I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Sara Koffi's WHILE WE WERE BURNING had me from the very first page. It's a stunning debut. The pace is excellent, and the examination of race/privilege is razor-sharp and poignant. Honestly left me wanting more. Excited to see what this author does in future.

Elizabeth Smith has always been something of a loner. Despite having the perfect marriage and job and a seemingly perfect life in the affluent Harbor Town neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee, she always feels a little dissociated from her neighbors. Gregarious Patricia Fitzgerald is perhaps her best and only friend in the area. So when Elizabeth finds Patricia strung up in front of her house in an apparent suicide, she begins to spiral, having now lost almost all emotional ties to the place where she lives.

Her husband David is her one positive constant, but even he seems to be growing ever more distant from her, especially with her continuing refusal to believe that Patricia killed herself. In an effort to save their marriage, she agrees with his suggestion to hire a personal assistant. Her new assistant will help her cope not only with her job teaching underprivileged kids at the nearby Learning Center, but also with all the details of everyday life that keep slipping out from her grasp in a haze of anxiety and numbing medications.

Enter Brianna Thompson. She’s the perfect assistant: warm, funny and thoroughly professional. Quickly, she becomes so integral to Elizabeth’s life that the latter is often surprised by how little time they’ve actually known each other, as here when Elizabeth takes her to the Learning Center for the first time and is surprised at how impressed Brianna is with the beautiful new building:

QUOTE
But then I remembered that Brianna and I hadn’t been to the Learning Center a million times before.

<i>I’d</i> been to the building a million times before, and Brianna had only been working as my assistant for a week.

<i>Huh</i>.

It was strange how ingrained Brianna already was in my psyche, despite how little we knew each other. Still, I couldn’t pretend like I wasn’t comfortable around her, more comfortable than I felt around the majority of people in my general orbit. As pathetic as it sounded, Brianna was on track to being one of my closest friends in the whole goddamn city.

<i>Yep</i>.

That sounded pretty fucking pathetic.
END QUOTE

Just as Elizabeth begins to think that maybe she shouldn’t be so reliant on only one other person for so many basic things, Brianna surprises her. Elizabeth thought that she’d been doing a good job of keeping her side investigation into Patricia’s death a secret, but clearly not well enough to evade Brianna’s observant eye. Gratifyingly, Brianna believes her theory that Patricia was murdered, and offers to help her figure out whodunnit.

But Brianna has secrets of her own. Her teenage son was killed by the police here in Harbor Town, and Brianna is determined to figure out who made the 911 call that sealed his fate. Elizabeth is her gateway into the neighborhood and, as she gets to know her boss a little better, perhaps the only person Brianna can trust:

QUOTE
Her isolated nature, combined with her work at the Learning Center, made Brianna start to suspect that Elizabeth never would’ve called the cops on a <i>child</i>. Because unlike Patricia’s other friends, Elizabeth would’ve known what calling the cops on a <i>Black child</i> could do, the consequences that could come from it.

She was too close to it, too surrounded by it.

She just knew better.

Which meant that she was the one person who Brianna could rule out.
END QUOTE

As the women’s quests for justice intertwine in shocking ways, they find themselves careening towards a showdown that will change their lives forever. Will their burgeoning friendship be able to survive the terrible revelations that lie in store for them?

This was a gripping thriller that provides a nuanced portrait of two very damaged women, both obsessed with uncovering the truth. Sara Koffi’s genius lies in her refusal to ignore the sociocultural aspects of their situations as women of different races and social classes living in the American South. Instead of letting these differences be mere window dressing, they become an integral part of the story, resulting in two protagonists who are deeply troubled yet still somehow sympathetic, as their problems are very much a manifestation of greater societal ills.

To be clear, Ms Koffi lets neither woman off the hook for what they choose to do. Elizabeth and Brianna are both capable of terrible things, and each winds up in an entirely realistic place at the end of this compelling novel. The fantasy of cut-and-dried justice withers in the face of the punishments the women devise for themselves, in an all-too-common parallel with the ways so many people deal with their own shame and guilt, never owning up to it, but choosing to live with it regardless. While We Were Burning doesn’t quite hit the sociopolitical mark I think it’s aiming for – a generous interpretation of the ending is that white patriarchy gets everything it wants when women let racism divide us – but it’s still an excellent, unflinching look at the state of race relations in America today.

Fast paced, twisty, timely. This debut is taut and should be on more readers' radar with its incisive and compelling look at race and privilege.

I received this book as an ARC early last year, and I was shocked. It didn’t have a cover yet, but for me, it was a no-brainer when I read the description: two women seemingly so different, yet connected by one event that would change everything for one of them. When Brianna starts her job as Liz’s assistant, we don’t know much about her. However, with each chapter of her own, it becomes evident that she has ulterior motives because she wants to know who killed her son. What surprised me the most was that there was no mystery within the mystery. The identity of the culprit was revealed super early, and when I encountered the author’s description, I understood why. Koffi is an author who aims to give black women a voice in situations where they have none—to allow them to repair the narrative and seek justice. Of course, I’m paraphrasing, but this was the essence of what I learned.

The book’s exploration of Liz’s descent into chaos under the guise of mental illness was both fascinating and thought-provoking. Liz constructed a bubble—a personal altar—where she basked in adoration and attention from everyone around her. It’s refreshing to see an author challenge the notion that difficult behavior can always be excused by mental conditions. Toxic traits exist in all characters, and Koffi skillfully navigates this complexity.

Brianna, seemingly a background character, subtly weaves her presence throughout the narrative. Some moments unfold from her perspective, while others allow us to observe her actions without explicit words. This silent interplay adds depth to the story, emphasizing that not everything requires verbalization.

And then there’s David—the loving husband who embodies male energy. His red-flag behavior is palpable, leaving readers questioning his intentions and motivations. Sometimes, it’s what remains unsaid that speaks volumes.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It flowed smoothly, evoking emotions at unexpected turns. Koffi’s commitment to amplifying black women’s voices and their pursuit of justice shines through.

While We Were Burning, by first-time writer Sara Koffi delivers everything that even the most discriminating reader could dream of. Wife Elizabeth is wracked with self-hate and loathes her husband. And to no avail; her affair is equally disastrous and deadening. Elizabeth's situation deteriorates when she discovers the corpse of her friend Patricia. David, Elizabeth's concerned husband, hires an assistant for his wife, partly to help improve his wife's increasingly deteriorating mental state, as Elizabeth is convinced that Patricia was murdered. Unfortunately, the new assistant has her agenda: hunting for the neighbor who called the police, which resulted in her son's death.
While We Were Burning is unpredictable and engaging. It keeps the reader's attention while examining important societal issues, such as racism, mental health, and the need for revenge. Readers will want more from Sara Koffi, a promising and hopefully prolific mystery writer.

With comps like Parasite and Such a Fun Age, I was expecting something a little more literary/cerebral and twisty, which is not the fault of the author but rather how this book is being marketed.

Instead, you get a fast-paced, albeit kinda pulpy, thriller that tackles issues of race and class with two deeply unlikable but somehow relatable female protagonists.

Unfortunately, this type of thriller isn't quite my jam--the characters and their motivations weren't developed enough for me, it was hard for me to suspend disbelief on a few plot points, and the ending just fizzled out.

Hopefully this works better for you than it does for me, but I'm still looking forward to what Sara Koffi does next.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Happy publication day! Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this eArc. This was an interesting mystery that also incorporates a lot of social justice topics. I was surprised at how the story played out and I would read this author again.

I didn't find anything "scorching" about #whilewewereburning. dropping us right into the action with jumbled internal monologue, uncompelling and tiresome. no, thanks.

p.s. thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

When I tell you my jaw dropped at parts…I was shook! I loved how Koffi weaved this story and was so engrossed the whole time. The characters were compelling and I was never sure of who to trust. I did absoltely lothe how much “baby” was used. If a man called me baby that much I would lose my mind. This quote tells you all you need to know - “Another man in a long line of men passing down the task of emotional labor, assigning it to the closest woman in the queue.” Oooop! Get em, Sara Koffi!

While We Were Burning by Sara Koffi was a great domestic thriller!
I had a lot of fun reading this story.
The writing style is engaging, making it easy to immerse oneself in the story.
The character development is excellent, giving me a deep understanding of their motives and perspectives.
An excellent thriller, well written and equally entertaining.

Thank You NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

When the novel opens, self-loathing Elizabeth is raging that her successful, handsome, and charming husband, David Smith, fails to pay her attention “for more than five seconds at a time" although “he cares about everyone he meets, even if he can hardly stand them.” She is annoyed at the generosity of her neighbor and co-worker, Patricia Fitzgerald, who had welcomed her to their upscale Memphis neighborhood with homemade brownies and a megawatt smile, but who Elizabeth had dismissed as a “fly in the ointment that was my attempt to not have a fly in my ointment.” She is bored with Nathan, the man with whom she is having an unfulfilling affair.

Elizabeth’s desultory life is upended when she finds Patricia’s lifeless body hanging from a lamppost and refuses to accept that Patricia, with whom she was supposed to go walking that morning, had committed suicide. It becomes Elizabeth’s mission to convince a newly attentive David that Patricia was murdered. She begins “looking for clues, searching for signs, sifting through every single errant thought that Patricia had ever posted to social media.” Enter Brianna Thompson, a beautiful “Lupita Nyong’o type,” who Elizabeth hires at David’s insistence because he is concerned that Elizabeth’s fragile emotional state will deteriorate further if she continues to ruminate over Patricia’s death. Brianna applied for a job as Elizabeth’s assistant to fulfill her own agenda. She is reeling from the shocking death of her young son, Jay, and the loneliness that followed when her husband left her to work through his own grief. Brianna hoped that if she could become Elizabeth’s right-hand woman, “she’d have access to everything she needed, everything she ever could’ve dreamed of” to determine who in Elizabeth’s neighborhood summoned the police who were responsible for Jay’s death.

Koffi’s debut novel is propulsive, with lots of twists and turns. Koffi moves back and forth from Elizabeth’s perspective to Brianna’s and she doles out information that consistently raises the stakes, such as the fact, as reported by Elizabeth’s vile mother, that Elizabeth’s freshman roommate jumped off the roof to her death. “Now, what does it say about you if people keep killing themselves just to get away from you?” Koffi addresses worthy themes, such as race relations, vigilante justice, racial injustice and mental health struggles, but the novel suffers a bit from a clunky execution and poor character development. The reader must suspend belief to accept that Elizabeth would become so unmoored by the death of a woman whom she referred to as a friend only in air quotes. Thank you G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this fast-paced thriller.

while We Were Burning is a revenge story, Brianna's teenage son was killed and Brianna wants to find out who called 911 on him. Her life is unraveling as she becomes consumed with finding out why her son was killed and who's responsible. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is dealing with the apparent suicide of her friend and coworker, Patricia.

I had a hard time understanding Elizabeth, she has completely fallen apart after finding Patricia's dead body. Elizabeth obviously had a very messed up youth due to her relationship with her mother but it never made sense to me that she was having this nervous breakdown. It was hinted that she is a bit of a sociopath but I just couldn't wrap my head around her.

Brianna and Elizabeth's lives intersect when Elizabeth puts the word out that she is interested in hiring an assistant to help her with everyday chores. Brianna also helps Elizabeth research who could have killed her friend Patricia.

I think the premise of this book was very good I just didn't feel that there was enough character development.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This novel could alternatively be called Retribution. Lizzie Smith has discovered the body of her "best friend", Patricia Fitzgerald. It seems like Patricia committed suicide but Lizzie doesn't believe it and goes down an anxiety-ridden hole. Because she is failing to function, her husband decides she'll need an assistant just to get the day-to-day things done.
Brianna Thompson has lost her 8 year-old-son to police brutality. She wants to know why someone in Lizzie's bougie neighborhood of Harbor Town called the police on him. Why this tragedy had to happen at all. She becomes the assistant Lizzie needs. The friend and the confidant she's never had before. But the closer they get to solving Patricia's murder and the more questions are answered about Jay's death, the lines start to blur with twists you never see coming. Who exactly is the villain in this story? Koffi has adeptly woven a provocative page-turning observation on racism and classism and who gets to be the victim.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and GP Putnams Sons for this e-arc.*

Thank you for the ARC. I was very intrigued in this book! Unfortunately, the average writing paired with sub par characters fell below the mark. The toxic friendship was a fun dynamic, but the plot became too dramatic and almost silly to me.

Overall, it was a fast read and it was unexpected from what I picked up, so I would still recommend for a one day binge on the beach.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

The marketing for this hooked me, but the actual book, not so much. I liked the concept and some of the suspense elements, but I didn't really like any characters and I hated how often they referred to each other by name. Picky and unfair? Maybe. 2.75⭐️

Above review (as 3 stars) posted to Goodreads.

Emotionally charged and timely, this is a fantastic and well written story about toxic female friendship, racism, and domestic drama

This debut thriller is well-paced and takes on timely issues such as race, gentrification, and police brutality. The two main characters have suffered traumas that elicit sympathy from the reader, but they are both deeply flawed as well; their recklessness and tendency to rush to judgment causes a domino effect of tragedies for those close to them. In general, I would consider the complexity of these often unlikable characters and their moral ambiguity to be a narrative strength, but as the novel approaches its close, some of their actions struck me as being uncharacteristic, and the absence of consequences for their actions didn't feel realistic to me.

Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a slowly unfolding thriller that examines the intersection of race, friendship, revenge and consequences to our actions. We follow two women, Brianna and Elizabeth, who face recent losses and are seeking the truth to what happened to the ones they love. Their paths cross eventually and an unlikely scenario plays out.

I found this really easy to read, with the dual perspectives it felt very fast paced. I was interested in the plot line unfolding, but eventually we know the truth and are just waiting for the unveiling to happen.

I was enjoying this and then it took a turn I did not love. The ending…was not for me lol. It was quite annoying. I did love the talk on race but it didn't seem to come to anything, so it just felt secondary to the plot. I think this book could have been even better with some rewriting.

I would still recommend this debut, for the important underlying messages on police brutality.

I received a digital advance copy of While We Were Burning by Sara Koffi via NetGalley. While We Were Burning is scheduled for release on April 16, 2024.

While We Were Burning centers on the relationship between two very different women. Elizabeth is the well-off white woman who finds herself spiraling after the strange death of a friend. Brianna is the composed and together black woman hired to be Elizabeth’s personal assistant. Under the surface, Brianna is searching for answers in the death of her young son and believes those answers lurk in Elizabeth’s neighborhood.

In this novel, Koffi gives us characters that are difficult to sympathize with. The two main characters both have secrets and issues that influence their choices in this novel. While I understood their motivations throughout, I ended up not particularly liking either of them. Around these two women were other characters who also made choices that made them hard to like. The result was a book full of characters that were hard to root for. This was likely intentional, as one of the main themes of the novel is the impact of actions on relationships.

The plot of the novel was not complex, but did have enough secrets and mysteries throughout to keep me asking questions. This helped me stick with the story despite the distance I felt from the characters. In the end, there were no huge surprises for me as the reader, but the answers were revealed to the characters in a way that gave a satisfying conclusion.

Overall, While We Were Burning is mystery/suspense centered on friendships and the consequences of the choices we make. Readers who enjoy complicated, morally gray characters will likely enjoy this novel.