A Slow Fire Burning

2/5 stars

A man is found murdered on a canal boat and three women are connected to the murder. Each have their own traumatic pasts and each could have motives for murder. Did any of them kill this man? Unnerving secrets will be revealed as the police try to uncover the truth. 

A Slow Fire Burning surely was a slow burn for me. I had high hopes because of Hawkins’s previous book, The Girl on the Train. This didn’t live up to my expectations. I struggled with the pacing of this novel. It was slower than I would have liked and it was more of a mystery than thriller. I read it quickly but had a hard time paying attention. 

While the plot was slow, I did like seeing the connections between the characters. Each character/family had a bit of a disturbing story and for a lot of the book, I thought any of them could be the murderer. As more was revealed, I did predict the ending. It had a slow, anti-climactic resolution and while I was satisfied that there were no loose ends, I still wanted more thrill. 

For me (a mood reader), I was hoping for a story full of thrill and suspense and this was lacking in those areas. This was a disturbing mystery that would be perfect for those looking for a slow burn.