This one was gripping and kept me guessing. I liked the characters. It's fast paced, action packed, and full of suspense. There is a romance but it's very secondary to the story. I will definitely be reading this author again.

What Still Burns is a story about Alexis “Lex” Blake who is the only survivor of a fire that killed her family. Lex was raised by her Aunt Beth who recently died. As she goes through her things, she finds that there is a lot that Beth never told her. Now dealing with Beth's affairs she learns that the property was put in a trust and the best way to settle her aunt's estate is to go back to the one place she swore she would never go and sell it once and for all.

The small town is pretty much the same way Lex remembers it: tight knit, religious, and wary of outsiders like the Blakes. Lex soon runs into her old boyfriend, Kael McPherson. It's an easy relationship to slip into, but Lex has no intention of staying and Kael isn't leaving.

Lex begins to get strange phone calls late at night. Evan her more recent old boyfriend strangely shows up and they get into another argument, she believes he had left until she gets a call from her boss that he never returned. A body turns up at Kael's farm, and then another one in her hotel room, Lex realizes that there are many more secrets that someone is trying to hide, and she may be in more danger from the secrets of the past.

This was an intense mystery that kept building with every turn of the page. There are several characters that are suspicious, so it was easy to narrow it down. But I didn't guess as to the culprit. The story is well written and easy to follow. The characters were well written for a small-town story. Lots of nosy judgmental people instead of a town of do-gooders makes it full of possible suspects.

Alexis “Lex” Blake’s family was killed in a house fire years ago and she was the sole survivor. Her Aunt Beth inherited the family farm, but once she passed, Lex had to handle the family affairs. She returns to Sola to sell the family farm, the scene of the fire, but starts to receive threatening calls and comes across dead bodies. Lex slowly starts to figure out her life may not be what it seemed and there may be more to the night her family died.

I’ll start off with the dual timelines, I enjoyed floating between past and present to really tell the story fully. This story was also unique, so I was intrigued by the plot.

That being said, this book took me close to two weeks to finish. I can usually read books in 2-4 days, but this one didn’t keep my interest like others. I felt like it was trying to explore paranormal activity, along with romance, along with a suspense, and challenging religious views. It was a lot of keep track of.

The book also wrapped up very quickly. I feel like we were slowly building up to the big reveal and then it just kinda wrapped up.

Thank you to @netgalley and @thomasmerceruk for a ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately nothing is working for me right now. I thought I’d like this going on because I like small towns with secrets, mysteries, and family drama. But it was just okay. The writing was somewhat juvenile and the overall story has been done a million times before. Also the romance wasn’t too hefty but still too much for me. It reminded me of a watered down version of All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda but I’ve already read that.

This was overall a really good story. The pacing was a bit off and I feel like some of the storylines could have been examined a little more. Aside from what I felt like were a few potholes I enjoyed the characters and the premise.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher

Dark and chilling are two of the words that immediately strike me when I think about What Still Burns by Elle Graw. This psychological thriller features Alexis “Lex or Lexi” Blake who returns to Sola, California to settle her family’s estate. Lex lost her parents, two sisters, and a brother in a fire on their dairy farm when she was ten. Lex was the only survivor and she has few memories of the event. However, when her Aunt Beth dies and leaves a substantial debt, Lex needs to sell the farm. They have lived in San Francisco since Lex was sixteen.

The small town is tight-knit, nosy, very religious, and filled with secrets. Lex does reconnect with her childhood friend and neighbor Kael McPheron. However, things get uncomfortable and scary when mysterious phone calls and a cassette tape cause buried memories to surface. When a body turns up, Lex’s trepidation increases as she tries to determine whether the death is related to her family’s tragedy.

The world-building was great in this novel. I could easily visualize the burned house, the motel where Lex stays, and Kael’s farm as well as the people in the town. However, I wanted a little more character depth and a more detailed ending. Despite this, the suspense, danger, action, intense moments, and character interactions provided a plausible and compelling reading experience.

Overall, this psychological thriller was engaging and atmospheric with action, suspense, and a bit of a romance.

Thomas and Mercer and Elle Grawl provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for August 15, 2023.

I'm definitely going to be thinking about the ending this novel offers for a while. In a really great way! Gripping is a good word to use for this one. I'm all about small-town-focused books, especially when the genre is mystery or suspense. I would actually classify this one more as a thriller with the way it was written, which was incredibly well done!

Lex was a strong female character who was facing a lot of struggles when she returned to the site of the trauma she suffered as a teenager. The reason behind returning there was the loss of the last member of her family. It's up to Lex to settle all of the remaining debts and find some closure about her past along with the answers she is looking for after losing most of her family so long ago in a tragic fire. But if she's going to have any chance of a future for herself and with Kael, they're going to have to work together to track down a killer. Something Lex knows will lead her to the answers she is looking for about that horrible night.

This book felt like a psychological thriller for me with a dash of romance mixed into all of the action and thrilling suspense going on. It's one that I feel I could read again and learn something new each time, or notice something I haven't noticed before. I definitely recommend it along with the author. I know I will be checking out more of her work after reading this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this captivating eARC

A fascinating labyrinth of a mystery unfolds as a young woman returns to the town where her entire family was killed when she was a teenager. Upon her return, new devastation is triggered, and you are ldft wondering, if the main character in this novel is the innocent victim or the heartless perpetrator? Are the all to real threats she currently faces externally or internally created?

Read this novel as the past evolves into the future as the evolution of crime comes forth to threaten a young victim who has already lost far too much in a town she has come to hate.

As the main character attempts to find love and carve a future for herself, out of a past too full of devastation, does the current threat she faces have anything to do with the price she paid when she lost her family in the same environment not so long ago?

I read hundreds of mystery novels a year, and this is one of the very best I have read this year. I will definitely be waiting and watching to read more from this very talented author who successfully created such an intricate and fascinating psychological thriller.

This is one of those books you read and afterwards realize that it would make for a mesmerizing movie, even as you realize it would likely fall short when compared to the original novel and the artful writing of a wonderfully skilled author.

Thank you to netgalley for access to this digital ARC. I really love small town thrillers it really just gives it an extra creepy vibe when the main character is an outsider or in the middle of nowhere. I thought the main character was likable and the story had some interesting twists and turns. I thought the ending was a tad predictable but overall i enjoyed it.

As much as Lexi Blake wants to forget the fiery tragedy that killed her family, there are more holes in her memory than just that night--and that's a problem when bodies start piling up around her. Neither Lexi nor the reader know who to trust as Elle Grawl takes them on a twisty ride through an insular small town where they are absolutely not welcome. I read the whole thing peeking back over my shoulder.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of What Still Burns, a stand-alone thriller set in the fictional Northern Californian town of Sola.

Alexis Blake returns to Sola and the farm where she lost her family in a fire. She doesn’t want to, but she needs to settle the estate and use the money to pay off her recently deceased aunt’s medical bills. She isn’t welcomed back with open arms, except by her old flame, Kael McPherson, and there is a host of unsettling events to deal with.

What Still Burns is, for me, a bit of a mixed bag. The premise is interesting and promises a wild read, but I couldn’t connect with either Lex or the eventual conclusion, so it fell flat.

The novel is told from Lex’s point of view, so the reader sees events through her lens and that is a problem. There are plenty of events, including murder and a series of what appear to be escalating threats, that should be full of tension and dread for the reader, but her personality can’t communicate it. Apparently the fire was so traumatising that she has PTSD. She can be scared, but there is little genuine emotion portrayed and no tension for the reader. It’s more like a recitation than an immersive read.

On the other hand, execution aside, the author builds her story well with Lex facing down some strange events that grow in seriousness as the story progresses. She is the archetypal outsider in a hostile community, despite having lived in Sola before. She wasn’t born there and apparently that matters, she can’t see that her own hostility might have something to do with her reception. The ending to the novel and its solution is strange. It seems to come from nowhere and is extremely glib in its explanation.

What Still Burns is a solid read.

I really enjoyed the start of this book. It pulled me immediately and gave me that scared to read in the dark feeling. The author did a terrific job of keeping me on my toes the entire time until the end. It just fell flat. It felt rushed and it could have easily been 5 stars had the ending been developed a little more. Overall it was enjoyable and was so close to being great.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

What Still Burns by Elle Grawl, published by Thomas & Mercer is a mystery/ thriller and had me right from the start.
Lex Blake has a tragic past. After losing everything she never wanted to come back. But circunstances bring her back to her hometown. A dark read that gives goosebumps right from the start
It's a story I immediatedly connected with, loved storyline, writing and characters, heaven, what's more to say, nothing - 4,5 stars.

What Still Burns by Elle Grawl is my very first read by this author. The blurb is what drew me in and the story is what kept me. This was a fast read that kept me engrossed and engaged the entire time. I do have to say that some of the storyline was predictable but most was very well written and the ending was kept hidden from us. The protagonist was very engaging and well developed. This is probably not the psychological thriller that one might expect but it is still a very good mystery none the less.


4 out of 5 stars


Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author/publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

What Still Burns by Elle Grawl is her latest psychological thriller and it’s another excellent read, and drew me in from the start.

I absolutely flew through this book.
Elle Grawl writes very sharply, in a way that will keep you awake at night turning the pages.
This story intrigued me when I read the plot summary, and it didn't disappoint.
The plot is fast-paced and engaging. Had me wanting to race through it to see how this story played out.
The characters are realistic, and very interesting. Truly they are captivating from the very beginning.
Such a great book!
This has all the ingredients for a great suspense read.

I enjoyed One of Those Faces and her second title was no different.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Protagonist Lex Blake's story is one of tragedy, lifelong secrets, and the devils that hide in plain sight. With WHAT STILL BURNS, Elle Grawl delivers a dark, disquieting thriller that also conceals a top-notch mystery. Perfect for fans of Lisa Gardner, Elle Marr, and compelling page-turners set in small towns and close communities. I won't soon forget how this one ends!

Having never read anything by this author I was very interested to see where this one lead. I was drawn in by the blurb 'A haunting story of a young woman’s return home to face her tragic past, the fire that killed her family, and what remains in the ashes.' and thought wow. Sounds intense.

First I was glad to see that it wasn't an overly long, drawn out story, I liked Alex and the small town setting and it was interesting in the way it is written with numerous side stories that don't really add much to the main story.

It is a promising book but needs a bit of work to make it flow better. It is a bit dark and intense, intriguing and tragic. It is alright but the pace was a bit slow for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

In What Still Burns by Elle Grawl, Alexis Blake swore she would never return to the town where she’d lost her home and her family in a devastating fire that only she survived and can barely remember. But when her aunt dies, leaving behind a mountain of debt, Lex has no choice but to head back to Northern California to settle her family’s estate.

While the plot sounded promising, I had difficulty getting invested in this story, and it read slowly for me. The setting was nice, but the overall pacing felt a bit off, and I had a difficult time relating to or rooting for the main character.

Overall, it was an okay read for me. I would check out other books by this author, though, to see how other books are plotted out. I rate this a 3 out of 5 stars.

#WhatStillBurns #NetGalley @AmazonPub

Thanks for letting me review this book to the publisher and Netgalley.
I liked this one it was an overall well plotted mystery in a good setting.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. My first by this author. Not a bad read. Quick. A little slow, but overall enjoyable.