Liked the idea of this but not the execution. The ending makes sense but getting there was absolutely unhinged. I only kept reading to see this all turned out so I guess that’s a bonus.

An undercover job that becomes a survival mission for herself. At the same time, going undercover to investigate Bailey and the dangers involved at the canyon. It's a fast-paced novel with great characters that pull you in from the beginning. A plot that has you thinking this could have happened. Bailey's character is charming and so likable that you don't want the story to end.
I enjoyed this book and look forward to more by Rachel Howzell Hall.

This story will have you hooked and will definitely keep you guessing with all the twists in the book.

This book just is full of all kinds of thriller and suspense vibes and everytime you think you have it figured out you don't as everything looks as though you know what it is well you won't.

The end reveal will have you thinking about this book after you are done reading it. This has a great plot, great insight and the characters are so complex will have you wanting more from the author.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

I’ve read one of Rachel Howzell Hall’s novels before, so I was interested in checking out her latest thriller.

What Fire Brings, the story of Bailey Meadows, who’s investigating the disappearance of a woman at the residence of a thriller writer. It provided a nice starting point, which immediately plunged the character into an unfamiliar setting with people she might or might not be able to trust. With the low to no internet access or phone service, despite being in Topanga Canyon on an expensive estate—not far from L.A.—the setting had an almost isolated atmosphere to it. Not going to lie: it was an interesting set up, especially with how quick the story introduced the players and pointed toward its overarching mystery.

And it was thrilling, for the most part. For me, however, the middle of the story got a little shaky; especially after how much I enjoyed the way Hall set up the circumstances of the mystery and Bailey’s motivation. At times I was frustrated with her, especially where it seemed there wasn’t much progress being made on the disappearance she was supposed to be investigating. And it felt a little like some clues just kind of fell into place or were a little muddled (there was a reason for this, so I’m glad I stuck with the story). That being said, What Fire Brings was highly readable with a couple of big—and very smart—twists toward the final stretch of the book, which made all the pieces click together. Nothing was as it first appeared. And, ultimately, the story was far more sinister, dark, and tragic than I initially suspected.

So despite the few aspects about the book I was lukewarm on, overall what was good about What Fire Brings outweighed the rest. And, ultimately, I liked this thriller.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Thomas & Mercer) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

This book is a bit of a wild ride, and one that will leave you questioning everything ... including what exactly is going on! It's hard to talk about the story without giving a lot away, but let's just say that I frequently found myself confused while reading this book. Which made it a little hard to get into. The last quarter of the book was very fast-paced and gripping though, and it wraps everything up. If you like unreliable narrators and plots that that leave you guessing and questioning every character, this might be the book for you!

A huge amount of words for a small plot. It's not unpleasant to read at first, as the writing itself and the characters are very good. But instead of getting clearer, everything turns into a real mess, before the not very surprising ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy. Unfortunately I could not get into the storyline of What Fire Brings. I made it to the 12% mark and had little interest in the storyline. I spent the entire time confused on what was going on.

"A writer's search for her missing friend becomes a real-life thriller in a twisting novel of suspense by the New York Times bestselling author of These Toxic Things.

Bailey Meadows has just moved into the remote Topanga Canyon home of thriller author Jack Beckham. As his writer-in-residence, she's supposed to help him once again reach the bestseller list. But she's not there to write a thriller - she's there to find Sam Morris, a community leader dedicated to finding missing people, who has disappeared in the canyon surrounding Beckham's property.

The missing woman was last seen in the drought-stricken forest known for wildfires and mountain lions. Each new day, Bailey learns just how dangerous these canyons are - for the other women who have also gone missing here...and for her. Could these missing women be linked to strange events that occurred decades ago at the Beckham estate?

As fire season in the canyons approaches, Bailey must race to unravel the truth from fiction before she becomes the next woman lost in the forest."

But her investigation could become a True Crime bestseller depending of she makes it out alive...

Bailey Meadows has just moved into the remote Topanga Canyon home of thriller author Jack Beckham. As his writer-in-residence, she’s supposed to help him once again reach the bestseller list. But she’s not there to write a thriller—she’s there to find Sam Morris, a community leader dedicated to finding missing people, who has disappeared in the canyon surrounding Beckham’s property. The missing woman was last seen in the drought-stricken forest known for wildfires and mountain lions. Each new day, Bailey learns just how dangerous these canyons are—for the other women who have also gone missing here…and for her. Could these missing women be linked to strange events that occurred decades ago at the Beckham estate? As fire season in the canyons approaches, Bailey must race to unravel the truth from fiction before she becomes the next woman lost in the forest. Quite the twisty thriller from an author who stays original and never disappoints. Held me from start to finish.

Know that this is slow in the beginning but then, then it gets more interesting. Bailey is pretending to be a writer but she's really at Jack's to explore the canyon where her friend Sam went missing, Turns out though, that more women have disappeared over time and Bailey finds she's in danger. This has a few good twists and I liked Bailey's voice. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

What Fire Brings by Rachel Howzell Hall is a riveting thriller that grips you from the first page and refuses to let go until the very end. Set in the remote and treacherous Topanga Canyon, this novel follows Bailey Meadows, who has taken up residence in the home of bestselling author Jack Beckham. But Bailey isn't there to write; she's on a mission to find Sam Morris, a community leader who has vanished in the surrounding wilderness.

The canyon is no stranger to danger, with its drought-stricken forests, looming wildfires, and lurking mountain lions. As Bailey delves deeper into the mystery, she uncovers a chilling connection between Sam's disappearance and a series of women who have gone missing in the same area. Could these incidents be linked to dark secrets from the past, buried within the Beckham estate?

With longer chapters that immerse you in the suspenseful atmosphere, What Fire Brings keeps you guessing at every turn. As fire season looms, Bailey races against time to untangle the truth before she becomes the next victim of the unforgiving wilderness.

Rachel Howzell Hall's masterful storytelling and skillful pacing make What Fire Brings a must-read for fans of gripping mysteries. Prepare to be on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Bailey Meadows is a private investigator in training who recently relocated to Topanga Canyon. She may have gone to the remote Southern California area as a part of a writers-in-residence program for famed thriller author Jack Beckham, but her real motives have a little to do with writing a book. Bailey is looking for the missing founder of a nonprofit. One that actually helps other families find missing loved ones. Yet now owner Sam Morris is the missing person herself. Bailey begins searching for Sam in the dangerous canyons she was last seen in, particularly the area around Beckham‘s estate. Strangely enough many other women over decades have gone missing in this very same location. Could this all be connected? As Bailey frantically searches for answers, she begins to wonder if she may end up being the next missing woman.
What Fire Brings is a psychological thriller that takes the reader on a wild ride through the treacherous canyons of Southern California as we follow the clues of missing women with our FMC Bailey. I will say the beginning of this book was a bit of a struggle for me to get through as it was on the slower side till about 35% in. I also found some writing style choices to not necessarily work for me. As it came off as rather choppy with the story unfolding through police reports, flashbacks, dreams, thoughts from the past missing women, and then of course mostly from Bailey who at times was very scatterbrained. I can appreciate the authors intentions behind these creative stylistic choices when it came to the FMC though as they did tend to showcase Bailey’s frantic searching in an immersive way. Once I became use to these stylistic choices though I did begin to enjoy the book and the plot more. The last quarter without a doubt had me turning pages as many of the twists were beginning to reveal themselves, some of which I did not see coming. Overall What Fire Brings was a unique thriller that fans of slow burn mysteries will without a doubt enjoy.
What Fire Brings comes out June 11th, 2024.
Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I got to 20% and unfortunately had to DNF. I struggled to get into this one because it felt all over the place. The writing style felt choppy and didn’t really make sense in places. I think the story had alot of promise and some parts had my attention. But when the story reverted back to the choppiness it lost me again. I may give this one another try later but it just wasn’t holding my attention right now.

This felt like trying to solve a mystery using someone else's brain.

You get the hint in the beginning that the main character may be under some type of psychological distress, but it's never really acknowledged or explained. As the story proceeds, you're limited to knowing only what the character is able to understand. If she can't remember something, you can't remember something. If she reads an article out of context, you read it out of context. If she can't process new information, you can't process it. This structure, at times, could be confusing to read, but I was always "getting it" just enough to stay intrigued.

Ultimately, this was a standard thriller plot made more interesting because of the way it was told. The characters and setting were also stronger than other books of its type. Suspension of disbelief was too high for me to love this, but otherwise a solid read.

This was not a book that wowed me. I thought the storyline was a great idea and very different from the usual books I read. However, this just didn’t hold my attention, and I found myself putting the book down after reading for just a little while. I honestly just didn’t enjoy it.

What Fire Brings
ARC - Pub Date June 11, 2024

I love a good mystery, especially one with a remote setting but the first third of this book was a little tough to get through. I did not love the writing style (choppy sentences and confusing sequences) and felt like the main character was very difficult to connect with. The story follows Bailey Meadows, an aspiring PI, who is “undercover” at a writing retreat, trying to find a missing woman.

About 60% of the way into the book I was ready to DNF because I disliked the main character so much and thought the story was really dragging with that said I am happy I did not DNF. The ending is very gripping and I loved the twists! I also came to not despise the MC by the end of the novel. This is a good thriller overall but be prepared for a slow start. Also, the cover is beautiful!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC of this!

Unfortunately I had to DNF. Completely missed the mark as to what the book was even supposed to be about. The MC wants to be a PI, but doesn’t investigate anything, or has anxiety about the smallest inconveniences. This was supposed to be a story about finding a missing girl, but she’s hardly ever mentioned and we get little to no information about this missing character, and when we do, it’s completely irrelevant.

4.25 stars!

This is my first book by Rachel Howzell Hall, but it will not be my last! This book followed Bailey Meadows as she stays at the illustrious Beckham property as a writer in residence in Topanga County in Southern California. Growing up in Southern California myself, I thought all of the conversations about fires and living in a place where wildfires happen, were very relatable. I also liked how the idea of fire was used to add tension to the events of the novel.

I do think the beginning 35-45% of this book was a little slow, but once the action really gets going and things get revealed I was absolutely hooked. I had to know what was going to happen and I was ripping through the pages.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

No. Just no. If I have to suffer through one more fucking ellipsis or dash I'm going to scream! Seriously, I've tried, but sometimes you just KNOW it isn't going to work. On paper, What Fire Brings should have been a great fit for me. I love a good remote setting and a bookish angle; add a missing person case as well as the promise of danger and I was all in. Not that I'm denying that it was the absolutely stunning cover that first caught my attention of course... But still, I fully expected to have an excellent time with this story, and to my surprise the complete opposite ended up happening. I'll try to explain briefly why I ended up making the decision to DNF below.

First of all, I have to say that I still love the premise of What Fire Brings. This story had SO much potential, and it's a shame I wasn't able to convince myself to read any further. I've seen reviews mention that the last third of the book makes it all worth it, but that only makes me question if it can be called 'worth it' if you have to trudge through what is basically the majority of the book first. With the way I was struggling, for me personally I don't think it was. Sure, I would have liked to get to the interesting part and truly see what What Fire Brings was all about, but this ment skimreading more than half of the book to get there, and I just didn't see the point.

Why did I struggle so much with What Fire Brings then? In one word: the writing. To say that I despised the writing style is an understatement, and it is something that is VERY hard to overcome with it being such an essential part of a book. The punctuation, the unfinished sentences, the word choice, the messy structure and random incorporation of information... It all just grated SO much on me, and I started to hate ever single second I had to spend with this story. You know something is wrong when you stop reading to browse other reviews to see if you are the only one struggling... And there is definitely something wrong when you would rather iron or clean the bathroom than read another page. Oh yes, this story was just about as fun as a trip to the dentist for me! And seriously, if I have to suffer through another ellipsis or dash in the middle of a sentence, I might just murder my kindle.

This wasn't all though, because I also had issues with the main character Bailey Meadows. There is no way on earth you can convince me that Bailey could be a decent PI one day, or even one in training. She is basically a complete mess and a tense ball of anxiety, and it is a miracle people don't see straight through her. I don't think I would ever be able to connect to her, and even though I've seen in her reviews that her 'state' is later explained, I honestly don't think it would have redeemed the story for me. I also wasn't a fan of how it was set during the pandemic with multiple mentions of masks and other elements and no clear function in the plot other than being a filler.

Anyhow, I know that I only read 14% of What Fire Brings, so you should probably take this review with a grain of salt... There are simply some things that are impossible to overcome, and having such a strong aversion to the writing style is one of them. I'm sad I had to add to add another DNF to my list this year, but I really don't want to waste my weekend reading something that is so clearly not for me.

I’ve enjoyed the author’s previous efforts, but I’m not sure how I feel about this one. The following may contain minor spoilers so please bear with me. Bailey Meadows is such an unreliable narrator, that I figured out the main twist from the beginning. I also had issues with one of the plot points: how could a rookie PI write well enough to make an established author give her an opportunity many professionals would kill for. This is explained in the end, but it bothered me throughout the novel. It also mixed police reports and newspaper articles, Bailey’s journal, as well as parts of the fictitious novel that made Jack Beckham famous. The puzzle pieces fit all in the end, and there was a big reveal that I didn’t see coming, but the parts seemed disconnected. I loved the author’s writing and the way she describes Beckham’s mansion and the nature in Topanga Canyon. I was also involved in the story and rooting for Bailey. Possibly my biggest issue was that it relies too much on true crime, which is a genre I don’t like. I was really looking forward to this one, I may just be the wrong reader.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Thomas & Mercer.