If you are a fan of horror books, this book is for you. I am not a fan of horror but I understand why everyone loves C.J. Tudor's books.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and the publisher in return of an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity.

Jack, along with her teenage daughter Flo, are relocated to a chapel out in the countryside. You can’t help but be creeped out when the storyline involves religion (Jack is a vicar), exorcism kits, twig dolls, and visions of burning girls. I do most of my reading at night and with this book, I turned on ALL the lights! Lol And that ending! Arrr, why didn’t I see it?! It’s so obvious in retrospect but isn’t that always the case?! CJ Tudor is always on my must-read list!

Title: The Burning Girls

Author: CJ Tudor

Genre: mystery/thriller/horror

Thank you Netgalley for this book!

Holy smokes! (pun intended) What a crazy, great book. Let me make it clear that before I even finished this one, I requested The Chalk Man from my library. I was just so impressed with this book and its multiple plots that wove together so well. The book has so many layers of mystery all were so well-written and cohesive. I’m so glad I got to read this one. Oh, and Tudor makes a reference to my favorite band, The Killers, so I immediately tweeted my thanks to her, and she replied. So cool! Hi again, if you are reading this, Ms. Tudor! =)

From Goodreads: Welcome to Chapel Croft. Five hundred years ago, eight protestant martyrs were burned at the stake here. Thirty years ago, two teenage girls disappeared without a trace. And two months ago, the vicar of the local parish killed himself.

Reverend Jack Brooks, a single parent with a fourteen-year-old daughter and a heavy conscience, arrives in the village hoping to make a fresh start and find some peace. Instead, Jack finds a town mired in secrecy and a strange welcome package: an old exorcism kit and a note quoting scripture. “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.”

The more Jack and daughter Flo get acquainted with the town and its strange denizens, the deeper they are drawn into their rifts, mysteries, and suspicions. And when Flo is troubled by strange sightings in the old chapel, it becomes apparent that there are ghosts here that refuse to be laid to rest.

But uncovering the truth can be deadly in a village where everyone has something to protect, everyone has links with the village’s bloody past, and no one trusts an outsider.

What I loved most about this book was that the story is really about the vicar’s past, the town’s past, and the town’s present, all at the same time. You learn more about Jack and why she left her previous post. You learn more about the martyrs from centuries ago and the girls who disappeared decades ago. And you learn about the townspeople and just what they have to hide. What I found interesting was that the story is told in first person from Jack’s perspective, but some chapters are told third person about Flo. I can’t say I’ve read a book that switches between first and third narrator like that. It didn’t confuse me at all, and I really appreciated the uniqueness of that. This book was great, plain and simple. I can’t wait to dive into The Chalk Man soon!

A twisting thriller that will give you the chills and having you thinking about it for days!
Read it!


My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor features single parent vicar Jack and a recent move with her daughter to a small town with lots of mystery surrounding it. This story is the best kind of ghost story that has you riveted to the pages to see what is going to happen next. So much intrigue! Read and enjoy!

I found out about THE BURNING GIRLS by CJ Tudor first while searching at @netGalley for a new books and specifically new thriller book releases and I came across TBG.
I have read a few of CJ’s Books but, Idon't know if they're a male or female so I'll just use CJ Tudor as the pronoun now. So that's where I first came across it.
I I wanted to see if CJ Tudor could make it more interesting for me than some of their previous works and I felt it was not.

this book is roughly about a vicar moving into a small town with secrets and as it's unfolding you're finding more and more information about the things going on in the town. there was a certain dynamic pair I don't know what the right word is but certain dynamic that CJ tutor always does like the sticks or leaving notes, little things that are plot devices and I don't think I like that very much.I think if you use it once or twice it's effective but I don't know if it's as effective for the long-time reader on their fourth and fifth book of your. You don't want your catalog of art to be one trope it theme. At least that's not enjoyable to me as a reader. If you're on the fourth book and you're still using things like that, think about how we can move beyond that and explore other routes, other tropes and other things going
I really think that CJ Tudor has some great great, great ideas and concepts. I really thought this one was going to be a great one for me due to what I thought were going to be some of the tropes I like: explorations on religion and being a thriller with horror elements
I think I felt that the focus was oddly a romantic focus on the vicar and his wife and their dynamics It also explores the dynamics between the vicar and the town. But I think the fact that the focus was on the wife of the vicar and the vicar was a little no no for me as a reader seeking a thriller.

I don't think that should've been the focus of the book
I'd like to add that I think a lot of people will like this book and are already liking this book because it may be their first introduction to CJ Tudor or maybe they just haven't read as many books by them to see the same repeated pattern.
I do recommend this to readers that have never read CJ Tudor before.
If you read this and you liked it, I recommend the book:
THE LOST VILLAGE by Camilla Sten
Also, if you want to see something similar to this one you can go back and CJ Tudors #backlist and read THE CHALK MAN, which was also something about small-town secrets little horror elements, thriller elements maybe even supernatural elements but also I believe something about religion in that book as well.
this is the third book that I finished by CJ and I've given them all three stars. I have not read THE HIDING PLACE and I don't know what it's about, haven't even read the synopsis and I probably will NOT.
My guess is it includes the same 4 elements:
Mysterious items are used as plot device.
Is it human, supernatural, horrific, or?
Small town
Secrets unfolding layer by layer, chapter by chapter.
3️⃣ Stars

After a scandal rocks Reverend Jack Brooks’ urban church, the vicar, with fourteen-year-old-daughter, Flo, is sent to the quiet village of Chapel Croft. The rural locale, however, has an incendiary history. Not only were Protestant martyrs betrayed and burned five hundred years ago, more recently, thirty years ago, two teen girls disappeared and were never located. Jack is shocked to learn that the vicarship opened up when the previous Reverend hung himself in the chapel just weeks ago.

Awaiting Jack is an ominous welcome gift—an exorcism kit complete with knives and a cryptic Bible verse. Suspects abound: Aaron, the church’s warden, with old-fashioned views and a talent for appearing unnoticed; Simon Harper, the bombastic head of the most prominent and wealthy family in the area; and Reverend Rushton and his wife, Clara, who are invested in maintaining the status quo.

When Flo begins seeing ghosts of the burning girls, the youngest martyrs, both Brooks are alarmed but Jack copes by investigating the mysterious events of the town while Flo turns to outsider Lucas Wrigley for comfort. As much as the people in Chapel Croft want the past to remain buried, the fates of the characters converge to illuminate the terrifying truth.

I loved 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴, and it’s become my favorite CJ Tudor novel. Seeing Jack develop over the course of the novel was fascinating, and Flo was scrapy, intelligent, and independent. While a few of my predictions were correct, I had no idea where the book as a whole was going, and I was in turn terrified, surprised, and delighted.

Thriller lovers will not want to miss this book

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor is one hell of a twisty roller coaster ride. I’ve come to love C.J. Tudor’s writing style. She has such a way with words that will pull at your heart strings and scare the shit out of you at the same time. The Burning Girls was one of my most anticipated books of the year and boy it didn’t disappoint.

The first thing that I enjoyed was the pacing of this book. A slow burn with the perfect amount of crazy stuff thrown in. By the end I had no idea who the killer was. The way these characters lives intertwined was amazing. I love a thriller/horror that can keep me on my toes the entire time. I am a huge C.J. Tudor fan after reading this book.

The only thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was the ending because I still feel like we don’t get closer on two of the characters dynamics in the novel. I want to know more about the back story between the two.

Overall I loved this novel! Perfect mix of action and slow burn. I would highly recommend that you check out The Burning Girls. Who doesn’t love a good creepy story about burning girls.
5/5 Stars

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of The Burning Girls in exchange for my honest review.

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was pretending he didn't exist."

Reverend Jack Brooks, single mum to 15-year-old Flo, is asked to serve as an interim vicar in Chapel Croft after an event at her Nottingham church leaves her reputation in doubt. Jack (really?? why??) and Flo arrive in the small village and move into the worn cottage next to the old church. The church has a history of being the site where 5 Protestant martyrs were burned during Queen Mary's purge in 1538. Two of those victims were young girls. Known as the Sussex Martyrs, the town is proud of this heritage and host a ceremony every year to commemorate the "Burning Girls" as twig dolls are tossed into a fire. As creepy as that is, there is also another strange story because 2 teenage girls disappeared over 30 years ago and were never heard from again. In addition, Jack's appointment to this post is the result of the previous vicar committing suicide in the church. So, Jack and Flo have a very awkward introduction to the village but they start meeting the townspeople and begin to settle in. Almost immediately weird things start happening and the secrets and lies are eventually revealed. NO SPOILERS.

I read this in a couple of hours today and I thought, from reading other reviews, that I would like it much more than I did. I had a very hard time relating to any of the characters and the whole plot eventually seemed a bit over the top. I kept waiting for tension and suspense, a gothic menace, some sort of supernatural event, an exorcism -- something to take this to the next level. But, I was disappointed and the themes I was expecting didn't play out. I've read a couple of other titles by this author and I usually like her writing style, so I will give another chance to a future book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for this e-book ARC to read and review.

I absolutely love C.J. Tudor’s books! She never disappoints because her writing is brilliant. The Burning Girls is a creepy page-turner that you will not want to put down. It’s full of suspense, twists and turns, and surprises, especially the ending. I can’t wait to read Tudor’s next book. Bring it on, C.J. Thank you to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you're not reading C.J. Tudor, GET ON IT. Her writing is succinct, brilliant, creepy, and always right on point. This is her fourth novel and mystery and I have loved each one even more than the last one.



We start out in a small, remote town, where a new parish reverent has come to replace the last one. And if you think the last one died, you're right. If you think the last one died under mysterious circumstances, you're even more right. Lots of townsfolk want the new reverent gone. They give her crap. They are either creepy or rude, or both. Oh, and let's throw in some dead girls, and you have a whole lotta mystery going on. Typical Tudor, but oh so good!



I've read her books multiple times and this was the second one that I was lucky enough to get from NetGalley. #blessed. I hope I keep getting them, and I hope Tudor keeps writing them.



5/5 Stars

I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this one. I wanted to like it but it was fairly predictable and I wasn't crazy about the characters.

I typically love C.J. Tudor's books, but this wasn't one of my favorites. I think maybe the religious aspect bothered me. I also found the coincidence we learn at the end to be very farfetched.

Actually, I'm not sure I liked any of the characters in this book at all, with the exception of Jack's daughter. It just didn't have the charm of the author's other books.

C.J. Tudor has been on my radar over the past couple years. I have always meant to read The Chalk Man or The Hiding Place, but just never got around to it. I honestly chose this one simply because I felt like it was time I read something by her. I'm happy to say I have now become a fan! This book contained everything I like in a creepy ghost story! For years I avoided Stephen King because I didn't think I'd like the horror elements in his work, but it only took one time for me to realize there is something intriguing about it. C. J. Tudor gave me that same feeling in The Burning Girls. It is a present day story of a vicar who moves to a small English country town with her 14 year old daughter to replace a priest who committed suicide. From the day they arrive, strange happenings begin and the townspeople aren't as welcoming as expected. Tudor combines the history of the town's past with more recent events to create a truly terrifying atmosphere in which to place her story. My favorite thing about this book was the overall unsettling feeling I experienced throughout the story. Quite like Stephen King's horror titles, The Burning Girls is a well-written, well-plotted out suspenseful story that scared the hell out of me. Through multiple points of view, we are given clues as to why the suicide might be a part of something more sinister. The tension builds dramatically and the surprises come one after another until you realize nothing is as it seems! If you enjoy a dark, twisted psychological thriller/horror, you should check this out. Be warned, this gets pretty graphic.

The Burning Girls
4.5 stars

Okay it’s been a few days since I finished this amazing book and I still don’t have the words to do it justice. It was so amazing. I never could have guessed any of it! That ending... just wow. Just do yourself a favor and read this amazing thriller. I’m going to read more by this author for sure!

This was my first CJ Tudor book, but I can guarantee it won't be my last. With The Burning Girls, she has become one of my new favorite authors. I am looking forward to catching up on what I've missed! The Burning Girls had everything I love in a book. A nicely-paced, well-written, supernaturally-tinged thriller with great characters, realistic dialogue, and twists you won't see coming - I thought I had this one figured out a few times, and I was wrong every time. I literally couldn't put it down.

I am grateful to Random House-Ballantine Books for providing me with a copy of The Burning Girls in return for my honest opinions.

Another book in the books! The Burning Girls is a story about a the buried (and burned) history of a small town church and it’s new vicar and her daughter.
……..
Things I liked:
(1) It’s twisty and turny, and all together burny tehehe
(2) It’s creepy as all get out, ghosts are present in the book so beware!
(3) I really like the vicar and her daughter and the two coinciding wants and needs of coming of age versus established but still growing adulthood as the story progresses
(4) The jumping between past and present is pretty good, it’s easy to follow and really adds depth to the book
………
Things I could do without: nada, I would recommend this to just about anyone. This was easily one of my favs so far this year. I might have to go back and read some of Tudor’s backlist now. Have you read it? What did you think?

“The Burning Girls” really picked up towards the end. I thought it was a bit of a chore to get through the first half as I had a hard time really getting into it. It was a pretty dark mystery with multiple dead bodies and some sinister religious back story. Solid book , but I didn’t love it, so 3 stars ⭐️.

The Burning Girls is C.J. Tudor's newest release, following Reverend Jack Brooks as she goes to a new parish in a small English town called Chapel Croft. She and her daughter are escaping what happened in their old parish, and taking over after the suicide of the last Reverend. However, strange things have happened in this village: from the 1500 death of the Sussex martyrs called The Burning Girls, to the mysterious disappearance years ago of two local girls Merry and Joy, to much more recent gruesome mysteries.

I could NOT put this book down. I stayed up way too late to read this book and felt like a kid again, even though I knew I shouldn't have. And then I was on a book high! The twists and turns in this book were incredible, but not unbelievable, which is exactly what I look for in mystery/thrillers. I seriously can't recommend this book enough, and I think it may be a serious contender for my favorite book of 2021. This book has cemented C.J. Tudor as an auto-buy author for me. If you're looking to get into her work, or mystery/thrillers as a whole, highly recommend this book!

Reverend Jack Brooks and daughter Flo have just moved to the village.of Chapel Croft taking the spot of the previous reverend who died suddenly. Chapel Croft is an isolated small community surrounded by big history. Five hundred years ago It was the site of three martyrs burned at the stake as witches plus thirty years ago two teenage girls vanished without a trace and then two weeks ago the beloved reverend suddenly died under mysterious circumstances. Flo is a good girl but very unhappy about moving to such a desolate place and leaving all her friends behind so she is at ripe age to finding trouble without even looking for it. Almost immediately strange events begin to occur and Jack knows that many of the community are holding onto secrets surrounding some church members and the former reverend and other members of the community that Jack feels may be relevant to the unusual happenings and the feelings of being watched and followed. Jack too has secrets that she doesn't want to surface yet she feels she must discover what lies behind the prevailing dark feelings of gloom and danger before her own past catches up to her because Flo and her own lives are in danger if they have been followed to the mysterious Castle Croft.

What a fantastic book with incredible storytelling! A fast paced and entertaining story that keeps the tension and suspense building throughout the story until it reaches an unforseen climax. C.J. Tudor has a flair for writing creative and imaginative stories that contain a fresh and unique flavor to mystery/suspense with a touch of horror to her books. I truly enjoyed Ms. Tudor's book "The Other People" which I would also recommend to other readers. If you are looking for something different but cringe worthy don't miss out on this story of "The Burning Girls".

I want to thank "Random Publishing House/ Ballantine Books" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this terrific book and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I highly recommend this very unique and fast-paced story to any dark mystery and suspense reader and I have given a rating of 4 1/2 Sizzling 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠 Stars!!