I do not know where to begin but I absolutely loved this book. I loved that it had a female vicar. I loved that it had a mystery and hints of The Heathers and historical religious prosecution and hints of ghosts.. The twists, I did not see all of them coming and loved them. I was afraid one open question would not get answered but it was addressed at the very end. I highly recommend this book.

This is my second book by CJ Tudor, I read her first book The Chalk Man and I absolutely loved it so I knew I was very excited to get a copy of The Burning Girls.
This book borders on the line of mystery/thriller and horror.

This was definitely a rollercoaster ride. When I thought I could finally take a moment to breathe I was once again on the edge of my seat. There is not just one twist, but several major twists. I thought I had it all figured out but when each twist was revealed I was very surprised.

I removed one star because certain parts were very disturbing and I felt they were unnecessary for the story. But overall The Burning Girls is one of the best thriller novels I have read in a long while. The story pulled me in from the beginning and kept my full attention until the end. I know there are 2 books CJ Tudor has released since The Chalk Man and I will definitely be picking up a copy of each.

Many thanks to the publisher, CJ Tudor, and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy!

Outstanding!! This book has it ALL!! If I could give it more than 5 stars I would. C. J. Tudor is a brilliant author so if you have not read any of previous books you need to. Totally amazing a MUST read. Highly Recommend
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank Netgalley and Random House for an ARC of this brilliant 5 STAR book.

This book is a ghost story, a mystery, and a Stabby-Stabby thriller. Interwoven story lines with twists and turns you won’t see coming. CJ Tudor keeps getting better with every book, and she started off GREAT! This unputdownable page turner will leave you wanting to reread to see if you can catch the clues the second go round! CJ Tudor has joined the elite list of authors whose books I will buy without even reading the synopsis because you know that she will deliver!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/5454740969
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53387949-the-burning-girls

This was an engrossing thriller that was right up my alley, though it didn't do a great job handing mental illness (which is obviously a common issue in thrillers), physical disability/abelism, lgbtquia+ issues, OR Black representation. I can't go further into most of that without spoiling, suffice it to say that the novel plays on some common abelist tropes about sociopathy and has only a spare handful of non-white characters, who are either immediately sidelined or very, VERY evil. That all being said, I read it in one sitting and stayed up late, so it's quite immersive and page-turner-y, and the central characters were mostly fun (though, as per usual in a thriller, sometimes mind-numbingly dumb in their decisions). I will say that by the end, there were like 8 thriller archetypes running at once, which was...a lot. It felt like overkill, but it did make the end over-the-top enjoyable with its twists and reveals. The central 'twist' is something I think most readers could spot from 20% in, and I'm not sure if the book intends this or not, but the reading experience wasn't tarnished for me by this early guess.

I’ve loved all of Tudors previous books but this one I had a hard time connecting too.

I struggled with the multiple storylines and the religious aspect. It still had plenty of twists and turns which definitely helped me finish the book but overall it wasn’t my favorite.

Thanks to NetGalley for my advanced ebook copy.

While this was the first book I've read by C. J. Tudor, it definitely won't be the last. This was a solid thriller/mystery/whodunnit, in every sense of the word(s). Tudor did an excellent job of using the reader's presumptions against them; unspooling tidbits of information in a way that allowed the story to come together in a very organic and satisfying way. I really enjoyed the ambiguity of the characters that she wrote; no simple black and white categorizations here! As in life, Tudor's work is entirely populated by shades of grey.

The Burning Girls is classic CJ Tudor - intense, fast-paced, and chilling. Alongside touches of history, tradition, and Protestantism, the book features intriguing characters and a good, if slightly predictable, mystery. 3.5 (rounded up to 4) stars - and I’d love to hear the audiobook version, which, partially narrated by Richard Armitage, is sure to be thrilling!

A thriller, mystery and lot of questions!
Jack Brooks and her daughter are assigned to Chapel Croft after the Vicar hangs himself and Jack had some problems at her previous assignment. This little village has a history with martyrs dying, two teen girls disappearing and now the Vicar's hanging. Jack did not realize she and Flo would be up against so many mysteries and questions in their new assignment.
C.J. Tudor is quickly becoming one of my must read authors and this book is just another example why.
The mysteries, the twists and the little hint of creepy makes it perfect for a cup of coffee, a fire and free evening of reading. You will not be disappointed when yu pick it up.
Thanks to the author, NetGalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange for a fair review.

I absolutely love C. J. Tudor and I absolutely loved this book! When Jack a reverend gets reassigned to Chapel Croft upon her arrival she begins to understand that this town is different. Jack and her daughter Flo are exposed to the secrets of Chapel Croft and begin to understand that things may not be as they seem. Eventually the Towns secrets come to light and lead Jack and her daughter into some dangerous territory!

This was a quick and amazing thriller read. I would highly recommend this one to any thriller lovers out there!

This is my fourth C.J. Tutor story. I really liked both “The Chalk Man” as well as “The Other People”. “The Hiding Place” was creepier than the other two.
This one appears to be on the dark side as well!

This promo states that 500 years ago eight Protestant martyrs were burned at the stake ` two of which were teenage girls. More recently ~thirty years ago two teenage girls go missing even more recently two months ago the local vicar kills himself.
The new vicar Jack Brooks (short for Jacqueline) is assigned a new parish. She is a single parent and has a fourteen year old daughter Flo. Once in their new home they start to investigate the strange things that have been going on in Chapel Croft. The ghosts of the burning girls are appearing to Jack and Flo not at night but in places seeming to warn them of something.

I really am okay with dark and creepy but I didn’t love this story.
However, I certainly am looking forward to the next C.J. Tutor story!

Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for this early release granted to me for an honest professional review. Publishing Release Date scheduled for February 9, 2021

The Burning Girls by C. J. Tudor is a really riveting read. It grabs you from the start and propels you towards the finish like a Maglev train. Yes, it's so good you can't turn the pages fast enough. It's a typically terrific Tudor tale, but I honestly think it's her best one yet (and that's saying a lot). The twists and turns will keep you from putting the book down until the reach the very satisfying conclusion. This will easily prove to be one of the best books of 2021. Thank you to Random House, Ballantine, and NetGalley for the ARC of this instant classic.#TheBurningGirls #NetGalley

The Burning Girls by CJ Tudor is part horror, part mystery, and a whole lot of fun!

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Random House - Ballantine, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)

When Reverend Jack Brookes and her  15-year old daughter Flo arrive in Chapel Croft, their welcome is not what they wanted.  Mind you, neither one wants to be there, but it was forced upon them.  They find two twig  effigies outside the chapel, signifying the "Burning Girls".  The gift of an old exorcism kit is given to Jack  by an unknown person with a note including the phrase "But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known".  Then they discover that the last vicar hung himself.  Not a great beginning.

They find that this strange little community is haunted by both the past and the present.  The martyrs that were burned at the stake, the two girls that went missing 30 years ago, and the suicide of the last vicar are all still very much in the minds of the residents of this small town.

Jack fears that her own past may not stay buried, and Flo is having problems with the other teenagers in the area as well.   But it may be the past that brings the most trouble..


My Opinions:   

This author never ceases to amaze me.  I'm loving everything she writes.  This one definitely reminds me of a Stephen King novel -- not the plot, just the atmosphere.  A great story with a touch of evil.

The book alternates POV's between Jack, Flo,  and an unknown person.

The plot captivated me, and the pace kept me turning those pages.  The twist at the end came as  HUGE surprise!  Loved it!

There are some dark and disturbing aspects to the book, but I think the worst for me was the teenage bullying.  I actually liked the creepy little town and it's even creepier residents.  The characters came to life on the pages, and the town itself became another.

Can't wait to see what this author produces next!

You might THINK you know what's going on here but you don't. Nope. And even at the end there's a twist. No spoilers from me but this is a page turner. It's the story of what happens when Reverend Jack Brooks and her 15 year old daughter Flo find themselves unceremoniously reassigned to Chapel Croft, the site of a historic martyrdom. The village has a long modern history of tragedy, including the disappearance of two teens, the death of a child, and the suicide of the most recent vicar. The chapel is creepy and, as Flo discovers, it has secrets. So does Jack. Flo forms a friendship with Wriggly, another teen, who bullied and the two of them explore the area, including an abandoned house, so that Flo can take photos. Someone is stalking Jack, though, and Tudor does an excellent job with a growing sense of menace. The narration switches back and forth between Jack and Flo and a mysterious third person as well as one of the two missing girls. This is the sort of novel that has short chapters which compel you to keep reading (just one more!). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Tudor fans will be pleased with this one and new readers, well, you're in for a treat. It's great.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'm old school and ALWAYS prefer reading actual book as opposed to an ebook so whenever I finish reading an ebook entirely I know for certain it's a great book, and in this case specifically the fact that I finished this one in just two days is further evidence to me of what an interesting, well written book this was. From the first chapter I was hooked. Another rather rare, for me personally at least, gem this book accomplished was it kept me guessing all the way. I had no idea the twist at the end was coming and I love that, especially since most of the time if that happens it's because the twist is pretty implausible and often seems thrown together simply to "surprise", rarely is it something any reader might have guessed. But in this case it was entirely plausible and I'm sure was caught by other readers, but it was, in my opinion, well written (hidden in plain sight I suppose...) Great book, excellent character development, a definite recommendation for anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers.

The Burning Girls starts out as what you think will be a ghost story, but quickly turns into a hunt for (several?) murderers. I’m a bit of a scaredy-cat when it comes to thrillers, but was sucked into this one enough that I couldn’t be bothered with being too frightened.

There are a few storylines going on, and if you keep an eye on the details you can piece some of it together as the book goes on. My only complaint is how many murders can a small town of like 50 people have??? There must be a per capita murderers award for Chapel Croft over the years...

Another solid novel by C. J. Tudor full of twists that start from the very beginning and don’t let up till the last page. I didn’t see a single one coming. All the clues are there, but the foreshadowing is so subtle that I was blindsided over and over. Reverend Jack comes to a tiny Sussex town hiding a dark past. A likable character, Jack is flawed and relatable. You’d think a reverend would have no issues being nice to everyone but it’s not always so easy. Flo, Jack’s teenage daughter, is having issues adjusting to her new life, but she’s not one of those whiny teenagers that plague many novels, but a resourceful young woman. Her relationship with Jack is endearing and their dialogues full of wit. The setting is atmospheric and some parts are unbearably creepy. The characters are well drawn and a good mix of suspicious and sympathetic but, even in such a dark story, there is a glimmer of humor. One of the best novels I’ve read in a long time.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine!

Reverend Jack Brooks needs a clean slate. After an abusive home situation leads to a little girl's death, the reverend is unjustly blamed for lack of intervention and forced out of the local church to save face. Teenage daughter in tow, the reverend is exiled to the tiny village of Chapel Croft, where the pair hope to be staying only temporarily. Jack finds out that the past is hard to escape, however; and Chapel Croft has its own grim secrets that become suspiciously intertwined with the new priest's arrival.

The Burning Girls is a great book with some classic thriller ingredients: small town with a dark history, a protagonist with a chip on the shoulder and redemption on the mind, supernatural occurrences, and creepy old buildings. The pacing is steady; Tudor does a nice job of turning up the chill-factor just enough to be intriguing but not so much that all cards are laid bare immediately. I enjoyed the alternating perspectives between Jack, the daughter Flo, and a mysterious (murderous) third individual who is intent on finding someone, though the reader is not exactly sure what he plans on doing once he does. I also appreciated that although it's clear who the "good guys" are, it's also clear that no character is entirely virtuous; Reverend Brooks certainly has a few skeletons in the closet despite the job title.

What didn't completely work for me was how the story wrapped up. Some parts seemed forced together. Without spoiling the plot, one character's reactions to key events were incredibly mundane given everything said person had been through. I'm pretty sure this was done to throw the reader off in an attempt to make the twist really hard-hitting, but I found it to be too much of a stretch. Jack and Flo are likable enough in an objective sense, but I never felt too strongly about them one way or another. Instead, they just seemed to serve as vessels for propelling the plot rather than characters I worried over or invested in deeply.

The Burning Girls is well worth a read. Tudor has created a compelling and creative story with grey characters that will leave readers wondering which way is up. I'm very grateful to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the opportunity to read this eARC and provide an honest review.

THE BURNING GIRLS – by C.J. Tudor

About:

Single parent and Vicar, Jack Brooks, moves to the small village of Chapel Croft to start anew, though her fourteen-year-old daughter Flo wants nothing more than to return to city life in Nottingham. Well, that is until Flo meets the dark-haired and green-eyed teen named Wrigley.

Jack and Flo soon discover that the seemingly quiet town of Chapel Croft is rife with conspiracies, age-old rifts, mysteries, suspicions, and specters of girls ablaze that refuse to be laid to rest.

The history of the burning girls is at the core of Chapel Croft—dark times dating back five hundred years when Protestant Martyrs were betrayed—and then burned.

‘Uncovering the truth can be deadly in a village with a bloody past, where everyone has something to hide, and no one trusts an outsider.’

My Thoughts:

THE BURNING GIRLS is the second book that I have read by Tudor, the first being THE OTHERS, which I immediately purchased as a hardback copy, both books I highly recommend!

Though the ending wasn’t a complete surprise to me, as I pieced it together early on, there was one detail at the very end in the last scene that explains a lot, and I’m not going to spoil it for you.

THE BURNING GIRLS – Scheduled To Release February 9, 2021 (Subject To Change)

Thank you, NetGalley and Ballantine Books, for loaning me an eGalley of THE BURNING GIRLS in a request of an honest review.

This book pulls you in from the start and keeps you on your toes throughout. There are multiple POVs which can prove to be slightly confusing at times, but I do believe it enhanced the story overall. I loved how the stories started to intertwine, and I found the characters - even those not likable - to be well-written and intriguing.


Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the chance to read this book!