This review is written with thanks to Penguin for my copy of The Burning Girls via Netgalley.

Blurb:

500 years ago: eight martyrs burned
30 years ago: two teenagers vanished
Two months ago: a vicar died mysteriously

Welcome to Chapel Croft.

For Rev Jack Brooks and teenage daughter Flo it’s a fresh start. New job, new home. But in a close-knit community old superstitions and a mistrust of outsiders mean treading carefully.

Yet right away Jack has more frightening concerns.

Why did no one say the last vicar killed himself? Why is Flo plagued by visions of burning girls? And who is sending them threatening messages?

Old ghosts with scores to settle can never rest. And Jack is standing in their way . . .

Review:

Now that I’ve read The Burning Girls, I’ve read all of CJ Tudor’s novels and she never disappoints. Reverend Jack Brooks and her daughter, Flo, have moved to Chapel Croft from Nottingham. It’s isolated, but the residents all know each other and they all have secrets. CJ Tudor creates this type of environment really well and I loved the creepy atmosphere of the location, which drew me into this story, which is part crime, part horror and part supernatural, immediately.

The central character of The Burning Girls is Reverend Jack (short for Jacqueline) Brooks. Jack is not necessarily what you would expect in a vicar, and I love how CJ Tudor uses her character to subvert expectations and explore issues such as good and evil which really made me think. As a character, I found Jack quite easy to warm to and I loved her determination to get to the bottom of the mystery in the story.

The Burning Girls is incredibly well plotted. There is lots to unpack and some impressive twists all the way through. It did get a little complicated towards the mode, but I was completely invested in the story from beginning to end.

The Burning Girls is available from Amazon.