This is hands down a must read thriller!!! C.J. Tudor never ceases to amaze me with her brilliant storytelling, but The Burning Girls has truly knocked my socks off!! I don’t want to touch on the storyline because as with all of C.J Tudor’s novels, I think it’s best to go in as blind as you can—I promise it will be worth it!! This novel is so darn creepy and eerie, I was checking over my shoulder while I read this (in my own home lol)!! The plot was masterfully mapped out and the twists and turns were spectacularly placed!!!! I’ve finished reading a couple of days ago and it’s still front and center in my brain— that’s a sure fire sign of an epic read! The Burning Girls is a complete 5 star novel and truth be told, I would give it more stars if I could!! I highly recommend this book to all mystery/thriller fans!!!

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I gave it 3 stars. It’s a slow burn thriller with horror elements that gripped me right from the start. The main character gave an interesting perspective with an enticing backstory that slowly unravels throughout the story.

However my biggest issue was that there was just too much going on. There are lots of characters of the present and past along with the multiple mysteries going on at once that it was sometimes too hard to keep track of when all was revealed. I had to keep a list of all the characters, which is not something I normally do with thrillers, but I was still confused about some aspects in the end. Overall, I would be interested in checking out more of this author’s works.

If you read enough of CJ Tudor, you start to wonder what’s going on in the small hamlets of the English countryside. And it’s okay to wonder because “The Burning Girls” is filled with creepy apparitions, legends of witches burned, skulking townspeople, youngsters covered with blood, abandoned houses covered in Satanic graffiti, and suicidal priests. And just so much creepiness. It doesn’t hurt that everyone in it has a mysterious past they’re trying to hide from or shake off which can range from the strange disappearance of two fifteen year old girls thirty years ago to a violent man being released from prison to teenage bullies and more.

Tudor does an excellent job of writing in an easy to read but captivating style. The lead character is a newly-assigned vicar to the small town and it comes as a surprise to some that the vicar is a woman and that she’s toting a fifteen year old daughter. They are both strangers in a strange land, not quite fitting in with the oddly creepy small town that’s just bursting with secrets, some of which perhaps are best left buried. But Jack (as Vicar Jacqueline calls herself) is a great point of view to see this story from as is the alternating chapters from her teenage goth daughter who tramps about the graveyards in her Doc Martens.

Most importantly, Tudor is a great storyteller.

This book should be on your list if you like suspense, thriller and small town ghost stories.

Reverend Jack Brooks and her daughter Flo are relocated from the big city to a small English farm town, Chapel Croft. This is a town with deep, creepy history. 500 years ago 8 “martyrs” were burned at the stake. 30 years ago, two teenage girls disappear without a trace...and then the last reverend turns up dead. Take all that death and mystery, and add in being in the middle of nowhere with very little cell reception and you have a big NOPE from me!

“The burning girls still haunt the chapel. If you see them, something bad befalls you.”

After being in Chapel Croft for just a few days, Flo and Jack both start having visions of girls on fire. What does this mean for them? Are there really ghosts haunting the area or is there a very real, very dangerous person out there wanting to keel their secrets?

The writing in this book is fantastic. It flips back and forth between Jack and Flo’s POV, as well as snippets of flashbacks from the girls who disappeared, and a mystery man coming to find Jack.

So many twists and turns right up to the very last chapter. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This story has a basketful of things going on. Full of suspense, mystery and some supernatural elements and it kept me engrossed until the end which even then I was thrown for a loop. Wasn’t sure I was going to love it as it started out slow but picked up the pace very quickly.

Jack Brooks, a vicar from the city of Nottingham is assigned to the small village of Chapel Croft after a terrible incident at her church. But Chapel Croft has its own macabre history from the burning of martyrs some 500 years ago to the disappearance of two teenage girls thirty years earlier. Jack is also the mother of a rebellious 15-yeard-old girl who hates being there. From the moment am ancient exorcism kit is given to her mysteriously and learning that the previous Reverend committed suicide in the church, Jack wonders what she has gotten involved in. C.J. Tudor creates a story with complex characters and twists and turns that makes this a very intense novel.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙙:
⛪️The whole premise of the vicar having a masculine name, but being a woman and shocking everyone was SO my jam.
⛪️ I absolutely loved how religion played a part in this book, but it wasn't preachy or anything. I loved Jack's look at her own religion as a vicar and how down to earth she was about it. It was a very refreshing viewpoint on religion.
⛪️ That TWIST (or should I say twists) at the end!!! So unexpected!!!!
⛪️ This book was SO freaking creepy and I loved every second of it. It was a little bit of a slow burn, but it worked for this book.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝘿𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙊𝙛:
⛪️There was a lot of violence through bullying in this novel which, while it does end up playing a big part in the outcome, was a little troubling to read.
⛪️I wanted a little more about some of the plotlines.

𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙄𝙛 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙙:
⛪️ If you've read any other of Tudor's books, you'll like this one.
⛪️ The Whisper Man

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for gifting me a copy of C.J. Tudor's new novel - another 5 star book and reason why she is a must-read author for me!

Because of an event that happened at her parish, Vicor Jack Brooks is forced to move with her daughter, Flo, to small town Chapel Croft to fill a temporary assignment after the death of the previous vicar. Chapel Croft has a history - 500 years ago, 8 martyrs were burned at the stake. Then 30 years ago, 2 town girls went missing. Jack and Flo soon discover that there are many secrets, traditions and creepy happenings in the town and they aren't sure who they can trust.

I don't want to give anything away because the author is so good at playing out the suspense and creep factor in this story, complete with ghost sightings. I absolutely loved the characters of Jack and Flo - both fully fleshed out as well as their typical mother/teenage daughter relationship. Jack is not your typical vicar which I loved. I also really liked the religious notes in this book, giving you much to think about. But the twists and turns will have your head spinning (kind of like in an exorcism?). Highly recommended! Preorder this now so that you can read it as soon as possible!

I really enjoyed reading this book because I haven’t read a creepy horror-type story in a while! This book will definitely grab you from beginning to end and you won’t want to put it down. There were definitely some super scary parts that I thought would give me nightmares, thankfully it didn’t.
I liked how the protagonist of the book is a female vicar (or priest, for someone like me who didn’t know at first). It gave us an interesting look into the life as a priest, a female priest at that, and how their lives are centered around serving God. Jack isn’t your ordinary priest though, she smokes hand rolled cigarettes and has a teenage daughter. I liked her character, she doesn’t put up with crap and she has a great relationship with Flo, her daughter.
The burning girls are what will scare the heck out of you in this book but I don’t want to say too much. This book has some major reveals and twists towards the end that I did NOT see coming. There was just ALOT that was happening that I got confused with all the characters and craziness. Highly recommended read!

I've read mixed reviews about this book, but I won't be ambiguous in my own review; I loved it! We begin with Reverend Jack Brooks being reassigned from her bustling inner-city church, after a tragedy and the resulting scandal. Jack and her teenage daughter Flo, are relocated to the tiny rural hamlet of Chapel Croft. But this bucolic landscape and tight-knit community may not be the respite Jack had in mind. Strange things seem to be a daily occurrence in Chapel Croft. Between the restless spirits and the hostile humans, Jack and Flo may need all their wits just to survive.

This book was really fun. I enjoyed the folklore surrounding the Sussex Martyrs and how the Burning Girls came to be. I thought that C. J. Tudor did an excellent job mixing just a hint of the supernatural with the undercurrent of menace running through the town. The book opens with a bang, and never really slows down. I did guess the big twist in the first few chapters, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment at all. I was desperate to know how it all came together, and just kept reading long past my bedtime. The tension grows steadily with each page, until the starting conclusion. The Burning Girls is a fine addition to C. J. Tudor's catalog. Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the advance copy.

3.5 Stars.
Oh how i wished this was a horror. At first it seemed it was but then went a different direction. Not bad and still dark just not the dark i was hoping for.

The Burning Girls by C.J Tudor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A big thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the e-ARC copy!

This was an atmospheric, creepy read. Small village with a violent past and a church in the middle of it all. Tudor took great care describing the village and as a reader you understand something is “off” from the very beginning.

Alternating POVs and timeline jumps from present to past keeps you just off-centered enough to continue building the tension. Jack and Flo were likable characters with distinct character traits that created well-rounded characters. Their relationship and banter often provided some comedic relief.

The beginning was slow, but once the action started, it turned into a runaway train and didn’t slow down. There were some twists and turns, but if you pay attention, there are so many clues dropped along the way. The ending wasn’t what I was hoping as I didn’t understand the reasoning for adding one element to the story.

Without giving too much away, you can expect creepy, religious references, paranormal activity, vicious bullying, cold-case mysteries, small town problems, and some gore and violence. As a fan of Tudor, I really enjoyed the book and thought it held up to the others!

This eerie read is expected to be out on February 9, so be sure to add it to your list. Swipe to see the cover and book description!

Posted to Instagram Feb. 7, 2021.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine Publishing for an opportunity to read The Burning Girls.

I’m a huge fan of C.J. Tudor since her novel The Chalk Man first came out , so when the marketing manager for The Burning Girls reached out it with a widget, I was over the moon.

A vicar with a secret ... a teenage daughter looking to belong... a paroled convict ... a town with a long history dating back to the reign of bloody Queen Mary ... a few ghosts here and there ...

OMG. I wasn’t expecting this. This is not a story with these big twists and turns for shock effect. It slowly, masterfully, reveals its mysteries, and you don’t see the, coming until the end ! I want to reread this just to see the breadcrumbs that were left for us along the way to reveal the secrets of this book.

That’s it I’m not saying any more.

Well written and unique plot. I was not the right audience for this. I found the book a bit scary but I think the movie Beetlejuice is scary.

Excellent story! Finished this in a day! Absolutely love this author and her stories! Can't wait until her next book comes out!

My first CJ Tudor and it certainly won’t be my last. In fact, I may just go grab my untouched copy of The Chalk Man off of my shelf.

The plot kept me gripped from the start and constantly had me changing who I thought the ‘villain’ was.

Reverend Jack Brooks is not your typical priest, for one she's a woman with a teenage daughter, and two she has a very dark past. Often debating whether someone can be inherently evil, with herself and others, Jack is moving parishes trying to escape the media over a tragic case at her old church. Moved to a small country church filled with traditions and superstition, Jack starts to fear all the shadows. While I was able to piece together a large chunk of the mystery ahead of time, I still enjoyed the creepy elements and the haunted past of the village. As one that is not religious, I enjoyed the debates Jack often had with herself, and feel that she has a better grasp on the Bible than most. While the ending wraps up the story, I am disappointed that it wasn't clear cut and that the evil doers weren't punished, but that's life sometimes. Incredibly well written, sucked me in from the first chapter and didn't let go.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Actual rating: 3.5

CJ Tudor returns with her newest thriller The Burning Girls. Jack is a vicar who has had recent tragedy in her chapel, so there is a chance for a fresh start with reassignment to a small village. The village has a strong religious history which involves a martyrdom that occurred wherein those who refused to renounce their religion were burned. Two of those girls are said to haunt the chapel still. Jack isn't one to believe in ghosts until she starts seeing the burning girls herself. And with a small village, comes secrets upon secrets, some of which could be life-threatening.

I was waffling whether to round up or down my rating, but ultimately made the decision to round up because of one simple thing: CJ Tudor is a skilled writer. There were so many things happening. So many side stories. So many things that seemed unrelated. So many perspective shifts. CJ Tudor managed to tie everything up nice and neat at the end, and heck if that doesn't earn a round up from me.

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on personal preference, for most of the book it was just a lot. There was a very slow build. A gathering of all this information about all these different sub-plots. Until you know how they relate? It's actually pretty draggy at some parts. For me, I would hope for a thriller to be page-turning all the way through and not just the last 10% or so.

Of course, being a thriller, talking about just about anything in the plot would be a spoiler, so I hesitate to get further into specifics about the things I might have chosen to exclude in order to pare down the focus of the book. There is a particular character who I felt really could have been excluded entirely without losing too terribly much from the story. Especially given as short as the book is, I would have liked a narrower focus.

Ultimately, I am left feeling grudgingly respectful about what CJ Tudor accomplished with The Burning Girls, and would definitely be interested in reading other works by Tudor in the future.

I was fully invested in this book for the first 40% after 80% I was just annoyed. All of the "twists" were offensive and/or ridiculous. I don't think it needed to have all of the perspectives and plots that it did. And the way the ending connected all of the plots didn't make sense.

deep, disturbing, confusing at times but always interesting. Multiple mysteries going on, current to many years ago and some surprising twists that I didn't see coming. This is my first book by this author but won't be my last. It is going to stay with me, I read a lot and most books are forgetable but this one isnt

This is the first book I have read by this author, and it sucked me in from the beginning.. I love when my mystery thrillers have a bit of a ghost story included.. The ghost story in Chapel Hill is about The Burning Girls. The ghosts of two teenage gilrls that were burned at the stake hundreds of years ago along with other people as martyrs..They are said to appear to people that are in some sort of trouble..

This story has different timelines where we follow both Jack and Flo, then two teenage girls that dissapeared 30 years ago.. Jack and Flo just moved to Chapel Hill for Jack to temporarily take over as the priest until a permanent one can be found.. Things start to get weird right from the start when Jack is given a package that contains an exercism kit.. and things go down hill from there.. Its seems like almost everyone in the town has some deep dark secrets and when Jack and Flo come, all the secrets start coming out in the open..

It was full of twists and turns that had me turning pages into the night.. I did not want to put it down until I figured out what was going on in Chapel Hill, and how the dissapearances of those two girls ties into what is going on there now.


I really liked this book, and will be reading more of this author in the future..