This book was bone chilling and creepy. I had weird dreams while reading this book and couldn't stop thinking about it! I never guessed any of the big twists and I was trying to guess the whole time. I liked the main characters and getting to know them. this was dark and suspenseful and I think fans of The Chalkman will also enjoy this one

Sad to say this just wasn’t for me. I think a lot of people will love the spooky creepiness of this book but I found it slow. I need scary books to really hook me instantly and this didn’t do that.

What a great thriller! I love CJ Tudor and this one didn't disappoint. I enjoyed the religious aspects of this one. I could really picture the small town and the church. And the twists at the end were great. Another 5 star for me!

My first book by CJ Tudor! And it was quite an experience. A very scary one.

Picture a small village, with the typical chapel where everyone goes on Sundays.

Now imagine this village has a weird past. Girls that were burned as martyrs hundreds of years ago. And then more girls that went missing a few decades ago. And then the Revered who tried to investigate their disappearance hanged himself in the chapel.

The new Reverend, Jack Brooks, just arrived in the small village with her fifteen-year-old daughter to take the place of the last Reverend. And can you imagine what he left for her? A box with an exorcism kit. Weird, right?

Her daughter Flo is a quiet teenager who loves photography. She goes exploring in the small cemetery by the chapel and when she’s about to take a picture, she sees the ghost of a girl, with no arms and heads, and her body in flames.

Doesn’t get creepier than that, right?

Oh, just wait and see…

This book was VERY scary. The mystery was great, I could not wait for the plot to be revealed. And the end, oh wow!! I did not see it coming!

It was like watching a scary movie on a rainy Sunday night. Great!

I was going to give it a higher rating, but I feel like some things were left unexplained.

4.2 stars

Wow!!! The Burning Girls by C. J. Tudor is a stunning thriller of a ride. There is horror and evil and this book pulls you right in. I loved all parts of it and highly recommend.

Another Stunning book from CJ Tudor. This one os about a village full of dark secrets and haunted by ghosts of a past best left forgotten. The Burning Girls is an amalgamation of thriller and the supernatural, which is exactly how I like my reads. It was deliciously dark and I could not stop turning the pages to get to the end.

Wow, this novel is destined to be a movie! A Vicar and her daughter have moved to a remote church in rural UK. The church has a history. The previous Vicar has committed suicide and there are secrets galore that need to be uncovered. This is a fast pace book that needs to be read in the daylight. It is a true thriller that when it gets moving it is full speed ahead. All of C J Tudor's characters are well developed and complicated. It's not a book you can set aside and still be able to follow all that is happening. I have read all of Tudor's books and this is my favorite. She always manages a twist that you don't see coming. Thanks to #netgalley @netgalley and #ballantinebooks for the copy to read for an honest review. and @cjtudor for writing this one. I'll be looking for more to come

THE BURNING GIRLS was, apt to its title, a slow burn, but the best possible kind: gripping and smoldering at all of the points when it is important for a novel to ignite.

this author!!! The stories are incredible and this was a great one had me scared at times and I loved it. Well written and enjoyable read.

After being assigned to a new church in a small town, Vicar Jack Brooks and her 15-year-old daughter, Flo, move into the small village in the countryside. The two aren’t quite welcomed to the small town, and the Chapel isn’t in the greatest shape. This story is full of ghost sightings, missing girls, and the suspicious suicide of the previous vicar.

I loved the creepy vibes I got while reading this story. The story is told from both Jack and Flo’s perspectives with alternating chapters. There are some other flashback chapters that interrupted the flow of the main story, but I appreciated the sense of mystery and spookiness they added. I feel like Flo didn’t act like a 15-year-old girl and that she should’ve been a little older. Jack was a great character. I was expecting a short of stuffiness that often comes with people of the Church, but found her perspective and personality refreshing. I loved the mother daughter bond between Jack and Flo throughout the story. I read this book in one sitting because I needed to know what was happening in this town. I was genuinely surprised by the twist and highly recommend this story if you love spooky thrillers!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are honest and my own.

Wow, Quite the wild ride this one was! Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a DRC in exchange for a review!

Between some of the subject matter and the flow of the book, this one is 2.5-3 stars for me.
In The Burning Girls, we follow the story alternating between three characters' perspectives, along with some flashbacks to the past. We follow Jack, Flo, and the 3rd more unknown character through this story, as Jack and Flo acclimate to their new town. We get snippets of Jack's past, which start to make her more mysterious and questionable, as she starts to ask questions and slowly uncover some events from the town's past.
I found it difficult to focus on the story of this one until about 70 - 75% through the story. It really felt like nothing was happening. Jack and Flo would uncover or notice something interesting and then the story would switch to a different event or perspective and then not pick up in the same place. Instead of making that more intriguing and engaging, it was just written frustratingly. However, that being said, it did pick up near the end, had several plot twists - some expected while others were definitely a shock - and it did conclude satisfyingly.
Things I enjoyed about this book were that it was well written, engaging after a time, constantly had me asking questions and trying to piece things together, and had a shocking and satisfying conclusion.

Overall, I think it was enjoyable and that many people can and will enjoy it.

Trigger warnings: religion/religious abuse; exorcism; abuse/child abuse; alcoholism; suicide; rape.

Five hundred years ago in a remote village in the English countryside, eight Protestant martyrs were burned at the stake. Thirty years ago, two teenage girls disappeared. Two months ago, the local vicar killed himself. Now, Reverend Jack Brooks and her teenage daughter Flo arrive in the village hoping for a fresh start. As they learn more about the village and its history, they begin to realize all of these events may be connected. And when Flo is troubled by strange sightings in the chapel, it becomes apparent that there are ghosts here who refuse to be laid to rest...

I absolutely loved the chilling, gothic vibes of this one. The various subplots and mysteries were flawlessly woven together in a satisfying way, but with many twists and turns that kept me hooked. The horror elements sprinkled in were perfect - once again Tudor manages to combine the best parts of horror and thriller novels for an engaging, unsettling mystery. And I’m a sucker for a good ghost story!

Mystery, horror, and historical fiction combine in The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor.

I enjoyed Tudor’s previous books, The Chalk Man, The Hiding Place, and The Other People, so I was excited to read this one. Admittedly, I had certain expectations going into this novel. Fortunately, I enjoyed this one as much as her earlier novels.

A complex story with interesting characters. Sure to be enjoyed by fans of Tudor’s other books. Dark, eerie, and compelling.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic mix of horror, thriller, and mystery! I enjoyed every bit of these twists and turns and there were some great ones. Some nights I struggled to read this but not because it’s not entertaining. Quite the opposite, this book gave me chills, and I thought I’d have nightmares so I actually had to put it away some nights.

I really loved Jack and Flo’s characters and the unsolved mysteries of the Chapel Croft town. The hauntings of the “burning girls” and the hauntings of the characters’ pasts will keep you turning the pages. It was hard getting into another book after finishing this one. Can’t wait to read more from CJ Tudor!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC! Five well-deserved stars!

This story follows Reverend Jack Brooks with a teenager Flo, who are transferred to an extremely rural village for a temporary position at Chapel Croft.
There is a lot of history to unravel in this tiny village. Fifty decades ago two young girls, among others, were burned at the stake in front of the chapel. In 1990, two young girls went missing without a trace. Then recently Jack’s predecessor hanged himself in the chapel. This is the perfect set up for a supernatural and scary story.
When the two arrive at the parish, a mysterious box is left for Jack that once opened is revealed to be an exorcism kit and Flo happens to see a ghost in the graveyard. So it seems there is still a lot of evil at Chapel Croft.
The cigar smoking and rock music blasting character Jack is what had me vested from the start. And Flo is the next Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice.
There’s a lot going on in this creepy story. There are twists along the way but I figured out one early on which was a bummer.
The main flaw for me with this book is there are a lot of side stories. This made it a little boring to me. I wanted to skip past the side stories to get back to the main plot.
Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced digital copy for my honest review.

I read another book by this author and I loved it. This book was so well written that I could not stop reading until I found out all the details. Whom I thought was the killer was definitely not the right person. When I discovered who Jack really was, I was shocked. Some trauma is very difficult to work through and sometimes it never ends. I thought being able to solve the decades old mystery was the best ending to the book. The ending gave closure to some in the characters.

An unconventional vicar Jack Brooks, and her teenage daughter Flo relocate to Chapel Croft from Nottingham. Chapel Croft is a small town with a dark history and soon after they arrive Jack realizes she was relocated to replace the previous Reverend who passed away under what seem to be suspicious circumstances. Immediately upon arrival, they learn of the town history and the legend of “The Burning Girls“. Villagers in the town make stick figures to commemorate the girls who were burned at the stake. If you see the burning girls, something bad will come your way. Since then, over the years girls have gone missing and Jack finds these stick figures on her doorstep on more than one occasion. Who is leaving these stick figures? What happened to the Reverend? And what happened to the missing girls?


I completely fell in love with this book. I enjoyed that CJ Tudor gave the different background/stories for each character and then blended them together. This book kept me guessing and as soon as I thought I had it figured out, the end hits you with another twist that left me shocked! This was a great read and was the perfect blend of paranormal, horror and thriller. It may just be my favorite book by CJ Tudor that I have read. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Ballantine Books/Random House Publishing Group for giving me this Kindle version on NetGalley.

CJ Tudor is usually a hit or miss author for me, but this premise sounded really cool and unique! I was nervous because I’m not always a fan of paranormal, even when it’s just alittle bit ghosty, but this was SO good!! Highly highly recommend

500 years ago in Chapel Croft 8 protestant martyrs were burned at the stake. 2 of those were little girls. These girls are referred as "The Burning Girls."
30 years ago 2 more girls went missing.
Looking for a new start, Reverend Brooks and daughter Flo relocate to Chapel Croft to take the job as the interim Vicar. This is a very small village where everyone knows everyone and is big on tradition. Something is off in this village, there are many secrets being kept, and Reverend Brooks is determined to get to the bottom of it. Digging up secrets can prove to be dangerous, but how far is Reverend Brooks willing to dig?

Buckle up fellow book lovers because this one is a wild ride! This book is written in multi POV and gripped me from the very start. Many unanswered questions are thrown at you right off the bat that keeps you reading and unable to put this one down. The chapters are short and the pace is very fast. This is a fairly character heavy book however the author does a wonderful job developing each character. Not many books out there that genuinely scare me, this one scared me but I loved it.
This book was amazing and full of twists and turns right to the end. I am very interested to look into more of C. J. Tudor's work after reading this. Definitely give this book a read!

Thank you Ballantine books and Netgalley for gifting an eARC of The Burning Girls in exchange of an honest review.

How can one go wrong with C.J. Tudor? I loved The Chalk Man and now this is my recent favourite.

This was an unputdownable, heart-stopping, terrifying and thrilling read.

The name of the book is spooky enough. 30 years ago two young girls being burned, after being tortured, all in the name of religion. And prior to that, around 500 years ago, eight protestant martyrs were burned at the stake, in Chapel Croft. In present time, Reverend Jack Brooks and her fifteen-year-old daughter, Flo, shift into Chapel Croft so that Jack can tend to the parish after the last reverend hung himself.

A dangerous, violent man recently released from prison is out and now coming for them. The ghosts of the burning girls start to appear in front of Jack and Flo to warn them.

This was a superb read and I loved every bit of it. The world-building and character-building is one that the author excels at. This author is my go-to author and this book doesn't disappoint either.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.