This story is the definition of controlled chaos. I spent so much of the book completely confused, and that’s exactly the point. The story is told so much through Bailey’s point of view that we, the reader, can only know and experience what she’s thinking and feeling. Because Bailey is scared, disoriented and confused, we are scared, disoriented, and confused.

Reading What Brings Fire is a full body experience. I was immersed in the environment of Topanga County - the smells of the burning fire, the remoteness of the Beckham estate, the looming woods, and the shadowy figures. Howzell Hall expertly executed this story from start to finish. If you’re reading it not and sure if you should keep going, or reading this review and not sure if this story is for you, keep going, pick it up, everything comes together brilliantly.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy this author and I have no problem suspending disbelief for the sake of a good story. And there is a good story here; but the book needs some serious editing.

There are breadcrumbs throughout but the issue with being told about a specific mind condition with no context and how the story moves....deflates the reveal. The setup is abandoned almost immediately, which would have made for a more interesting story, and the fractured storytelling doesn't have the payoff I want it to. The dialogue is stilted. But the mystery is there, the threat and danger are there and theres still enough to figure out that I really do think you should push through to get to the end. Even if the last sentence is infuriating.

Twisting, anxiety-inducing and filled with misdirection, What Fire Brings will leave you sweaty and breathless on this decent into the abyss to find the truth. Rachel Howzell Hall skillfully pairs the suspense of a missing persons investigation with the intensity of an approaching wildfire to craft this tension-filled thriller where no one is who they seem.

Bailey Meadows is the new writer-in-residence at the home of best-selling thriller author Jack Beckham, where she’s expected to improve her craft while helping Jack write his next big hit. But Bailey is really a private investigator in training, searching for a missing woman who disappeared in the canyon around Jack’s property. As she conducts her search, she learns about other disappearances, weird occurrences and questionable characters that puts her on high alert. And as a roaring wildfire bears down on the estate, Bailey must quickly uncover the truth before she becomes the next victim.

This novel has a great premise – going undercover as a developing writer to find the truth about a woman who disappeared around the home of a famous writer. Going into the belly of the beast if you will. And it grows into something even more promising with the introduction of additional missing persons, a wildfire that threatens to cut the investigation short and the realization that each character has a hidden agenda. All of which gives What Fire Brings a sense of urgency and depth that engages the reader. It also results in a lot of moving parts, some of which will seem confusing. But choosing to stick with it is rewarded handsomely by the author with a fiery and explosive race to the finish that will rock your world.

I just finished What Fire Brings by Rachel Howzell Hall. I was a huge fan of We Lie Here and was excited to get an advanced copy of this, her latest thriller. Glancing at other early reviews, I see a handful of people saying they got about a third of the way into it but didn’t finish. That’s a bummer cause if they had just held out a little bit longer, they’d have been hooked. This book is the definition of a slow burn. It hits that halfway point and just catches fire… You see the pun I’m making here? — But seriously, I think the slow burn was totally intentional.

Written in the first person, the story follows Bailey Meadows, an undercover private investigator masquerading as an aspiring author. Bailey is searching for Sam, a friend of hers who went missing in Topanga Canyon outside of Los Angeles. Fabricating herself a convincing backstory – and with the help of some mysterious allies – Bailey lands a fellowship with Jack Beckham, a highly successful mystery author who wants her to join him at his remote canyon estate to co-write his next best-seller.

So this location is super important: Topanga Canyon is nestled deep in the Santa Monica Mountains, which—thanks to climate change and all that—are primed for a catastrophic wildfire—hint hint.

This book juggles many cool things, and I applaud Hall for making it work. You have the mystery, which, as it unravels, just gets bigger and bigger and more out of control—like a wildfire. WINK WINK. But you also have the whole aspiring author, book-writing thing, which gets wonderfully meta. And then there’s the actual wildfire threat, which is… terrifying.

To sum up, Rachel Howzell Hall’s books are fast-paced and fun to read, and What Fire Brings is no different.

What a book! I thought this was going to be similar to Hall's crime series and, well, it's not! Imagine picking up a book and reading about a third of the book, then turning the book on it's side and reading it from that angle, then turning it and reading it upside for a white, then turn it back correctly to finish it out. THAT'S how I felt reading What Fire Brings. It wasn't that I was lost, I was just reading it tilted, right? And then, just when I had it all figured out and it made sense I read the last page! What the hell was that about!? I don't know, I just don't know. Is this a review or me just rambling. It's review of a book that totally confused me and yet I absolutely loved it all at the same time.

Solid thriller/mystery about a missing woman in the canyons outside LA. Liked the different angle it used as a PI posing as a writer and the backdrop of the fires in southern California added to the suspense. Had some decent twists but felt a little too long at times giving it 3 stars. I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Oh this book. I could not put it down, and loved every minute of it. It had everything I loved in a book and more. Thank you thank you!

I had a great time with it and was excited to pick it back up. My only gripe is that the ending became a little too dizzying for me. I’m not entirely sure I understand what happened in the last bits. I think this will be a fun book to read again knowing some of what’s really going on and picking up new clues.

Energy: Wary. Confident. Instinctive.
Scene: 🇺🇸 A luxurious estate in Topanga Canyon, California
Perspective: We follow an aspiring PI undercover as a writer-in-residence at the estate of a famous thriller author. They are trying to discover what may have happened to a colleague and friend who was last seen in the area before going missing. We also get flashbacks to an earlier time in the same region when a killer was preying on women.

🐕 Howls: Dizzying cluttered ending. .
🐩 Tail Wags: Use of natural and man-made situations to create unease and high-stakes moments. Bursts of high stakes. Disorienting and unreliable narrators and characters. Our main character. Unhinged villains.

🤔 Random Thoughts:
Disorienting in the best way (on purpose and consistent) so I could still overanalyze characters’ actions and puzzle through the clues even while in suspended disbelief mode. I love when I can mentally yell at a character and then have it all make sense 🫢.

The lead up to the ending was a little too all over the place and I was getting whiplash, but I still liked how it ultimately ended. Just be okay with open and unresolved endings, though!

Not a big fan of action movies or film noir, but this felt like a mix of those in a way I wanted. It had the elements of those genres that I enjoy (bursts of high stakes, misinterpreting dangerous situations) without the bits I dislike (no prolonged fight scenes or repetitive cat-and-mouse games).

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🎬 Tale-Telling: Choppy, staccato, gritty.
🤓 Reader Role: On the shoulder of the main character. Thrown right in the story with no idea what’s happening or who is who. We discover everything as it happens around us.
🗺️ World-Building: Sensory, atmospheric, cinematic.
🔥 Fuel: Starts with PI sleuthing to uncover what happened to the missing women in this area. Is Bailey’s colleague safe, in danger, or worse? Moves to what is actually going on? Who can we trust? Who is who?
📖 Cred: Plausible to suspended disbelief but in an intriguing way.
🚙 Journey: Memorable weekend getting lost on dusty, twisty roads with some great views.

Mood Reading Match-Up:
-Sundrenched hills. Wildflowers. Cicadas. Bacon sizzling. Smoothie blending. Frosted grass. Smoke-filled skies. Owl hooting. Footsteps on gravel.
-Gritty whodunnit…did anyone do it? mystery
-Casts of potentially unreliable characters

Content Heads-Up: Medical (allergies, stitches/blood). Prescription drug use. Parental abandonment (brief, recall). Mental health (dissociation, fugue). Racism, prejudice (virtue signalling, characters). Loss of a parent. Murdered or missing persons. Natural disasters (fire).

Rep: Black, White, and Latina Americans. Cisgender. Heterosexual.

📚 Format: Advance Reader’s Copy from Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶

Obsessed! I was on the edge of my seat turning the page needing more. I was completely captured by the story and drawn in. I was hooked from the first chapter!

A serial killer on the loose and the private investigator is pretending to be a writer to locate a missing person. This book had so much potential but it really fell flat for me. The writing and plot was all over the place, and I was totally confused as to what was going on.

I loved this story!! This one was such a great thrill ride! There were several twists that I did not see coming and that blew my mind! I loved the storytelling within the storytelling. It had a slow start that was a little confusing to follow at first but did pick up. Would definitely recommend this one!

This book!!!! I'm going to give it 4 stars 🌟
This book is about Bailey Meadows, who's pretending to be a writer and joined a program to help famous writer Jack Beckham write his next hit novel, while also trying to solve the disappearance of a woman named Sam Morris. While staying in the forest of California, Bailey, gets more than she bargained for and things definitely go awry.
I cannot say more for fear of spoiling things, but this book was twisty, thrilling, slightly confusing at times, but all tied up nicely in the end. Overall I really enjoyed this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers Thomas &Mercer along with the author for this eARC of the novel.

Fire season in Southern California is something I know a lot about yet I felt this story was just okay.

Jack Beckham has a writers-in-residence program that Bailey Meadows gets into. He is trying to find a new way to amp up his stories and get him on the best sellers list again. However, she is just pretending to be a writer and is actually looking for a woman named Sam, founder of the nonprofit The Way Home.

Once you got past the beginning stages there are twists that keep you into it. The ending did justice to the book.

Bailey Meadows, masquerading as an author, teams up with thriller writer Jack Beckham at his secluded canyon estate to search for her missing friend, Sam. Jack aims to broaden his audience with Bailey's help, but their collaboration becomes complicated by eerie occurrences and limited communication with the outside world. As Bailey delves deeper into the investigation, she uncovers unsettling secrets lurking within the estate. Rachel Howzell Hall's "What Fire Brings" masterfully blends suspense with social commentary, delivering a gripping tale of intrigue and character development that will keep readers hooked until the very end.

Another good one by Rachel! In this Topanga Canyon setting, a private eye poses as a writer to solve a missing person case. Lots of surprises that you won't see coming. Great characters.

Eventually, I enjoyed this story and the writing style, even with the slow burn beginning. TBH, it was hard to get into. But I don't like to DNF books, then, there were twists I didn't expect and I stayed. Bailey as a character was definitely an amateur investigator and I found that part fun and messy. If anything, I wasn't big on the ending. There needed to be a little more because it was too smooth.

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Thomas & Mercer publishing for the ARC of What Fire Brings by Rachel Howzell Hall in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to read this book because I thought it would be more about the nature of the canyon and the danger therein from fires and predators, with a PI investigating the space around the canyon for their missing friend. Instead, for some reason, we are immediately introduced to Bailey as she has conned her way into a writer-in-residence role to investigate the author owner who may have been involved in a quest for the truth.

DNF at 45% through because I honestly had no idea what was happening. I didn't understand why the writer-in-residence role was necessary to look for a missing person (and how the people checking her in at the kick-off event did not have her on the list? and how there was no sort of verification of any of the writer awards/background she gave them?), and what kind of investigator sets up this sort of long con and doesn't actually read the books of the man she's investigating? And then sometimes the plot switches between the Beckham books and the present and maybe the story Bailey is now planning to write with Beckham even though she is not a writer? Some of the descriptions were just so strange as well - how does someone smell like vitamins? Checked out the last 10% to see what the resolution was and still could not reasonably make the description match the plot or the information given in the first half of the book in any sort of fulfilling way.

This is maybe 3.25 stars. There were parts that were incredibly good and other parts that were incredibly confusing. I felt like I was dropped in the middle of the story and it was so disjointed (which I think was the tone/sense the author was going for). But it was a bit too much. As a result, I had a really hard time getting into the story and it took me forever to read.

I love Howzell’s characters, descriptions, and ideas. I just wish they were organized a bit more. I really wanted to just relax into this book but I couldn’t ever get there. I had to constantly stop to review what I had read or what was happening with certain characters, even through the very end of the book. And some pieces of the story were left completely unexplained/unresolved (that felt like pretty important plot points).

I wanted to like the book, I loved some of the book. And I won't give up on Howzell as an author. But this is one I can't really recommend.

This was my second book by author Rachel Howzell Hall, and wow, I have to say I'm a fan!
The story is told through Bailey's point of view, as she starts her undercover investigation. Bailey is aware of the potential danger all around her, which really lends the story feelings of anxiety and urgency. Bailey is motivated, but also realistic and she knows that if Jack had something to do with Sam's disappearance, then Bailey has walked into a very dangerous situation. She's also quite isolated; cell reception is spotty at best, the wifi is constantly not working, and Jack's estate is secluded. It's easy to imagine feeling paranoid, and Hall translates these feelings so well. I found myself constantly urging Bailey to just leave!

I really appreciated the writing style in this story. Hall writes with an immediacy that really brings the pages to life. There are several moments where Bailey doesn't know what's going on, things are happening in a terrifying blur, and as the reader you're caught up in the middle of it. It's chaotic and stressful and fantastic. It really kept me racing through the pages, desperate to see what was happening and how it would all resolve.

The additional threat of wildfire added its own special terror to the story. I'm from Idaho, and I've seen wildfires and the devastation they bring. I've gazed at fire from a much safer distance than Bailey and felt absolute fear. The characters reassure her, "it's always fire season here" so don't worry until it's time to worry, but I'm with Bailey. Get me as far away as possible!

The first half of the book was a bit of a slow burn for me (no pun intended), as the elements of the story are put into place and we get a real feel for the characters and the general situation. But once the action starts it keeps up at a dizzying pace and the pages flew by. I also had to just stop and marvel at all the little pieces that had been set up during the story. They all came crashing together in a stunning reveal that had me truly impressed.

Bailey Meadows is an aspiring private investigator, and she’s now posing as an “emerging” writer, accepted into a program where she’s paired with famous thriller writer Jack Beckham at his estate. The Beckham residence, located in secluded and dense Topanga Canyon, was where the missing person Bailey is searching for was believed to be last seen. Over the years, other women have also gone missing near the residence, and Bailey tries to find the connection, and the threats are mounting, both from inside the residence and from an approaching wildfire. What Fire Brings has an unusual narrative as the plot unfolds with seemingly random bits and pieces of information, journal entries and police reports interspersed with the story. As the book progresses you’ll understand why, but as you’re reading, this scattered style was jarring and confusing, and really took away my interest as I was trying to decipher the ramblings. Although I’ve enjoyed this author’s prior books, and once the plot comes together it finally all made sense, I had to fight my way there, and that diminished my enjoyment of this book. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.