Book Review: Girls Who Burn by M K Pagano

Publisher’s Book Description:

A twisty, pulse-pounding enemies-to-lovers thriller full of secrets, privilege, and murder.

The summer before her senior year, Addie hurled the worst words she could think of at her sister—and hours later, Fiona was found dead at the bottom of a ravine. The police ruled her death an accident, but Addie has never bought it. Her ballet-prodigy sister didn’t slip and fall; she was pushed.

Addie’s number one suspect: Thatcher Montgomery, the rich boy down the street who always had a thing for Fiona. No one believes her—least of all Thatcher’s cousin Seth, Addie’s childhood rival and the boy she’s always loved to hate. Arguing with Seth is easy; living with her own questionable choices involving Seth the night Fiona died . . . much harder.

But when one year later Thatcher is found dead at the bottom of the same ravine, Addie is forced to admit she was wrong. To catch the real killer, she’ll have to seek help from the only one she can trust—the boy she was with during both murders. As Addie and Seth dodge corrupt police and his even more corrupt family, Addie will have to decide if her growing bond with Seth is stronger than familial ties, and if their link will keep her safe—or turn her into the next victim.

Karen’s Thoughts:

After months of being in a reading slump, my go-to comfort reads of mystery/thrillers have helped me dig my way back out. Sometimes it’s nice to just have an entertaining read that keeps you reading, which Girls Who Burn does.

Family and friends play an important role in this story, which is always nice. This is a family reeling from not one but two family losses, as her mother went missing years ago and is presumed dead. Then there is the death of the sister, Fiona, the year before. When Addie’s main suspect is found dead in a similar fashion, the real mystery begins.

In addition to just being an enjoyable read with good character development, this book intertwined current topics like online true crime groups and podcasts and discussions of wealth privilege and trying to deal with the police. So there is some meat on the bones tucked in the pages of this book.

All in all, this is a compelling and entertaining read that should do well for most libraries. There is, as the publisher’s description mentions, a slow burning enemies to lovers element that plays out as well. The main characters are at the end of high school and contemplating next steps, so it solidly falls into the older YA category.

This book came out in July from Nancy Paulsen books.

Filed under: Mysteries, YA Mysteries