The Burning Girls

Reverend Jack Brooks moves with her teenage daughter Flo to Chapel Croft, a small village in Sussex, for a fresh start as the new vicar. Their arrival coincides with preparations for a commemoration of the burning of Protestant martyrs 500 years ago, when two young girls were killed. The ancient chapel holds dark secrets, and Jack begins receiving threatening messages while Flo experiences unsettling visions. The hostile reception from some villagers and the discovery of old exorcism kits hint at Chapel Croft's troubled past and present. As Jack investigates a teenager's disappearance from thirty years ago, she uncovers connections between past violence and current dangers. Her search for truth puts both her and Flo at risk as they confront the village's buried history. The novel explores faith, motherhood, and how communities preserve or deny their histories. It questions the price of belonging and the ways trauma echoes through generations.

Readers describe The Burning Girls as a slow-building supernatural thriller that emphasizes character development over scares. Many reviews note the book successfully blends historical elements with contemporary mystery. Readers appreciated: - The atmospheric setting in a small English village - Complex female characters, especially the mother-daughter relationship - Historical details about witch trials and martyrdom - The gradual reveal of secrets Common criticisms: - Takes too long to build momentum - Too many subplots that don't connect - Ending feels rushed and leaves questions unanswered - Some supernatural elements seem disconnected from main story Ratings: Goodreads: 3.8/5 (24,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4.1/5 (2,800+ ratings) BookBrowse: 4/5 (editorial rating) Several reviews mentioned putting the book down initially but finding it worthwhile to finish. As one Goodreads reviewer noted: "Stick with it - the slow start pays off with a genuinely unsettling conclusion."

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🔥 "The Burning Girls" weaves together elements of Tudor history, specifically drawing upon the Marian Persecutions when hundreds of Protestants were burned at the stake during Queen Mary I's reign in England. 📚 Author Jessie Burton previously worked as an actress and personal assistant before achieving literary success with her debut novel "The Miniaturist," which sold over a million copies worldwide. ⛪ The fictional village of Chapel Croft in the novel is inspired by real Sussex villages and their histories of Protestant martyrdom during the 16th century. 🏺 The tradition of making twig dolls, featured prominently in the book, has roots in various folk customs across England, where such figurines were used as protection against evil or as memorial objects. 🎭 The novel skillfully blends multiple genres - gothic horror, psychological thriller, and historical fiction - while exploring themes of religious persecution, mother-daughter relationships, and small-town secrets.