Bonfire wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. It was an easy read, the characters just felt a little two dimensional and I felt like I guessed most of where the plot was going! Saying that, I did read this all in one evening and didn’t want to put it down.

I personally had never heard of Krysten Ritter before, but I have definitely taken an interest in the name now. This was a very enjoyable, easy read. I personally enjoyed the plot and the writing style. Sure maybe there were one or two plot associations that just didn’t feel real to me (thinking of the collar as an example here), but this didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the read.

Sadly did not live up to the hype. Was a bit of a damp squib. Disappointing.

This one far exceeded my expectations (and would make a cracking TV show with Krysten Ritter as the lead!) - review to come on my YouTube channel.

This is the story of Abby, who grew up in a town called Barrens, but ten years have gond by since she last was there. She returns to her home town as part of a small investigative team looking into a company called Optimal, which is the company that has made big investments into the community and is suspected of polluting the town's water supply.
The whole book is told from Abby's point of view, so the reader is in Abby's head the whole time. She is a rather unreliable narrator, and struggles when she goes home and meets the people that she grew up with, and her father, who could be abusive at times and loving at times.
She reconnects with two men from her past too, but finds that each man has secrets, and Abby struggles to deal with her feelings regarding both of them. Then her father is taken ill and she has to face her feelings with regards to him.
I really enjoyed this book. I liked Abby a lot, and was rooting for her throughout.
I liked the writing style in the book. I thought it felt like Abby was sitting next to me, telling me her story.
I did like the way in which the book ended too. I felt it was realistic yet quite hopeful.
I will definitely be interested in reading more from this author.

This was a solid 3.5 star debut for me - gripping, fast-paced and hugely atmospheric. Driven out of Barrens, Indiana, at the age of 18 by the cruelty of her schoolmates, the negligence of her father and the disappearance of her best-friend-turned-nemesis, Abby Williams swore she'd never return to her hometown. Now an environmental lawyer, Abby's latest case means she needs to return to Barrens to investigate a possible case against Optimal Plastics, the large corporation that appears to have bought the loyalty of the town.

Confronted by ghosts and the resistance of the townspeople, Abby struggles to separate past from present and stay focused on the case. But can the two be separated? And should they be?

This book presents small-town claustrophobia and isolation brilliantly, and Abby initially was a brilliant character - strong but vulnerable, dry, smart and tenacious. In fact at times, I was convinced she was Jessica Jones, minus the super strength. Unfortunately, as the story unravelled, so did Abby - not a problem and at the beginning it made her more real, but her constant despair-drinking started to lose its shock factor and became tiresome, and I struggled to believe that Abby could function at such a high level with all those hangovers.

I wish there had been more development in certain areas - most of the supporting characters were obvious props rather than fleshed-out people, and the end felt rushed and more than a little unbelievable. I had to re-read the last few chapters because I was convinced I'd missed something important, but no, it was just a relatively outlandish and not-wholly-tied-together ending. The villain was obvious from quite early on, which isn't the end of the world, but Abby's blindness didn't make a lot of sense, given her cynical and distrustful nature. One tiny thing as well - as an author, don't point out everything that's "ironic" and instead trust the reader to be smart enough to see the irony themselves. This became noticeable and frustrating as the novel progressed...

Overall, the story is clever, well-crafted and it felt fresh - I enjoyed the environmental lawyer approach (which makes a change from the usual detective case) and the constant doubt about what really happened in Abby's schooldays kept me in suspense throughout the book (how relatable, after all, is a borderline alcoholic narrator with a personal agenda?).

As a debut, Bonfire shows a lot of promise, and I will definitely keep an eye out for the next book by Krysten.

This has a really dark feel to it, questioning memories and trying to escape the past. I quite enjoyed it although I think I may have been expecting more.
Definitely worth a read.

I'm going to be entirely honest, I opted to read this book because it was written by Krysten Ritter, and I LOVE Jessica Jones. As an actress, I'm a massive, massive fan of Krysten and I wanted to see what she was like as an author. My excitement tripled when I saw this book was a really dark thriller and for the most part, I wasn't left disappointed.

Bonfire is about Abby Williams, a lawyer living in Chicago who returns to her hometown to take part in a legal case about a huge corporation in the town. The case ties parts of Abby's memories with current day issues, making the case an emotional one for our main character. The book explored its topics and storylines thoroughly, which in parts seemed laborious. It also had a lot of

If I take into account the ending, the book was as dark as promised and an enjoyable, surprising read. But it was just too much of a slow burner for me. It had a load of dull parts throughout the beginning and the middle that just didn't hook me as much as a thriller should. The only time I felt excited and thrilled by the storyline was towards the ending as the suspense was unravelling. I'm going to assume Krysten wrote the book herself rather than had a ghostwriter and just put her name to the book, and it's safe to say I was impressed with her writing. There were a few phrases that I noticed were used a few too many times (but then again, I did read this book as an ARC copy, so changes may have been made.) But based on the writing style, I would definitely read something from this author again. If you like twisty thrillers and want something new, Bonfire is worth checking out, but it won't be going on my favourites list.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, with all its twists and turns, a very mature debut novel. The story is complex but well thought out, and Kristen Ritter is surely a name to watch out for in the future. Abby Williams is a lawyer, working for an Environmental Advocacy in Chicago. She was brought up in Barrens, Indiana, a small town; where she was a bit of a misfit, with few friends. Her mother died when she was young, and her father turned to religion, and was very strict and harsh with her. Abby left town as soon as she could, and has been living in Chicago for ten years, and has been a lawyer for three years.

She is forced to go back to Barrens to investigate an environmental issue. She doesn't really want to be there, and all her fears and insecurities start to haunt her. She annoys the rest of her team with her insistence that various things are happening in the town that impinge on their case, without being able to prove the connection. She suspects almost everyone being involved in a cover up, and is sure that she is right, despite the lack of evidence. She drinks too much, which doesn't help her thought processes, and she is haunted by the disappearance of a one-time friend, Kaycee Mitchell, who by high school had become the leader of the group who used to taunt her and make her life a misery.

Abby's search for the truth puts her life in terrible danger. The author has been excellent at making the reader feel the emotions that Abby is feeling, having to return to the place where her life was so difficult, you can understand her determination to find the answers to questions that have haunted her for years, and her horror when the secrets she uncovers are even more murky than she ever imagined.

A good story. If you enjoy a small town mystery read this book. You won't be disappointed.

Can you ever outrun your past?

Krysten Ritter's debut novel is like some bizarre mash-up of Erin Brockovich and Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects and it kind of works.

I found that it seemed to borrow a little too heavily, for instance Sharp Objects is a pacy thriller that follows a newspaper journalist who returns to her small and slightly odd hometown to report on a series of brutal murders. Bonfire follows Abby Williams an environmental lawyer who returns to her small and slightly odd hometown to investigate a scandal. Sounding familiar so far?

Both focus on teenage girls running wild in a small American town from the POV of an unreliable narrator with an entire suitcase of personal problems, from a troublesome family, a morally ambiguous love interest and alcohol consumption bordering on addition.

However, that's not to say it wasn't thrilling to read. Like Sharp Objects it's a gripping and at times uncomfortable read, letting the action pick up pace before hurtling to slightly predictable outcome.

Personally I found Flynn's novel more accomplished and would recommend it over this, but this tale isn't without merits if you manage to pick it up for a quick read.

Like many I was interested to read this debut novel because I am familiar with Krysten Ritter as an actress, in particular as Jessica Jones. For the most part I found Bonfire to be surprisingly well written, especially as a first attempt. Right from the off we are exposed to Abby and her demons as she returns to Barrens, Indiana. Ritter writes about small town life in an assured way, including the struggle as high school ends and real life begins. The story does get a little complicated though and not in a good way, I feel the ever present 'twist' at the end is a little heavy handed and clumsy. I wasn't at all satisfied with the explanation of events which was a real shame. That said, I think the author is one to watch in future as she can only get better and her writing style shows real promise for more good things to come.

Bonfire is one of those books that succeeds on almost every level. Co-written with Lauren Oliver (an author who writes with confidence and flair), Bonfire is the story of Abby, returning to the hometown she fled years before, trying to unravel the mystery of what's happening in the town, and uncover the truth of the past.

Bonfire is dark - Ritter doesn't hesitate to delve into the depths of ourselves, into the secrets we'd rather keep buried. But it is a masterpiece, and it's gripping.You'll finish it too quickly, like I did, but it'll stay in your mind afterwards.

I'm actually in the process of writing my own novel, another coming-of-age, semi-autobiographical, going back to your hometown to face your demons kinda book, in a similar style to Bonfire, so not only was this an excellent read, it also served as research. Every good writer must also be a reader, after all. Ritter must be an avid reader, for she has created what might well be my book of the year.

This is a really richly evoked and tightly plotted novel with some very dark corners and hidden secrets. A women returns home, reluctantly, in her official role as investigator. When she looks into the very company credited with saving the town from extinction, people start to turn on her, yet the same company are suspected of poisoning the water supply.

This is a town with secrets and secrets from the past, things which haunt the present and hidden anger too. There is an interesting cast of characters in this town, a black gay lawyer, the head of the local school who was a very different character in the past, and let’s not forget Abby’s role in all of this…

Abby is a very interesting character who developed well over the course of the book. Her return to a town which had spat her out is a gritty premise and one explored in all uncomfortable and tantalising detail. Best of all is the town they call Barren. Barren by name and barren by nature. A remote, claustrophobic place which is aptly suited to the themes of the story.

Past and present blend seamlessly – you can smell the bonfire throughout. The flames consume everything in its path but you can’t take your eyes of the destruction.

Lawyer Abby Williams is heading to the place she promised herself she would never return to: the small town of Banners in Indiana where she grew up. She is going there to start a lawsuit against Optimal, the big water company that gives jobs and money to the whole town but that she suspects is poisoning the town water. Her return brings back memories of her unhappy adolescence as she meets with her God-fearing father and the kids who used to bully her at school and now, as grown-ups, want to become her new friends. Her investigation risks bringing to light much more than water poisoning, but not everyone wants to co-operate and Abby can't help but ask herself: what secrets is the town hiding? And what happened to Kaycee, her once best friend and then tormentor, who suddenly disappeared after graduation?

I'll admit that the principal reason I first started reading this novel is because of its author who I loved in the TV series Jessica Jones, but I was quickly engrossed in this well-written and gripping thriller. There are more trips down memory lane than actual present action and the author does a great job in using Abby's memories to develop the characters, some of which seem to come straight out of a Stephen King's novel for their twisted psychology. Set in a small town that nobody wants to leave and where everyone appears to be a villain, this is a compelling and twisty novel that, although sometimes it seems to drag along, will keep you nevertheless hooked.

I thought I’d love this from the start: a large corporation suspected of leaking chemical waste in a small town; a legal investigator going back to where she grew up. The writing is slick with moments of snarky wit yet, somehow, it started to get a bit dull.

Abbie hooks up with two men from her adolescence but it’s all too clear to us which one is a good ‘bad guy’ and which just a bad guy – and she starts to lose credibility that she can’t see that too.
Then there’s the mean girls posse and a past story about bullying turns into a melodramatic tale where sexual abuse and murder mingle with corporate abuses and blackmail – ending in a conspiracy which involves everyone in the small town and beyond.

Ritter has the skeleton of a good story here – albeit one done before of the small-town girl going home. Inexperience has made her throw everything at it and while it just about holds together, our emotional connection to the characters dissipates. Fewer plotlines, a deeper and slower engagement with characterisation and more focus would have kept this on track for me. For all my criticisms, Ritter has an easy writing style that’s a pleasure to read.

This was pretty good. There's a nice turn of phrase, and the fact that I picture the protagonist as Jessica Jones with (slightly) less booze probably helps too.

Abby Williams walked away from her life in Barrens, Indiana, and never looked back. She moved forward, becoming a successful environmental lawyer in Chicago, but something is about to bring her home for the first time in ten years.
Optimal Plastics dominates the town but there are serious concerns about the effects on the locals of the factories. And more disturbing to Abby – more disturbing that the faces from her past that she had long tried to forget – is the similarity to something that happened when she was at school there. When the popular girls all became mysteriously ill. When the most popular girl in school, Kaycee Williams, vanished without a trace…
As Abby begins to dig, not just into Optimal Plastics, but also into the past, she becomes convinced that everything is connected. And that someone is determined to keep the past buried.
It’s been a while since I tackled a modern thriller – not since A Patient Fury. I’ve been drifting away from the genre – picked up a couple in the meantime to try but they all just seemed same-y. The usual did-the-boyfriend-do-it-unreliable-narrator stuff. But it was clear from the start, this was something different.
I took a look at Bonfire for two reasons. First, I’m a big fan of Jessica Jones, the Netflix show which Krysten Ritter stars in. Second, a tweet about the book referring to Ritter as “the girlfriend from Breaking Bad”, ignoring two shows in which she played the lead. Not entirely sure why this bothered me so much, but my reaction was to give the book a go, so, probably in the wrong way, it worked.
And this is an impressive debut. Abby’s character – who narrates the tale – is incredibly layered, a vulnerable but tough, smart but capable of making bad (some very bad) choices. The “About The Author” section reveals that Krysten Ritter founded a production company that aims to highlight complex female protagonists. Well, she certainly has one here. And I think one of the main achievements here is that Abby is still likeable – when she hurts (and she goes through a lot here) you feel it too.
The blurb describes this as “slow-burning” and it does take a while for the plot to get going, although the narrative is strong enough to keep the reader hooked, and when the plot accelerates in the second half, the effect of the build-up is to make the ending more powerful. There’s a decent mystery under the surface as well, although that’s not the primary strength of the story, and credit to Ritter for taking the time to drop some actual clues into the story.
A very pleasant surprise, this one. A powerful thriller with a compelling voice. Highly Recommended.

Actress turned writer...I didn't know what to think at first but it turned out to be allright. Abby Williams is confronting the demons from her past by returning to Barrens, the place where she grew up. There could have been a little more tension but the mystery is certainly there. It is a decent enough debut and I am curious to see how her writing will evolve.

I was intrigued by the blurb for this book and I’m pleased to say I enjoyed reading this story.
It centres around a small town called Barrens which is where Abby grew up. She didn’t have a great time at school and when she returns home, it all comes back to her.
She’s there to find out what is making people ill and suspects it’s the towns water supplier, Optimal.
This takes her back to her schooldays when her friend was ill and she tries to prove these incidents are linked.
There are a few twists in this book and I really enjoyed it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for sending me a copy of the book.

I am going to be honest here, I love Krysten Ritter, especially as Jessica Jones, so I did ask for this book as I wanted to see if she could put her talent to writing, and I am so glad I did.

I did not know what to expect from this book, but I am happy with what I got. I found the story to be fast paced, and so well written, that even the flashbacks to when Abby was younger flowed so well into the present day scenes.

I found Abby to be a great character, she was strong, and she never gave up, especially when it came to investigating what happened to Kaycee.

I found the perpetrator to be a bit predictable (I guessed quite early on, which is why it didn't get the 5 stars), but how they were doing it I didn't click to.

I was throughly impressed with this book and just loved Ritter's writing, and really can't wait to see what else she comes out with.

If you're looking for a quick read, mystery thriller, pick this one up it won't disappoint you.