall, I was a big fan of this.

Gripping book about Reverend Jack Brooks who is transferred to a small village after things went wrong at Jack's previous parish. A small village where they burnt protestant martyrs by the village church 500 years ago. The village steeped in traditions, still burns small stick dolls to commemorate two burning girls. Jack and her daughter have trouble getting settled in this village that is still haunted by the disappearance of two teenage girls thirty years ago. A page turner which borders on horror but also has many laugh-out-loud moments. Very enjoyable read!

I am so intrigued by local lore and villages with dark pasts so THE BURNING GIRLS by C.J. Tudor was right up my alley! This one was spine tingling, it had me reading with all the lights on and jumping at little sounds.

Where do I start? I originally read C.J. Tudor's Chalk Man several years ago, and am catching up on some of my backlog from when life got upended. This book... is an incredible thriller. It has a little bit of everything, horror, thriller, supernatural. Creepy and gory with excellent storytelling, I guarantee you'll be riveted and reading the pages faster than you can turn them.

Probably a perfect read for this time of year (spooky season), I loved the female protagonists in this book. I felt they were well fleshed out, and that added to the novel as I was completely invested in their outcome. The background of the village and the horrible history lent to the overall eerie atmosphere of the novel. Everyone has secrets, and while some of the clues were pretty obvious, the novel's continual drive and pace kept you engaged and absorbed. This is not an easy read, there is a lot of darkness, both in the history of the village and the current day experiences of bullying and the eventual horror aspects of the novel. I do highly recommend this novel if horror, supernatural, and thrillers are your thing.

Please be advised I received an Advanced Readers Copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Reverend Jack is forced into a new start when a tragedy occurs at her church. Moving with her teenage daughter Flo to a small village, they learn the local story of The Burning Girls, martyrs who were burned to death and who appear when there is trouble coming. They also learn of two girls who went missing from the village in more modern times, and the former reverend who killed himself. As trouble does in fact descend upon them, Jack and Flo must solve the village mysteries to protect themselves.

This was a book full of twists I did not see coming, which I absolutely loved. I don’t think I called a single part of the book, which is always exciting. The characters were really complex, as were their views on things like religion, honor, and morality. I would recommend this book.

I couldn’t get into this one. I wanted to love it, as I’m a Tudor fan, but I did end up DNFing it. I am sure others loved it more than me!

All the books by the author have been engaging and riveting thrillers. And this one is no exception thankfully. I cannot recommend this novel, and really this author, enough. It's a fantastic book that any reader, but especially those who enjoy mystery and thrills, will enjoy. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

"Do you believe in evil? Can someone be born bad? Nature versus nurture. And if so, can they change? Or is the best they can ever hope for to deny their nature, hide the darkness inside, try and fit in, act just like anyone else?"

Welcome to the village of Keepers Croft, a town with blood on its hands. 500 Years ago, they burned protestant martyrs at the stake, 42 years ago, two young women disappeared without any trace, and only 2 months ago, the local Vicar took his own life.

Alex brooks, a single mother and Vicar, arrives in the village looking for peace and a new start at life. What she discovers, though, is a Suicide note and an old exorcism kit. The village is hiding something sinister, and it's up to Alex to figure out what.

C.J. Tudor is a phenomenal author, and "The Burning Girls" deliver those spine chilling and thrilling twists we have come to love and expect. Part horror and part suspense thriller, "The burning girls" will hypnotize and horrify you from the first page to last.

As always, thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review

I don't read many thrillers anymore, but this caught my attention instantly. It's a blend of modern thriller and old-school horror, and I couldn't figure out where the story was going next.

There was a lot about this book that made me want to request it and read it. I did not get to it as early as I had hoped and ended up reading it with one of my reading groups here on GoodReads. It was popular but there were a lot of mixed reviews. I happen to be in the unpopular opinion group and I wish it were not so.

I did like the main character and her daughter. Interesting plot but I was annoyed by too many things that would be classified as a spoiler so I will leave that out. Great discussion for this read. I am glad I participated. So many people on my GR's friends list liked this. It was just not for me.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital copy to read for review.

The Burning Girls is a book full of surprises. You know, when your reading material of choice consists mainly of thrillers, murder mysteries and speculative horror fiction, there isn’t a whole lot that can surprise you. You yawn your way through most of the mediocre and lazily plotted “twisty” thrillers, because by chapter 3 your overstimulated brain has the murderer pinned down and the mystery solved. It’s truly a dull life sometimes.. *shakes head sadly*.
That’s not the case here, though, no sir and no ma’am. C.J. Tudor knows how to write a suspense-drenched page-turner with a gorgeously creepy atmosphere, toe-curling setting and a cast of fully fleshed out, complex characters.

The tiny rural village of Chapel Croft is a phenomenal setting to begin with. The small, creepy American Gothic-style chapel and the history of Sussex Martyrs (Queen Mary’s purge of protestants) - that alone was enough to make this story extremely compelling. Then we have the two young girls who were betrayed and burned at the stake, and - more recently - two girls who went missing and were never found. Add to that a female vicar, Jack, with a dark past of her own and a skeleton-filled closet, and you have the perfect recipe for an unputdownable thriller.

This book is captivating, gripping, thrilling, unsettling and often times funny (Jack’s dark sense of humour really made this story for me). The characters are damaged, the tension is palpable, the final twists are shocking and really, completely unexpected.

I freaking loved it. I’ll be reading more from C.J for sure.

This book was chilling and thrilling and I LOVED it! The twists were fantastic and I want to read more from this author!