This story revolves around a church in a small town in England. The book summary starts: "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." Color me instantly intrigued. This book follows multiple characters across two different timelines but mainly focuses on Jack Brooks, the new vicar for the town of Chapel Croft, and Flo, Jack's daughter. As with many sleepy small towns, there are darker things hidden under the idyllic landscape.

This book packs a heck of a lot into just over 300 pages and the pacing does not let up the whole time. I was immediately pulled into the story and I could not put it down until I was finished. There are a lot of moving parts and people to keep track of, but the overall plot I found relatively straightforward. There were some nice, quiet moments in the book where the characters could think a bit about their situation and the events unfolding, but it wasn't long (maybe a paragraph or two) before we were back in the thick of things. I found this to be a pretty equal split thriller/mystery/horror which I really enjoyed and all of my favorite elements to those three categories I found in this book. I think Tudor did a fantastic job of cycling through the different aspects of the story at just the right moments for me to never feel exhausted at how fast one plot line was moving. We skipped around a whole bunch and that kept the pacing up but didn't make it feel like the story was moving unbelievably fast. The timing for the chapter breaks were really well chosen and the best way I can describe the reading experience is that the back of my brain was chewing over the information we just learned in chapter 6 while the front of my brain was following all the new things in chapter 7. Then, by the time I would get back to the first plot line, it felt like I had enough time to process what happened and then could continue with the story.

What I would imagine will be the most hit-or-miss part of this book for readers is the multiple POVs and timelines. I, however, loved the structure and couldn't imagine this story being told any other way. We follow a total of 5 characters, but 2 of them only come up every once and a while. Our main POVs are Jack, Flo, and an unnamed narrator - all taking place in the present day. The other 2 POVs are the two girls that disappeared 30 years ago and we follow the weeks leading up to their disappearance. Jack's POV is told in first person and the other four are third person, which is the one aspect I found jarring only because in my flow of reading I wouldn't immediately realize that we changed POV with the new chapter. I'm more used to the chapter headings telling us which character we're following which they didn't have in the ARC I was reading (but that may change with the finished copies, I'm not sure). I really liked how each POV had their own plot line and mystery for the reader to follow. There wasn't a single time the POV switched where I wanted to skim through just to get back to another plot line. Every time, I was excited to find out more about X or Y now that we're back with this other character. The plot lines do all converge with the number of reveals at the end so I found the payoff to be satisfying. Some of the reveals were hinted at (pretty strongly in my opinion) earlier on in the book but there were more subtle ones that I didn't see coming. Even the reveals that I saw coming were still interesting because I didn't count on how that reveal would impact the other characters we're following.

I do wish we had gotten more interaction and politics of the day to day activities of being a vicar in a small town. There's one main family in the village who is described as being very influential and donates a lot of money to the church which does come up later in the book but I would have liked to see that family using some of that power earlier for somewhat mundane things. I think this would have helped flesh out Jack's world a bit more and set the town's hierarchy more clearly in my head. Along the same lines, I would have liked to see more community gatherings to see the towns people interact with each other as well as with Jack and Flo to get a better sense of how different Jack and Flo are as newcomers. We get a bit of this during a pub-quiz night but I wanted maybe an extra 50 pages scattered throughout the book with these smaller sort of scenes and then I'd be very happy.

I really loved how well the historical events and town traditions were integrated into the story. The titular burning girls are a town tradition to honor the spirits of the martyrs. They are small figures made out of twigs that are set alight in a ceremony held every year by the village on the anniversary of the martyr deaths. Over time, they have evolved into a ghost story of sorts where local legend says if you see the spirits of two of the martyrs then danger will befall you. The story of the martyrs gets brought up often throughout the book and at times makes characters question if ghosts are real. It adds and extra layer to the story overall since the characters and the reader aren't sure what exactly is real or if there's a more logical explanation to what is going on. The story doesn't go full paranormal ghost-hunter but the reader is reminded of the legend just enough to keep it in mind as maybe a possibility of something else going on. This is where a lot of the more horror-leaning elements are integrated into the story and I think it is a really great way of adding an overall spooky atmosphere to the book without having to go with big scares.

Finally, I found all the characters were really well developed and their personalities so different that I was able to remember who everyone was. I was a bit worried going into the book that Jack, being a vicar, would have a bit of a superiority complex or be a little too perfect just because of being involved in the church. However, we learn Jack's backstory and how faith was something learned later in life that Jack chose to pursue. There was a line toward the beginning about how faith is something that needs to be consistently cultivated and worked on like a marriage and, as a non-religious person myself, I thought that was a really interesting view for Jack to have and be so upfront about it with both the reader as well as some of the people in the town. There were a lot of characters in this book but I was able to keep all of them straight in my mind because their personalities were so clearly defined and shown to the reader. The personalities weren't detailed in the way that I know everyone's favorite color, but they were detailed in such a way that I know what their place in the story was and their overall connection to the town and history. Again, I would have liked to have seen some more interactions between some of the different townspeople to see how their different personalities would interact in this small town and what tensions would arise. We did learn a few different connections and personal histories of some of the people in the story, but as a more character-focused reader, I ideally would have had a bit more. Give me a big town meeting or something where tensions are high and there are a bunch of snide remarks and I'm a happy reader.

Overall, this was a great, fast paced mystery/thriller/horror that kept me engaged all the way to the end. Multi-POV and dual timelines really helped develop a rich and complex town mystery and the story had a good payoff in the end.


305 pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

Expected publication date is February 9, 2021.

This was a well paced fun novel filled with little oddities and twists right from the start. Reverend Jack Brooks is sent to a tiny village to substitute at a very spooky church after some trouble at the last parish. Chapel Croft, its villagers and Jack all have dark histories that intertwine as the novel progresses. Its hard to say what I specifically loved about it without giving spoilers. Lets just say if you enjoy creepy mysteries and characters you can't quite trust you will enjoy this. I will recommend to horror fans and also those who like dark mysteries.

This is my first novel by C.J Tudor. The main character, Jack Brooks, is a "lady vicar" who has been transferred to a rural chapel after a tragic incident that occurred during her previous post. She has a 15-year-old daughter, Flo, who isn't thrilled about the move, but is willing to make the change because she loves her mother. You'd think moving to a small village would result in a quieter life, but this particular village comes with a mysterious past. The chapel itself memorializes two martyrs who were once trapped inside while the chapel burned, and it is said that their spirits still linger there and appear to those in trouble. Decades later, two teenage best friends go missing, with the understanding that they've run away. Jack believes much more than that occurred all those years ago, as did her predecessor. She is determined to uncover what really happened. Both Jack and Flo realize that the residents of the village hold secrets of their own. The truth is a twist that I didn't see coming.

If you are a fan of mystery and suspense, I highly recommend this novel. Just a note, it does contain "adult language", if that is something that concerns you. Not an issue for me, but I know it is for others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have a feeling this is going to be my book of the year. It's spooky, suspenseful and scary...all the S's.
Jack, a vicar, and teenage daughter Flo get uprooted to a small town where the villagers are odd and the town's claim to fame is the burning of Protestant martyrs back in the 1500's. There's also a thirty year old mystery concerning two village girls who disappeared without a trace.
Throw in a sinister abandoned house, a spooky graveyard and an old chapel and the scene is set for this spine-chilling story.
It's good one, read it!

I loved this one! It reminded me of the books I read growing up that made me love reading. With a bit of horror, witchery and a lot of mystery, The Burning Girls was just the right amount of scary that still let me fall asleep at night.

Jack Brooks is a vicar, but unlike most vicars, she is a woman. Jack and her teenage daughter Flo move to a small village that has some dark traditions and history. The villagers have their secrets, which Jack and Flo soon learn, along with the pecking order of their new environment. They also uncover a few skeletons along the way.

I loved many of the characters and was happy to read a book featuring a teenage girl that has a good relationship with her mother. The story could have gone to much darker places, but the author kept things going at a brisk pace and a nice amount of spooky.

I highly recommend to readers who love mysteries and thrillers with a bit is ghostly happenings in the mix.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for allowing me to read an advance copy and offer my honest review.

I have now read this book twice, several months apart, and I'm still vibrating with excitement over it. Buckle up, thrill junkies and horror aficionados, you're in for a ride.

C.J. Tudor never fails to impress me in terms of her writing, but all of her books have left just a certain something to be desired in terms of a whole. I've never been able to pin it, exactly, and I think ultimately it comes to each one just missing something. The Other People needed a cleaner conclusion and a lot less whiplash. Underwhelming in plot. The Chalk Man needed a more likable protagonist and, in my opinion, suffered from all the buzz it got being directly compared to Stephen King's It. Great book, but ended up being similarly underwhelming, but much of my issue with that one can be chalked [ha] up to its nature as a debut (it is probably also owed a review since I recently reread it, but I digress).

The Burning Girls so nearly nailed it for me. The characters were compelling and developed to an almost excruciating extent (more on that later). I was freaked out, I was enthralled, I was eating it up! It absorbed me so wholly and I reveled in it, even if it did take a minute to get to that point. I knew as soon as I read the blurb that this had the potential to be The One for me in terms of Tudor's books. A somewhat troubled vicar with a teenage daughter moves to an eerie town in the English countryside where centuries ago they burned eight Protestant martyrs. Add in some mysterious disappearances, a suspicious suicide, secretive locals, creepy twig dolls, and a hearty dose of the proper atmosphere?

Yeah, sign me up immediately.

It delivered on all those fronts. I agree with some other reviews that it was slow (again, more on that later), but not to the extent that it noticeably took away from the story. This one felt very specific to my interests, to be fair. It pretty much catered to everything I want and love in a horror novel. Put me in a creepy town with religious undertones, ghosts, and lots of unexplainable tragedy, I'm there. The running joke in my household is that they never let me pick apartments because I would actively move us into a haunted house. Compounded with the fact that Tudor is an exceptional writer and I don't understand why anyone is reading this review when they could be getting their hands on The Burning Girls. There is a lot of complexity to it, and it requires some focus to keep up. There are three separate points of view, each involved in their own tangent within the story, and it's a lot to keep up with but when it finally comes together, it does so masterfully.

My sole complaint (my "more on that later," my minus half a star) is the usual one with Tudor's books, and that lies in the pacing. I will say that I think the intent behind the peaking and lulling pace was easier this time because I was more prepared for it. It did feel a bit like I was being lulled into something cozy and gothic before being launched into the thick of things (to be clear, NOT COZY), but I'm not sure it was effective in the context of this story because the end result was a little disarming. This was notably character-driven in a different way from her other novels, and in a way I don't think I expected reading the blurb beforehand, and then we were catapulted into some heavy stuff and it was a bit disorienting until I got back into the rhythm of the lulls of character development. This isn't to say that took away from the story, necessarily, only that it made those adrenaline-pumping bits, and especially the last quarter or so (I wasn't paying very close attention to my progress on this one, admittedly), seem intense almost to the point of feeling rushed. The good news in that regard is that the characters are a pleasure to read, even when I didn't agree with them.

A word of caution at that: this is decidedly not cozy. This was pretty intense (as most of Tudor's books have been) and graphic. I found it chilling, anyway, though not everyone will. Even still, if you're looking for something a bit more coffee-shop mystery, this probably isn't it. I highly encourage you to pick it up and save it for when you want something gritty, haunted, deliciously spooky. I was very lucky to receive it in the middle of October, and had been waiting for the mood to strike to reread it so I could write a review. This book has been wholly satisfying two times now. It says a lot when I can reread something knowing the twists and still enjoy it just as much as the first time. Biggest downside is probably rereading in February because now all I want is spooky season (238 days until October 1st!).

Readers like myself will enjoy The Burning Girls because like her other books, it has Tudor's amazing writing and gift for storytelling. Avid fans of hers might also criticize it for its somewhat hasty ending (also somewhat common of her books). I just wish we didn't have to cram six loose storylines together in the last ten percent of the book. That said, this was a solid four-and-a-half-star Tudor book, and it was easily my favorite of hers so far. I cannot recommend it enough, and I'm already looking forward to what she comes out with next.

Thank you so very muchly to Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and C.J. Tudor for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. Stay spooky!

C.J. Tudor has really made a name for herself over these last few years and I am so genuinely happy for her.

BUT, her books never seem to wow me as they do others. There isn't anything inherently wrong with this book I just found it a little ... boring.

I really like Jack and Flo as characters. My biggest reservation with reading this one was that I was afraid that the religion aspect would be front and center and I am happy to say that it isn't. While she is a vicar and there is a church setting it doesn't ever come across as preachy. In fact, she isn't like most vicars and is willing to see outside the proverbial box making her an interesting character.

I think my main issue with this was all the side stories. It seemed to only muddy the waters of my reading experience.

I will say that the twists were done well and for that I have to hand it to her. She is incredibly clever to be able to genuinely surprise her readers.

All in all not a perfect book for me but not a bad book by any means and I am happy to have read it. 3 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my digital copy.

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

Do you remember that line from The Usual Suspects? Well, it is a continually reoccurring theme throughout this wild ride of a book! People, the church, the town. So many people pretending. It may sound odd, but I am almost surprised everything is resolved by the time the book is over. Ms. Tudor has the amazing ability to combine deep dark characters with rich well-developed plots and present it to her readers in a manner that is consuming without becoming mentally tangled up. Characters didn't get confused with each other because they were all so well defined, even if we didn't really know them. I also really enjoyed the historical fiction aspect of the story with the inclusion of the religious persecution under Queen Mary. It helps ground the story so the reader can get lost in it!

When Jack moves to a small town from the city, taking the new vicar position, the last thing she expects is twig dolls and exorcism kits. As her and her daughter start seeing strange things, strange things start happening as well.

I love creepy religious type books. The scariest book for me is The Exorcist. I love all that crazy demon stuff. That’s what I liked about this book... the Bible verses about evil and how they worked into the story. There was even an exorcism kit! This story kept me turning the pages for sure. In the end, it was a little unbelievable and far fetched when everything came together, BUT I loved the ride along the way.

“Why do we hate our girls so much that history echoes with their screams and the earth is pitted with their unmarked graves.”

The Burning Girls comes out 2/9.

This was a great suspenseful and slow burning mystery novel. There were so many mysteries and plot points to figure out, and all were equally compelling and shocking - with red herrings thrown in here and there to throw off the reader without being too obvious. The ending was surprising and tied up everything nicely without being ridiculous or outlandish. One of the best thrillers I've read in a while - a mystery with a hint of supernatural elements thrown in.

Thanks to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you are looking for a creepy mystery, full of unexpected revelations, then look no further.
Religious martyrs.
Missing girls.
The suicide of a church vicar.
All plague this small community in Sussex, where Jacqueline "Jack" Brooks is relocated as the new church vicar.

Like Jack and her daughter, Flo, I was apprehensive about this town and the secrets within it. And while many would like those secrets to rest, that doesn't seem to be in Jack's DNA. With each day, as she begins to question events within the town, the threats to her and her daughter become greater.

The story is a little disjointed at times, told in both the past and the present, with multiple POVs.
In the present, the key POVs are those of Jack and Flo as they adjust to their new home. But there's a third POV, one who seems to be a threat to Jack, and it isn't revealed until much later, how that person connects to her and her past.
In the past, we learn of the events that led up to the disappearance of Merry and Joy.
As the story ramps up in the second half of the book, the pieces from the past and present along with the various POVs, all begin to come together. And it is done in such a way that this became a hard one to put down. With each twist, the imminent danger becomes more addictive.

The author throws the reader a big hint about Jack in the latter half of the book that had me most curious, and it was interesting how the confirmation of her past tied to the story as a whole. Very clever.

Overall, this was a real page turner and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy this genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a digital copy of this wonderful book. The opinions in this review are my own.
‘The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist’. That’s a phenomenal quote, and it perfectly sums up The Burning Girls. This was misdirection at it’s finest.
Our main character, Jack, is a vicar, and she’s full of surprises. She isn’t what you’d expect. She swears, she smokes, and she’s relatable. That was one of my favorite things about her character. She isn’t what you’d expect. She’s a newcomer to a small village that’s full of secrets and a particularly dark and gruesome past.
This was a fabulous book. It had literally everything I could ask for in a thriller/mystery. We have a creepy church. We have flawed and dark characters. We have a heavy touch of the supernatural. Best of all, we have a damn good mystery. I’ve read The Chalk Man and The Hiding Place, but I wasn’t blown away by either one. But this? This was excellent. Solid 5 stars.

This was a 3.5 star read for me for most of the book, but I rounded up to 4 stars because of the ending! There were a couple of different storylines in this one ... girls in the 1500's that were burned as martyrs by their village, 2 girls that went missing in the 1990's and a present day female vicar named Jack who moves her daughter to a rural church after a series of unfortunate events. So, there's a LOT going on here!

The story takes a couple of nice twisty turns and one big one at the end! Though it was a tad too religious for my liking, I did really enjoy the twists and turns in this one! If you can handle the religious elements, I DEFINITELY recommend this one!

This review was also posted on Goodreads.

I am not into anything religious so I was hesitant to read this one although I love the authors other books and have been hearing nothing but good things about it. I am so glad I read it and stuck with it all the way through. It started off slow and took a while to get to start getting good. All the reveals through my through a loop especially that last one. Oh man, what a doozy. Definitely recommend this.

I've had Tudor's other two novels on my "To Be Read" list, and after finishing this novel, those titles have rocketed to the top of the list! The author pairs intriguing and relatable characters with a twisty plot that is flavored with history, ghosts, exorcisms, and troubled pasts. You'll race to the ending, only to find yourself hoping that the characters will reappear soon in a sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for furnishing this advance reader's copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

CJ Tudor does it again! The Burning Girls is a creepy, spooky, hair raising, suspenseful story!

Reverend Jack Brooks, after an incident at the last parish, transfers to another, more remote parish. At the new parish, home of the Sussex Martyrs, Protestants burned at the stake during the reign of Mary I, Rev. Brooks receives a welcome gift-an exorcism kit!

The town’s history also includes the disappearance 30 years ago of teens, Merry and Joy.

Rev. Brooks daughter, Flo, also starts seeing gruesome ghosts.

And, oh yeah, the last Vicar committed suicide (or was it murder??).

So many twists, turns, unexpected storylines! I loved it! CJ Tudor is one of my favorite authors and I look forward to these new books every year!

Thank you to #netgalley and @michaeljbooks for the advanced e-copy of #theburninggirls !

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this spooky and amazing book. I loved this book so much. Fantastically written! I can’t wait for more by author!

Pub date:2/2021- highly recommended!

Oh wow! I loved this book! Dark, shocking and disturbing. And I loved it! Kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book. And that ending!!! Wow wow wow!!!
I will be recommending this one to everyone that loves a good thriller, mystery and horror. A little of each for sure. My first book from this author and I will be going to read the others now. Thank you!!!

3 stars
Dark and brooding, intense and dramatic. Anyone who loves intense and surprising page-turners will love this book!

What did I just read! This was my first C.J. Tudor book and def won't be my last. I was hooked from the very first page. This book had it all, part murder mystery, part horror story, family drama etc. I read this book in one sitting and couldn't stop thinking about it after I read it.