Easy to read and get involved in. Some great characters - gnarly Miriam who survived abduction and thieving writer Theo. Especially liked and sympathized with Laura, brain damaged in a car crash and victim of her appalling stepmother. Shades of Ruth Rendell but did feel Rendell would have taken it further and really tormented her characters!
One issue was the title. It wasn't memorable as not particularly relevant. Overall I felt it was a goodish read but lacked cleverness and depth

A twisting turning tale of family, unlikely friendships and people not always being what they seem on the outside. Kept me hooked throughout though not as strong punches to the gut of shock as I was hoping for.

I was surprised how much I liked this book. Laura is a good strong character that you emphathise with from the beginning. the book flows quickly along you have been reading for longer than you intended haha.

I listened to the audio book of this, which is narrated brilliantly by Rosamund Pike. The novel follows three women: Laura who is hot-headed and often judged for it; Miriam who sees Laura fleeing the scene of a murder but who knows you can’t always believe everything you see; and Carla who is reeling the shock from finding out that her nephew has been murdered. These three women are all fascinating and I loved getting to know more about all of them and seeing the layers of what makes them who they are slowly getting peeled back. They all have damage and they all have issues but they’re all so interesting to get to know. I wanted to know who the murderer was and why but it was almost secondary to getting to know the women. I very much enjoyed this novel and I recommend it!

There is more than one story and more than one mystery inside this story with the main plot focused around the murder of a man on a canal boat. I found the story to be slow-paced and struggled to connect with the characters.

I enjoyed this fast paced thriller novel from the author. I have read other books by this author and this book did not disappoint.

Many thanks to netgalley and Paula Hawkins for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Audio Book Version
A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins is a twisty thriller that will keep you reading more. Interesting characters all of which have something to hide and the slow reveal of the story, within a story, literary a book within a book. Makes for a very enjoyable and sometimes disturbing read.

If you loved A Girl on a Train then you will definitely love this book, in fact I would say this is a better novel than A Girl on a Train. Paula Hawkins has written another corking read, one I'm sure you'll find you won't be able to put it down once you pick it up.

Thoughts
The story slowly reveals the deceit, the lies, and the intrigue behind each character. You know the moment you start the book that somehow these characters are going to be intrinsically linked but trying to work out how is difficult indeed. With disturbing subject matters, complex and interesting characters. Rosamund Pike as the narrator made the story all the more compelling.

I really enjoyed the ending to the book I liked how it left you thinking.

An excellent 4 star read ⭐⭐⭐⭐

After loving The Girl On The Train, I was excited to read Paula Hawkins latest. Most definitely a slow-burning thriller, A Slow Fire Burning is a cleverly plotted and anger-fuelled story of jealousy, revenge and deceit.

The audiobook is narrated by Rosamund Pike who I’m a fan of already, and she has the perfect voice to narrate this thriller. She ensures that each of the three females has a distinctive voice and adds a fitting personality to their narratives.

Each of the three women seems responsible at one point or another and I couldn’t pin it either way.
However, because each narrative is so unreliable, I did struggle to connect with the characters, which is the only thing that prevented me from loving this one more.

The Girl On The Train had me absolutely hooked from the beginning, while A Slow Fire Burning definitely takes a while longer to pull you in. But although the book does begin quite slowly, I listened to the audiobook over two days and was eager for answers.

The revelations towards the end are full of twists and tension, and it certainly pays off to wait for the connections to come together. It is a little complex at times and would definitely benefit from a second listen (as I find it’s easier to miss things when listening rather than reading), but I’m more than willing to do that to get even more out of it.

If you’re a fan of Paula Hawkins or like a mainstream thriller, this is definitely one that you’ll want to pick up.

After reading (and loving) The girl on the train I was really looking forward to reading this book! And I was not disappointed.

The plot is clever, the characters extremely disturbing but also very believable. They are brought to life in such a way that you can't help caring about them, especially about Laura (whose sense of humor was much needed).

The twists and turns are brilliant and make the book all the more suspenseful.

The audiobook was narrated by Rosamund Pike @mspike and it was a pleasure to listen to! She made it engaging and easy to follow, just brilliant.

The only thing that kept me from giving 5 stars is that the story jumped back and forth in time quite a bit, especially at the beginning, but the jumps weren't signposted with dates or anything else. I understand this was a conscious decision the author made, and I loved that one of the characters read a book written in the same style and commented about how confusing it was. That is class!

All in all, another brilliant book by Paula Hawkins.

This novel is told from multiple perspectives and I think the main characters in this book are Laura and Carla. Laura is a very damaged woman that suffered a lot not only physically but mentally as well. She is being left on her own, always getting into trouble and making very poor decisions. And I did not like her one bit. Her constant excuse was that “it was not her” and “not her fault”, even when people were trying to help her, she cheated and stole from them. :( She is dangerous not only to others but to herself as well. Carla on the other hand was a woman that is well off in life, but she is in constant grief. Carla is full of emotions and restlessness, and behind her well-delivered appearance is a woman that went through a lot. All the characters in this book are damaged, complex and intriguing to read about. I really enjoyed finding out every character’s life story, they all contribute to the narrative a lot, even though at first sight it looks like they are not connected at all.
I really enjoyed learning about the characters throughout this book. There is a lot to uncover, and I liked the way the author included everyone’s perspective to show where they fit in this puzzle of the book. The twists and turns are subtle and I was always keen to find out who actually killed Daniel. Even though we have a police investigation going on, police are kind of working in the background, the characters are the ones driving this novel. There is a very wide variety of topics discussed in this book such as parenting, loneliness, society’s misconception, grief, mental health issues, alcoholism, parental abandonment, murder, fitting into society, abduction, plagiarism and many many more.
I really enjoyed the writing style of this novel, it is dark and very painful at times, but at the same time absorbing and intriguing. The setting of this book is pretty gloomy and full of negativity, but I enjoyed seeing how the author is trying to show different sides of the same character, not only the darkness but the good characteristics as well. I think that Rosamund Pike has done an amazing job in narrating this book, she allowed me to feel the characters and their issues. The chapters seemed pretty short and I just could not stop listening to this book. The ending was quite unexpected but it did leave me satisfied with the outcome.

On reflection I think I may have preferred the book version rather than this audio version. This a very complex mystery with many a twist and turn and a very long listen which requires a lot of concentration. I eventually worked it out before the murderer was revealed, more of a hunch than any detective expertise on my part. I scored it three stars but it might have been 4 with the print version..

A Slow Fire Burning is an atmospheric, psychotic tale of deceit, loss and friendship. Set in London, I really enjoyed this story of resentment, hatred and jealousy with issues of self-esteem and mental health. Told from various points of view in differing timelines, this is certainly not a book in which you will fall in love with the characters, though the main players, Laura, Miriam and Carla were extremely well portrayed. After a man, Daniel is found dead on his houseboat, each of these women has the motive to be considered the culprit. These unlikeable people allow for a story with many layers and the writing creates a storyline that is relatively easy to understand and follow. Other notable characters include Laura's friend, eighty-odd-year-old Irene, and author Theo, Carla's ex-husband.

In this powerful thriller, the twists and turns add suspense and enrichment and though there was trauma and grief in spades within the character's backstories and some melancholia to sections of the story, it was well-handled by the author without being overwhelming. Embedded in this clever tale is a subplot about a book - one of the women believes her memoir has been plagiarized for a thriller. The reader is treated to snippets from said book and other details so you can decide for yourself. The author's writing style continues to be a good fit for me and it all culminates in a fiery conclusion with surprises all the way.

The audiobook was narrated by Rosamund Pike; listening to the story was a good decision and I thought it was narrated well with Rosamund's engaging voice bringing the necessary worth and verve to the proceedings with great vocal distinction for different people.

Overall, A Slow Fire Burning is a super book that deals with big topics but is still an easy read. Very highly recommended and definitely one of my favourite stories, so far this year. 😊🤞

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Penguin Random House UK Audio, Transworld Digital via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Paula Hawkins is such a fabulous author. The narration of her stories are always engrossing and engaging. Cannot wait to receive my copy and read this today! The use of Rosmund Pike as narrator was a perfect choice. Another unforgettable thriller!

This one had been on my wishlist for a while, so was excited to receive it. While it's well written, it just didn't grab me in the same way that Girl on the Train did, although I do appreciate that it's a hard act to follow after such a runaway success. Despite the quality of the prose, it was just missing a real sense of tension, and momentum to have me hanging off her every word.

I read very fast so when I saw the length of this audio book i was dismayed. Over 11 hours! How would I sit still for that length of time doing nothing but listening? Of course the answer is to listen while doing something else, in this case painting an ornate wooden fireplace. Do this and the hours fly past.

Rosamund Pike reads this book excellently, giving life to a diversity of characters. We start with the discovery of a young man's body (Daniel) on a canal boat. He has been murdered. The police hone in on one suspect, a damaged young woman called Laura. Once thought to be a gifted child she is now an impulsive woman, given to inappropriate outbursts and petty thieving thanks to brain damage sustained in a road accident. But also in the background are Carla and Theo who are related to Daniel. They too are damaged by a personal tragedy. And what part does Miriam play, Miriam who has her own demons. How these characters are interlinked becomes clear eventually.

I think if I had read this book, I would have given it three stars. In many ways it is similar to Girl on a Train with the emphasis being on damaged characters and wrongful accusations. But it was read so beautifully by Rosamund Pike that I have to give it four stars. I was even sorry it came to an end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the audio file. I may be a convert.

The audible version of "A Slow Fire Burning" is an absolute treat for the senses.
Rosamund Pike's carefully measured tone really focussed my mind on the story. In particular, the juxtaposition of her precise voice and the jumbled, frenetic mind of Laura, is incredibly compelling.

The story itself is multi-layered and gripping. From the title that brings to mind the questions of what stories to preserve, whose stories are given precedence and how do we best protect what stories there are before they crumble and disappear.

There is also the book-within-a-book that Hawkins clearly has fun with. Identifying tropes and quirks of the genre that are commonly criticised, but then using them in the main story in such a way that left me gasping. There's misdirection, secrets and lies and foreshadowing that isn't obvious until the final chapters. This tantalising ebb and flow of nearly revealing what is happening in the story is simply delicious. When everything does come together, it feels so rewarding and well earned.

The characters are wonderfully multifaceted. Some are, in turns, unlikeable, unreliable, unthinking and selfish. Others are full of good intentions and caring. All are linked and the events that happen because of the actions of a seemingly unrelated character make for a wonderfully intriguing plot.

Suffice to say I adored this book and the narration. I would like to thank the publishers and NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

Paula Hawkins does it again with her latest novel A Slow Fire Burning and its brilliant! A powerful and compelling novel that will have you hooked right to the very end. The Audio version is top class! Enjoy

I’d enjoyed the author’s hugely successful mystery thriller The Girl on the Train and so despite my normal aversion to fiction set in the UK (too close to home, not escapist enough, yadda yadda yadda) I was excited to get hold of this one. It kicks off with the discovery of a body on a houseboat in London. It’s clearly a case of murder, so for the police it’s now simply a case of identifying who had both the opportunity and the motive. We are soon to meet a small cast of characters who seem to have both – or do they?

We have the nosy neighbour who had found the body, a young woman who’d had a recent one night stand on the victim's boat and an aunt who seems to be nursing a whole bag of resentment, for reasons we are to discover later. And there are other linked characters too who are perhaps worthy of consideration. Could one of these be the killer or are we being sold a shoal of red herrings? Well, it’s a complicated tale and readers will need to pay close attention if they’re to have a chance of successfully resolving this one. There are a number of separate storylines running in parallel as we step back and forth in time. I found it a little confusing, in truth, though I confess I am easily lost if too much information is put on the table.

Each person the spotlight falls on seems to be hiding something and as additional information is progressively fed in I found that my perception of what was going on in the background was subtly (or sometime not so subtly) challenged. The characters – all of them – are a pretty dislikeable bunch and I didn’t find myself becoming sympathetic to the cause of any of them. So this, added to the complicated way in which the story is told, had the effect of distracting me to the point I’d put the book down and not pick it up again for some time. There wasn’t a moment that I felt like giving up, but neither was I in a hurry to burn the midnight oil working through the outstanding text.

I was expecting a big surprise, a major twist and I suppose it is here. But the reason I frame it in this way is that it came and went before I’d realised that that's what it was. I can’t say it was an explosive moment for me and that’s perhaps because there are many minor twists here and this one sort of melded in with the crowd. In retrospect it did explained things, it was the moment all should have become clear in my mind (as I’m sure it will in the minds of more switched-on readers).

One highlight is that the audiobook version I listened to was impeccably narrated by the brilliant actress Rosumund Pike. But in summary, I enjoyed this tale but I didn’t love it. It didn’t do for me what The Girl on the Trian did. I’ll be interested to see what others think of it: I expect some will absolutely love it though others might feel as I do, that it rather passed them by.

Just like her previous novel (The girl on the train), this book has three damaged women as the main characters. Laura who seems a bit nuts to be honest, Miriam who is the nosy neighbour and Carla, the murder victims aunt.There are suspicions on all of them as to who may have murdered Daniel on his houseboat. It is very well written and you feel for all the characters. This took me longer to get into than usual as it took a long time to pick up the pace. However, it still left me guessing as to who had killed him and why which is exactly what you want from a thriller novel.

I don't know if it was me, the narrator or the story but I just couldn't get into this which left me hugely disappointed as I was hugely anticipating this one! I couldn't even finish it. It felt too long and drawn out as well as slightly confusing.