A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins – Blog Tour Review.

About The Book

‘What is wrong with you?’

Laura has spent most of her life being judged. She’s seen as hot-tempered, troubled, a loner. Some even call her dangerous.

Miriam knows that just because Laura is witnessed leaving the scene of a horrific murder with blood on her clothes, that doesn’t mean she’s a killer. Bitter experience has taught her how easy it is to get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Carla is reeling from the brutal murder of her nephew. She trusts no one: good people are capable of terrible deeds. But how far will she go to find peace?

Innocent or guilty, everyone is damaged. Some are damaged enough to kill.

Look what you started.

My Review

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. The Girl On The Train was a book I enjoyed reading so I felt that I would like this book. I’m happy to say that I wasn’t  disappointed and in many ways I preferred it.

Told by multiple points of view it shows how a small group of people were affected by the murder of a young man, Daniel, on a canal boat. All knew him and nearly all of them could have been responsible for his murder. And of course all would have a good reason. His character is only there as the victim but they way he is portrayed through memories didn’t show him as a very nice person.

The five people, Laura, Carla, Theo, Miriam and Irene were all completely different. Some I liked, some I didn’t but the two whose narrative I enjoyed most were Laura’s and Irene’s. I loved their connection, Laura’s stubbornness and approach to her life despite her health issues and everything about  Irene was just marvellous. I had great admiration for her determination not to be disregarded because of her age. And reading about her love for her husband and the way she coped since his death was lovely to read. She knew that Angela, Daniel’s mother and Carla’s sister had problems but never judged and always tried to be a friend. Carla and Theo’s attitude towards her was shameful, they were the characters I liked less than the others. Miriam was a character who I wanted to understand more but I often felt that she was more distant. I felt I knew more about her as a teenager when her life changed dramatically rather than in modern day. It was evident that the trauma she suffered still affected her years later. 

The reason why Daniel was killed and who murdered him was a mystery to me until it was revealed. I had no idea at all who it could be. My thoughts  regarding the guilty person and their actions were different to my usual feelings though. This is more than a novel about a murder, it is novel which shows how grief and trauma affect a person’s actions and in this novel I found it impossible to judge them.