Burn It All is the debut mystery novel of Maggie Auffarth, out now by @CrookedLaneBooks.

I'm going to start by saying that for me, this was an okay read, so I'm giving it a three star rating. Now, that doesn't mean that other readers won't love it, there were some surprising twists and there wasn't anything wrong with the writing. The plot, however, was more character-driven which made the pace slower with no real suspense, and I'd rather read a faster paced plot-driven novel. For a debut, this was a relatively good book, I just wasn't the target reader.

Now, as for the actual review. This was told in dual timelines and points of view, from Thea who has passed away and considered to be a serial arsonist and from Marley, the friend left behind trying to figure out what really happened. Are either of them reliable? Are they in the same timeline, or is one past and one present? None of the characters were likeable. From Marley to Austen, to Marley's and Thea's moms, to co-workers and friends.

The plot was somewhat interesting, but it was really less about the arson and more about the relationships between the characters, both past and present, twisting together in unseen ways. There were definitely some surprises once everything started coming together in the end.

All in all, this is a debut filled with secrets, toxic friendships, and unrealized dreams. If you enjoy more of a character study, psychological thriller then give this one a try.

Trigger warnings for alcoholism, suicide, and mentions of cutting.

Thank you to @CrookedLaneBooks and @NetGalley for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

Thank you to the author, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My apologies for the delay in posting this review, I had a bit too much going on.

This hometown mystery centers on the story of three close childhood friends, two of whom had formed a couple and one who became increasingly odd - certainly in the confines of the small town this plays in. The two female main characters are both hurting and broken in their own way, and have grown apart, but when one is found dead in an abandoned house torched by an arsonist, law enforcement jumps to the easy conclusion. The survivor is certain they are on the wrong track and sets out to find the truth. The story is told in multiple POVs and has timeline jumps, which made following the story difficult - but worse was the heavy, depressing tone and the sluggishly slow pace. The twists were fairly predictable - overall, an interesting story that didn’t live up to its potential.

Readers who enjoy dual timeline and multiple POV psychological thrillers with Southern atmospheric settings should definitely give Burn It All a spot of their TBR. The novel essentially centers on friendships that morph and bend as the two main characters move from girlhood to adulthood. When Thea is found dead in a housefire, the police chalk her death up as a suicide and pin her as the possible arsonist in a series of abandoned housefires through the small Georgia town. Determined to clear her childhood best friend's name, despite their falling out, Marley and her ex-fiance work together to solve the mystery surrounding Thea's death. Told between the present day investigation and flashbacks shedding light on the time before Thea's death the plot moved along to a truly jaw dropping ending. While the middle portion of the book moved slower than I hoped, I think this is an impressive debut that will connect with thriller readers!

Burn It All is told from the perspectives of Theo and Marley, who have been best friends forever, like sisters really, until a few months ago when Marley made a drunken mistake and blew up their relationship. The story alternates between the past and present, doling out clues to Marley and Theo's relationship based on their history together and slowly revealing the secrets they've kept from each other, especially recently; dangerous and shocking secrets. The characters are nuanced and the story engaging, despite exploring some darker themes, like rage, grief and depression, as well as love, trust, and redemption. Auffarth's writing style is engaging and compelling, and the suspense elements are well plotted with some good twists.

Burn It All by Maggie Auffarth is a compelling debut thriller!
Well-written, with excellent character development.
A page-turning story that had me g,used to my Kindle.
Thrilling, tension-filled, well crafted, atmospheric, and satisfying.
I enjoyed it all.

Thank You NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Marley and her ex-fiancee search for answers after Thea is found dead in a house destroyed by an arsonist. This is told by Thea in the year between her break with her BFF Marley and Marley in the present-a device that makes you pay attention for hints. Marley cheated on Austin, Thea's stepbrother, and her life fell apart but things weren't as bad for her as they were for Thea. Who is the arsonist who has been setting fires around town? Why was Thea in that building? This is all about friendship, mental health, and a quest for the truth. Good characters, enough of a twist, and fine storytelling. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A nice debut that's a good read.

This was such a nice, fast read for me! I flew through this one trying to figure it out. It's such a demonstration of how friendships become distant and complex and complicated as you get older, the joys of girlhood simply left behind.

Burn It All is a story about friendship, rage, mental health, treason, prejudice, violence against women, arson and deceit. Thea and Marley are best friends since childhood, there's also Austen, Thea's step brother. The three are inseparable although each one of them is surrounding themselves with walls that will result in heartbreak and crime. A very good plot, sometimes slow going, but nevertheless deeply moving and entertaining.I especially enjoyed that the story is told using two different views which imply, at times, different consequences or culprits.
I thank Ms. Auffarth, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Told in dual perspectives and timelines, psychological thriller Burn it All is set in small-town Georgia and centres on the friendship of Marley Henderson and Thea Wright. In the current day, Marley has just stuffed up her relationship and her career and basically become a social outcast. Lashing out, she cut off her best friend Thea. What’s much, much worse, is that in an escalation of an arson spree in their town, Thea was fatally burned. It looks like suicide to the police. But Marley and her ex-fiancé aren’t convinced. As they dig for the truth, Thea reveals the lead-up to her death, and what actually happened might not be what you expect.
At first, I thought the voices of Marley and Thea were too similar. But it turns out, that simply puts a mirror to the darkness and background they share. I highly recommend dark suspense or psychological thriller Burn it All and look forward to more by the author. 4.5 stars.

This book has me unbelievably conflicted! When that happens, I slip into a pro/con mindset for the review to decipher what I feel about it. In this case, that tactic still didn’t work.

The plot of this story was decent - we have Thea and Marley, BFFs for ages, until a recent falling out. As the book starts, we have Thea dead in a fire, and the police are thinking it’s suicide, perhaps from guilt…

There is an arsonist in their small town, and many houses have been burned to the ground. Thankfully, they were all abandoned, but this time, there was a person in it, and the police are definitely keen to find out why. Marley teams up with her ex-fiancé/Thea’s stepbrother to make sure Thea’s name is cleared. They just know there’s no way Thea was burning down houses, or that she’d kill herself. So the investigation begins…

To start, the pros:

-Marley and Thea had a long and complicated friendship, and the dynamic between the two was compelling.
-The ending of this book was fantastic, and I didn’t see any of it coming. I think everything was wrapped up quite nicely.

Then, the cons:

-This got confusing in parts with the alternate POVs mixed with alternate timelines, and usually that’s something that doesn’t bother me.
-In some parts, this got really slow. At minimum, 50 pages could have been cut from this book and it wouldn’t be much different.

This one is a wash for me - the ending was the most redeeming part and it felt like there was too much to unravel before getting there. The story was decent, but I’m not sure the execution was there. Three stars.

(Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Maggie Auffarth and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on June 4, 2024.)

Ultimately this book just did not work for me. I'm glad that many others are enjoying it and hope that it finds its audience upon release, but for me it was a DNF. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read it.

Fire destroyed everything. A life, a friendship, a relationship. Who started the fire and why? Delve into the mind of the dead girl and her best friend trying to solve the mystery of her death. The dual timelines keep the fast-paced thriller spinning toward its shocking conclusion. A beautiful debut by new author Maggie Auffarth. I will be recommending to thriller and mystery lovers everywhere!

I enjoyed the suspense of this one and the dual POVs and timelines of "then" and "now" as the mystery unfolds. Fans of thrillers that explore friendships and unlikable characters will enjoy that aspect!

As soon as I saw the blurb , I knew I had to read it. Told by multiple POV's . This is a book about toxic friendships. I love being surprised in a book and I certainly was in this book.

I can’t believe this is a debut! I loved the alternating timelines and POV, and Marley is a beautifully-written protagonist. This is a book best to go into blind, and trust that if you’re a suspense reader, you’re going to absolutely love it. I’ll happily recommend on release day, and Maggie Auffarth is going to be a new autobuy author for me. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

Marley, Austin and Thea had always been a trio… but when Marley makes a stupid mistake one drunken night, she loses her fiance and her best friend at the same time.

Now, after a year of trying to dodge horrible rumors all alone and being a town pariah, Marley is barely holding it together. An arsonist has been setting fires all summer and in the latest burned building, Thea’s dead body is discovered. Marley is reeling. She never got to reconcile with the girl who was like a sister to her.

It brings Marley and Austin together again when they search for answers, but it takes them deeper into what was really going on with Thea, bringing many more questions before any answers are found.

This was full of twists and the darkness of intrusive thought. I had so much fun. I was able to predict some things, but was floored by others. It was a great time.

This was a fun, twisty thriller. It’s about two lifelong friends, and one of them is dead after a series of arsons have plagued their small town. We have Marley’s POV in present time while Thea’s is set in the past. I didn’t really know where the story was going, and I enjoyed how the author wrapped everything up.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

This propulsive debut psychological thriller set in small-town Georgia explores rage, redemption, and the many layers of toxic friendship, perfect for fans of Andrea Bartz and Rachel Hawkins.

A solid, interesting mystery. I enjoyed it.

This was a great overall concept of a psychological thriller, the concept worked with the genre that I wanted based on the description. The characters felt like they were meant for the story and I was glad I was able to get to know them through this story. Maggie Auffarth has a great writing style that I enjoyed reading a lot.

Hi,

Fair warning

I’m in one of my “moods”

I yell, shout, and fight the shower curtain.

The floor is just a little too cold for my liking and I have a bone to pick with Mother Nature for throwing a wrench in my plans with this flood!!!!

Yes, that kind of mood.

How do I fix it, you ask?

I go sniff my books.

Just kidding, I read..

I picked up one of my favorite books, poured a cup of coffee and took my bra off for the day.

It’s called an adult time out and it’s almost as nice as an adult spankin’.

Burn It All

Seriously? This is a debut? Someone must be punking me.

Maggie Auffarth, has entered the book circuit and if I have anything to say about it, she’ll be here to stay.

This book is down right thrilling and will have you anxiously awaiting what comes next. I was immediately consumed and devoured this book in one sitting.

Check out this teaser :

This propulsive debut psychological thriller set in small-town Georgia explores rage, redemption, and the many layers of toxic friendship, perfect for fans of Andrea Bartz and Rachel Hawkins.

Marley Henderson is having the worst year of her life. First, a drunken mistake costs her everything, including her engagement and her closest friend, Thea. Then, a series of cruel rumors make her an outcast in the small, Georgia community she calls home. Finally, a string of vicious arsons rip through town, leaving unchecked destruction—and Thea’s body—in their wake.

To the police, the case is cut-and-dry. Thea Wright was an unstable woman with a troubled history, and, with no evidence to suggest otherwise, it seems clear that she was responsible—not only for her own death but for dozens of arsons in the months preceding it. To Marley, though, the truth is less obvious.

Reeling from the loss, Marley teams up with her ex-fiancé to uncover the truth, but the deeper she digs into the night of Thea’s death, the murkier the truth becomes, not just about the fires that have been raging through town all summer, but about the woman she thought she knew. To get to the truth, Marley will have to face Thea’s lies, as well as the darkness she thought she put behind her long ago.

Told in alternating POVs and dual timelines, Burn It All will have suspense fans flying through each twist and turn to reach the stunning conclusion.