The Burning Air by Erin Kelly - review

What's The Burning Air about?The MacBride family gather in Devon for Bonfire Night as they do every year - except this year everything is different. Lydia, the head of the family is dead, and her children are all trying to come to terms with her passing while dealing with their complicated lives. Things are about to get even more complicated when youngest son Felix brings a new girlfriend to the house and a deep, dark secret from the MacBride's past is revealed.

goodtoknow says: If you were a fan of Erin Kelly's first novel, The Poison Tree, you'll love this. It's definitely her most psychological thriller yet and is the very essence of a page turner - we literally couldn't put it down.

The story flips between past and present, yet it's never confusing and only aids the narrative, luring you in with twists and turns. By keeping the number of protagonists down, you really get to know them and Kelly never shies away from her characters giving them many layers - the goodies aren't necessarily so, while you feel some compassion for the villain of the piece. Aside from giving us goosebumps in places, it also confronted us with questions of loyalty and the class divide.

Obviously, it wouldn't be a thriller without a twist and this one was truly a shocker - it made us turn those pages even quicker so we could see exactly how it would all be resolved. A taut, yet extremely readable novel, this is the perfect companion for a cold winter's night!

Rating: 8/10

If you like this, you'll like: Blacklands by Belinda Bauer or Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Publish date: Out now

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Have a look at our other books in the 2013 Book Club collection. See other reviews of the 2013 Book Club books, as well as last year's titles here.

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