First things first - this book needs some MAJOR editing. The writing is really bad and almost impossible to follow. The form was really bad - there was plenty of incorrect punctuation, major run on sentences, and no structure. The poor writing/editing is my biggest qualm with this book. Everything else feeds off of this - it's hard to follow, all over the place, confusing, boring, and so forth. Not sure what was going on during the editing stage of this book, because the current version should not be published!

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to the author & #thomasandmercer for my gifted copy‼️

If you’ve ever read any books by Hall then you know she writes super slow-burn thrillers. She’s literally the only author I’ll accept this from lol like no matter how much the book drags I go back for more. But I love her writing style, the way she slowly builds up to the climax, and there’s always a clever twist you didn’t see coming.

What Fire Brings was interesting because nothing was what it seemed. Bailey Meadows went so deep undercover she basically lost sight of reality. As she began uncovering secrets and linking things together strange events began happening. The weird security guard that doesn’t actually work for the security company, the old lady that keeps popping up with random hints, creepy stuff occurring in her cabin, and the danger of the wildfires increased Bailey’s anxiety and paranoia. It seemed as though someone or something was trying to harm her or maybe it was all in her head.

This was one of those books where you don’t know who to trust because everyone is a suspect. It was also the twist in the end that got me. I’m still lost on how this played out because Bailey wasn’t just undercover. She suffered from confabulation, dissociative fugues, PTSD and past trauma so maybe she suppressed her real identity as a defense mechanism or it could’ve just been the amnesia. I just need answers as to how Sam was looking for Sam but didn’t know she was. Like when did the disconnect with reality first occur. The ending was really mind blowing literally had me saying wtf as things were revealed‼️I also really liked the twist with Jack cause I did not see that coming.

Overall, it was okay but I wouldn’t recommend if you don’t enjoy slow-burns. Despite the pacing the story really takes the reader on this psychological rollercoaster to uncover the truth. With themes of trust, survival, mental health, and exploring the unknown Hall once again creates a decent thriller.

Rating: 3.75/5 ⭐️

Tension Driven..
A writer in a desperate search for a missing friend becomes a writer in residence - her true reason hidden away. As Bailey learns something new each day which may help her search, she uncovers potentially dangerous secrets from the past. Twisting and turning, claustrophobic suspense where nothing is really as it seems. Tautly written with a credible cast and a tension driven narrative.

I very much enjoyed this book. Insane and so many twists. I couldn’t put it down! I would recommend this one if you are looking for something to really keep your attention.

I really enjoyed this! The twists are good and the ending was unexpected. I would recommend this! Special Thank You to Rachel Howzell Hall, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC

This book was really hard to get into since it felt like being thrown into a story where you’re already supposed to know most of the background. The beginning was slow and confusing and it took me a long time to get into it.
But after reaching about 30% I couldn’t put it down. This story was absolute captivating and thrilling. Set on the backdrop of California wilderness we follow a murder mystery that feels a lot like a true crime podcast.
Our main character is the ultimate unreliable narrator and I love it.
It also brings in important issues such as racism and classism.
This was a very refreshing thriller perfect for summer.
The ending felt a little rushed and I wish we would’ve gotten a proper epilogue and closure but I still enjoyed this a lot.

This was a fine read but it didn’t “wow” me. It certainly had it’s fair share of interesting characters but it didn’t gel together for me. I found myself not being pulled back into the story and kind of slogged my way through it. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this.

I know that sometimes people have issues with the author's characters - some are quite unlikeable. However, this character is a little softer and more relatable than some of her others.

The story itself is dark and twisty.

I was also reminded of why I often feel uncomfortable in Topanga Canyon - I don't belong there, lol!

There are times you may be confused by what is happening and why, but the author clears it all up in a very satisfying way.

I enjoyed this one!

In "What Fire Brings," Rachel Howzell Hall delivers a gripping tale of mystery and suspense set in the evocative backdrop of Los Angeles.

The story follows Bailey Meadows, operating under a false identity crafted by her mentor, Avery Turner. Bailey's assignment is to infiltrate the luxurious Topanga Canyon estate of Jack Beckham, the son of the infamous author J.D. Beckham, as a writer-in-residence to assist him with his new thriller. Her true mission, however, is to uncover the fate of Avery’s partner, Sam Morris, who disappeared in Topanga Canyon while searching for a missing woman for their nonprofit, The Way Home.

Jack Beckham is candid about leveraging Bailey's perspective as a Black woman to lend authenticity to his book, a move that adds another layer of complexity to Bailey's covert operation. The unreliable Wi-Fi at the estate hampers her efforts to do research for the book and stay in touch with Avery. Adding to her paranoia are unsettling encounters: a watchful security guard, an old woman sneaking in from the woods, and the ever-present threat of wildfires. Bailey's sense of unease heightens as she navigates the treacherous environment and Jack's disturbing revelations about his family. The disappearance of Jack’s mother and wife, combined with the lurking presence of a serial killer, casts a shadow over Bailey's investigation. As she pieces together clues about the missing women, Bailey grapples with self-doubt and the fear that she might not survive to uncover the truth.

"What Fire Brings" is truly suspenseful, and nothing is as it seems. Hall expertly weaves a narrative filled with tension, paranoia, and unexpected twists, making it a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and mysteries.

I struggled a bit to get into this book but overall did enjoy it enough to finish.
I'm going to give it a 3-star overall.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

The cover for this is gorgeous! This was one of my hopefuls for this year, so I was so excited and grateful to get a review copy from NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer!

Bailey is an interesting, kind of quirky aspiring private detective. I loved the way her dream of becoming a detective inspired her mission to find Sam Morris, and how Bailey struggled at times, wondering whether she’d made the right decision to take on this job.

The setting was immersive and the description vivid, making the danger in Topanga Canyon real, but the action took a little while to get started as Bailey got her bearings in a new place and tried to make sense of what might’ve happened to Sam.

Sometimes it felt like the story got a little lost and it took a while before things got super tense, but when it picked up pace it accelerated quickly and stayed there right until the end!

I liked this one, especially the author's voice, but the story overall wasn't my favorite. I want to read more from this author!

There are surprises around every corner in this well-written, suspenseful thriller. Rachel Howzell Hall never disappoints me with her lovely prose and excellent sense of humor. In this book, Bailey becomes a "writer in residence" for the famous writer Jack (who to my mind seems like a thinly veiled Hames Patterson). She will "co-write" (but really ghostwrite) a book with him for the bestseller list he hits every time. Only unbeknownst to Jack, Bailey is not really Bailey, the young promising writer, but a private investigator looking into a young woman's disappearance in Topanga Canyon. And with every chapter, the reader starts to wonder if the charismatic bestselling author was involved.

Rachel Howzell Hall is an automatic read author for me and like I said, she's never let me down and this book is no exception. At turns laugh out loud funny and scary, and with great shocks and an excellent payoff of an ending, this book is a worthy read that you'll gobble up quickly.

3.5 stars.
Bailey Meadows arrives at the luxurious home of famous writer Jack Beckham. She has been granted his latest writer-in-residence position, and will be working closely with Beckham to craft her first novel. She's a little less thrilled when Jack says she was chosen because she is Black, and she will demonstrate he is widening his audience, and she fits the bill for the program's diversity requirements.

But, Bailey is not actually a writer. She works for a private investigation firm owned by former police officer Avery Turner, and is in the Topanga Canyon to locate Samantha "Sam" Morris, a dedicated investigator of missing persons cases who worked with Avery. Sam Morris has located many missing women, or their bodies, over the years, bringing their families some measure of relief.

The Topanga Canyon is hard hit by drought, and the surrounding forest is ever ready to burst into flame. Bailey is educated daily about just how delicate the natural balance is, and how devastatingly fast a fire could spread.

Bailey is equipped with a recording device, her phone, her pc, her paper journal, and files about women who have gone missing in the canyon for several years. Her phone is mostly useless, however, as a connection to a cell network or the internet is spotty at the best of times.

Bailey begins to experience noises almost immediately within the well-appointed guest house on the property, causing her to question what she is seeing and hearing. She receives the occasional strange text messages, and wonders about the man working security in the area.

Bailey's file on Sam indicates that Sam had been looking for years in the canyon for her missing mother Theresa Morris. Sam was also seeing a psychiatrist before her disappearance, and it's surmised she may have entered a dissociative fugue, simply wandering off, or possibly she suffered an accident, or had a deadly encounter with one of the wild animals in the canyon.

Meanwhile, gradually, Bailey seems to gain Jack's trust. His family has suffered tragedy, with his mother disappearing during his childhood, and later, his wife also disappearing, presumed drowned, during a working vacation.

This was a very twisty, and challenging read, with the intermittent failures of Bailey's technology, the odd noises, appearances of a strange woman on the property, the snooping security guy, and odd clues that point to not only Sam's but another woman's disappearance not so long ago. Then there is Bailey's heightened fear of fire, some odd things Jack says and does, and everything seeming much worse as Bailey is still recovering from a mugging that left her injured and shaken, and remembering, in flashes, moments from the incident. As time goes on, one starts to wonder what is real and what is imagined.

Then the book snaps into terrible focus at around sixty to seventy percent into the novel, and things become clear and awful. Jack's desires to reach a new audience are sincere, but there is so much about him that kept me wondering about his veracity and his past. And Bailey proved a difficult window into the activities around her; she's got a keen wit, she's analytical and driven, but the more time we spend with her, the more we wonder if things around her are being manipulated to skew her perceptions, or whether she is a reliable narrator.

I liked this book, but it definitely took me a while to appreciate the story. But, I knew that if I hung on (particularly because of the big clue the author gave us early on), Rachel Howzell Hall would reveal all and I'd be left entertained and rewarded, which I can attest to.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Thomas & Mercer for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Bailey moves into a well known writers mansion to help him with his next book. Nothing is what it seems and it feels like she can’t trust anyone. She is a PI that is searching for her friend that went missing in this area. Did Jack have something to do with it? Did his staff?

This book relies heavily on confusing the reader and an unreliable narrator. I was at first confused as to what was happening. I felt like there needed to be better back story on the characters to keep everyone straight. I also was slightly Annoyed with the main character Bailey. There was so much back and forth with what she knew and what she didn’t know it became increasingly frustrating in the book. The last 25% of the book picks up steam and reveals a few twists. I think this book will appeal to some readers but I wasn’t a huge fan.

Thank you netgalley for a copy of this book.

This was my first time reading something by Rachel Howzell Hall and I was not disappointed. The cover is unique in its design and the title doesn't give away too much of the story. I was beyond amazed at the story. The author did a good job of developing the characters and describing this world. In addition to trying to solve a mysterious death, the details regarding microaggressions experienced ny the MC were well-written. The story was also thought provoking in it's message. I enjoyed this book and think others will too. I'll definitely read more by this author.

The setting is what really creates the tension in this thriller. Topanga Canyon is a tinder box with one road in and out and it's fire season. Bailey Meadows has just moved in with author Jack Beckham, posing as an author-in-residence while she's really a private investigator in training, there to investigate a disappearance in the canyon. There are a lot of missing women in this book, both in real life and in Jack's novels. At times, I struggled to keep them all straight. The author did an amazing job of depicting the fear that comes with approaching wildfires and some of the revelations at the end were completely unexpected.

I cannot get enough of this author. I can't praise her enough. In this one our main character is a writers retreat to try to find her online friend Sam. It is both beautiful and creepy.
The whole setting was perfect.
I also love the examples of microaggressions our character deals with. I was angry on her behalf.
Like the stuff with the bonnet. Fellow white women - those are good for our hair too!
I felt for her with the food allergy thing. I also have food allergies and they aren't common ones. Terrifying!
Love this.

My thanks to the team of NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this review copy.
This review is based on my reading this book and is an honest reflection of my views about the story.
I liked the story and the character of the protagonist Bailey Meadows as a upcoming private eye who goes undercover in a writers retreat.
Rachel has described the locations well and as a reader this was a place that I would love to visit. She goes into a lot of details all across the book which sometimes slows the pace of the story. This helps develop the other characters which end up well fleshed out.
For a reader the first phase of the story needs to be crossed before the story draws you in and you end up being engrossed in the story.

This was my first book from the author and I will be on the lookout for Rachel's next book with interest.

I liked this, but didn't love it. I think the overall premise is somewhat interesting but I was missing a deep connection to the main character that would make me root for her through everything - but probably because some information about her was left vague, there was a bit of a disconnect. A lot of this story had a slow pace, so I became a little restless in the middle, but I did enjoy the way it really picked up at the end. I think the twists and reveals were a little lost on me due to that character vagueness and the confusion it caused me to have, but it is a satisfying story once I sit down to think about it. I think I'll have to read more from this author to figure out her writing style a little more, and hopefully find a book from her that I love.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this read. I used to really find Rachel’s books were up and down for me but I think she just writes with a lot of detail so I have to walk into them remembering them because this one was good. This was very twisty serial murder mystery that I felt was well done. I will keep looking out for her books as I am starting to know what to look out for in her books.