Radiant Heat sounds like SUCH an amazing fast paced thriller! After reading it, it isn't as much of a thriller as I thought it was going to be! I still really enjoyed it, but I went into it thinking it was going to be one thing and it wasn't so I got let down just a little.

I didn't love the main character and so it was hard to root for her when I really didn't care that much.

I do think if this book was a tad shorter it would definitely give the fast pace vibe!

A catastrophic wildfire spreads through a woman’s hometown and a dead body is discovered in her driveway. These events leave many questions and people searching for answers. This thriller will have you turning the page to find the ending. All of the characters in the book will leave you feeling doubtful about the truth. A really interesting read.

I enjoyed the setting and the writing, and it definitely grabbed and held my attention. But this book also made me understand all those people who give two-star reviews because they think the main character's decisions are bad.

Alison survives a wildfire only to find a woman dead in her driveway. As she tries to find out who the woman is and why she was there, she discovers a link to her abusive ex boyfriend. Overall, a dark mystery set in Australia surrounding Alison as she makes the connection between her past and the mystery woman. Many of the topics discussed are dark and Alison often makes confusing choices that seem to endanger herself or others.

Set in the Australian outback, Alison manages to survive the fire that rips through her hometown, only to find a dead woman in a car in her driveway. After further investigations, she realises that this woman has a very similar traumatic past. Good page turner, with a number of twists. Main character is slightly annoying in that she doesn't accept help from anyone and thereby puts others in danger.

When Alison survives a wildfire, she thinks she must be one of the luckiest people. When she finds a dead woman in her driveway holding a piece of paper with her name on it, she doesn't know what to think. She doesn't know who this woman is or why she was in her driveway. Alison is forced to look for answers. This mystery will keep you on the edge of your seat. Fantastic debut novel by Sarah-Jane Collins!

Disappointing. Unlikeable characters, except Sal. Dissatisfying ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

Quick Synopsis:
After a wildfire rips through Alison’s hometown and literal backyard, she is left with the fire’s remnants. Amongst the ash, Alison discovers a woman’s body. The now deceased woman, Simone, was clearly looking for Alison. This knowledge inevitably leads Alison on a hunt for clues as to how the two women are connected.

Characters:
The MC, Alison, is a deeply flawed character who often makes questionable decisions. Through flashbacks, the reader discovers that Alison has survived serious trauma. I wanted to see how Alison’s story concluded despite finding her somewhat unlikable.

Storyline/Pacing:
This read was a bit faster paced than some of my other slow burn January reads. That is not to say that it’s a page turner, but the momentum was somewhat steady. I will say I rarely read books set in Australia and that may have been part of the draw for me on this one.

Overall:
I recommend this one to readers who:
-Enjoy unique settings
-Enjoy searching for hidden clues
-Enjoy atmospheric mysteries

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Disclosure:
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for the Digital Review Copy of Radiant Heat. All opinions are my own.

This is such an intriguing story and I loved the Australian setting. The devastation of the wildfire is a difficult part to read and there are a few other uncomfortable moments in the story, but overall it's a really good debut. I enjoyed the mystery and the characters are well-developed. The pace is a bit slower, but adds to the confusing atmosphere and creates tension. The audiobook is a great way to enjoy this book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Radiant Heat was a thriller/mystery with an interesting hook. Alison barely survived a deadly wildfire that killed many around her town. When Alison goes to leave her home she finds a dead woman she doesn't know in a car in her driveway. The woman with her name and address on a paper in her hand, and as Allison learns more everything becomes more dangerous.

The opening chapter piqued my interest in made me want to keep reading, but the pacing of the story was really uneven. I struggled to get through the first 50%. The second half picked up, and I didn't want to put it down as things started to fall into place more. I'm glad I stuck with it, but it was hard getting through that first half. I also wish the story had been wrapped up a little more neatly. It felt like there were loose ends that would have been nice to have answers to.

This was an atmospheric slow burn of a mystery. I'm hesitant to really call this a thriller because I think it's too slow and character driven to call it that. In some ways this reminded me of The Dry by Jane Harper, but instead of just a drought we had roaring fires, which felt too real to how the world has been the last couple of years.

I never felt fully interested in Alison, but I did like the mystery she was trying to unravel. Now, I mentioned this being a character driven story, but this might be tough for some readers because Alison makes a lot of wrong choices and could be infuriating. I never felt anything for her in particular and was reading more for a resolution than anything else.

If you want atmosphere and mystery, pick this one up.

This is an interesting book set in Australia, where a woman who escapes a wildfire, finds herself, caught up in a mystery and worrying if someone is after her. The beginning of the book is set up very well, and the plot flows in a way that keeps you guessing, but intrigued at the same time. It’s a suspenseful book that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Thank you to Berkely for this arc! All thoughts are my own.

Cw: physical abuse, emotional abuse, death of a parent (off page)

Radiant Heat is an atmospheric mystery debut that takes place after a devastating bushfire in Australia. The reader follows Alison who just manages to escape certain death to find a woman dead in her driveway. Alison doesn’t know this woman, but after searching her purse for an ID, she finds a scrap of paper with Alison’s name and address on it. She soon sets out to figure out their connection while grappling with PTSD from the fire and other devastating events in her past.

I think this book described itself in its brief incorrectly as it makes it into a thrilling, murder mystery when it’s really not. Instead, we find ourselves following a woman who is rather unlikeable and you’re waiting for something BIG to happen when even around the 50% mark, you’re still wondering what the big reveal will be. And there is a reveal (and I won’t spoil it), but it’s rather lackluster and expected.

I ended up really struggling to read this book and had to take it in small chunks because I found myself kind of bored. I dropped some content warnings at the top of the review and while I don’t myself triggered by these topics, I do tend to avoid them because I don’t like reading them. If I had known that this book had those aspects, I don’t think I would have picked it up.

I still gave this book 3 stars as I did like the side characters such as Sal and Billy and I was intrigued by the setting and the premise of an Australian bushfire fallout. But I just don’t think this was a fantastic read unless you’re into these kinds of books.

Lots of drama! Alison survives a horrible bush fire. But now there is a body in her drive of someone that was coming to see her. She has no idea who this person is and proceeds to play detective. Alison has many personal issues stemming from a bad previous relationship, the death of her parents and now the loss of friends in this major fire. I expected more for the ending, unless there is more planned for a second book.

When a catastrophic wildfire suddenly rips through a woman’s hometown, she thinks she is lucky to have survived...until she finds a dead woman in her driveway, clutching a piece of paper with her name on it....

 

A horrific fire rips through Alison King's hometown of Lake Bend, Victoria, Australia. She is so thankful to be alive! The fire has changed direction and Alison is able to get out of her home. But she finds a dead woman in her driveway with a piece of paper in her hand. With Alison's name on it! Who is this woman and why does she have this piece of paper with Alison's name? This was an interesting book that grabbed my attention from the beginning.

Alison survives a wildfire / brush fire in southern Australia by completely wrapping herself in a wet blanket, and by a lot of luck when the wind veered away from her house. When Alison tries to leave her home, she finds a car in her driveway and a dead woman in the car. Who is she? Alison has no idea, but the woman looks a lot like Alison and has a slip of paper in her purse with Alison’s name and address on it.

The fire killed dozens of people, many of whom Alison knew, including her good friend Meg. She is grieving and in shock, staying for a while with an older woman, Sal, whose home was unaffected. As facts come to light, Alison is determined to figure out why the woman (Simone) was coming to see her and what their connection might be.

Alison isn’t a particularly likable character, but we gradually learn her backstory, which includes an abusive boyfriend and parents who died in a car crash, the incentive for Alison having moved home from a city far across Australia. She has an odd relationship with Billy, a local police officer who has had feelings for Alison for years. For some reason, Alison finds it hard to confide in people she should trust and is loath to accept help from anyone. I found it hard to understand some of the choices she made.

The author uses flashbacks to tell Alison’s history, but the flashbacks aren’t noted in any way and it can take the reader a moment to realize they are reading a flashback.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you @berkleypub & @prhaudio for my complimentary ebook and audio book. #penguinrandomhousepartners

 When a wildfire tears through Alison King’s hometown, she doesn’t have time to evacuate, so she takes cover in her bathroom under a wet blanket. However, when she comes out to inspect the damage, she finds a dead woman in her driveway! What’s more, the dead woman bears an uncanny resemblance to Alison. Alison then takes it upon herself to investigate the dead woman. She discovers a connection to herself, and then the mystery intensifies!
 
The synopsis of this one definitely piqued my interest! This largely character-driven story includes a good mystery, but it is a slow burn. I read the print version and listened to parts of the audio. I have to give a shout out to the narrator’s beautiful Australian accent! It made listening a pleasure!

Read this if you enjoy:
*Descriptive novels
*Character-driven stories
*Don’t mind a slow burn
*Enjoy a good mystery

Surviving a wildfire when it sweeps through her Australian community killing hundreds, artist Alison finds a car in her driveway with a dead woman, who bears a significantly similar appearance to her. She finds a scrap of paper with her address on it in the car which sends her on a cross country trip back to Cairns, from where she had fled an abusive boyfriend. Simone, the dead woman, had lived in the same building where Alison had lived in Cairns and was fleeing an abusive boyfriend. As more fires threaten, the suspense and stakes heat up.

In Radiant Heat, Alison survives a wildfire only to find mysteries wait for her when she can finally leave the house. These mysteries start in the form of a mysterious woman parked in her driveway, a piece of paper with her name on it.

Alison becomes very focused on what is going on and why the woman is in her driveway. She doesn’t always make good decisions and there were points when I really disliked her. Now some people may not like that, but I find this type of character more interesting, although it can be a frustration when reading!

There are flashbacks as Alison investigates the mysterious woman to fill in some of the questions of Alison’s past. Sometimes these flashbacks came at inconvenient times in the story and it slowed things down a bit and I wasn’t fond of that. It takes away from the gradual build up of tensions and suspense throughout the story. Alison does have a complicated backstory that does need to be told.

There is a will-they – won’t-they between Alison and a cop friend of hers that help to make things interesting, especially since Alison is under suspicion as well.

I did like the story from a number of perspectives. The setting is interesting and the descriptions of the fire are vivid and realistic and elicited a reaction from this reader. I thought Alison was a terrific-ly flawed character that kept me wondering what crazy thing she would do next. The setting was fresh and interesting to me as well. The mystery aspect was dark and complex and some readers might find it uncomfortable. Overall, a complex mystery with plenty of twists and turns to keep things interesting, but with some flashback sequences that slow things down.

I’m sorry to say that this book was not a good fit for me. It was truly a “dark, psychological thriller” and I don’t know if it was just my current mood or if it was the fact that nothing at all went well for Alison, but it was just too dark for me. I’m not super sensitive about content, but I was surprised to see that there weren’t content warnings: abusive relationship, alcohol, animal death, assault, attempted murder, car accident, cheating, death, emotional abuse, fire (obviously)… and that’s just A-F. There was a lot happening in this book and it was pretty much all dark, scary and sad. It was very twisty. The setting in Australia felt unique and there were lots of country-specific references that I had to look up. This book wasn’t terrible and I think it might be good for the right person, but that wasn’t me right now.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.