I received a complementary ARC of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the author and the publisher.
This book was easy to read and move through. Although part of it felt like nothing new was really going on. I understood why Bella wanted to finally solve her childhood friends murder from many years ago, but I couldn't understand how deep she was diving into her own family as suspects. It seemed like she didn't really have strong family feelings or connections, except for her deceased mother. There are some twists in the story as she finds out more details of the awful day in the park when she lost her best friend. I didn't really feel a connection with any of the characters so that makes it hard to root for anyone as you read.

This book made my pulse slow down and spike in equal measure. It is dark and personal in a way that crawls under your skin. I knew from the first page that Burn This was not going to be a typical whodunnit. It is a story about secrets buried so deep they come back up like a scream.

Bella isn’t trying to become a detective. She is just a woman dealing with the mess grief leaves behind. Clearing out her mother’s house, finding a dusty diary tucked away, and then opening a door to something she never expected, her friend’s murder. Not an unsolved case. Not a forgotten accident. A death everyone seems to have moved past. Everyone except the mother who tried to warn her.

The way this unfolds is what makes it brutal. Quietly brutal. There’s no dramatics, no predictable twists. Instead, it is the steady unraveling of everything Bella thought she knew about her mother, her childhood, and herself. Sophie McKenzie writes with this unsettling calm that makes the dark moments feel even darker.

What hit me hardest was the way the past and present bleed together. The betrayal doesn’t feel like it happened thirty years ago, it feels like it’s happening now. Every character has their own cracks. And just when I thought I knew where the danger was coming from, McKenzie flipped everything I believed on its head.

Burn This is not loud. It is haunting. And it stays with you.

If you’ve ever wanted to dig up a secret and were terrified of what you might find, read this.

When Bella Wilkins was a child, her best friend Vicky was found murdered in the woods. It was pure chance that Vicky was the one who went to retrieve their toy when the two girls were horsing around together at the playground, because it was actually Bella's turn.

As an adult, Bella is therefore very well aware that she might have been the killer's victim if not for this element of luck that had been working in her favour.

Years later, when Bella returns to clear out some things from her parents' home after her mother's death she is disturbed to find a kind of diary where it appears that her mother knew who Vicky's killer was. But if that was the case, why did her mother not speak out?

The rest of her family are not much help at answering that question, with her father suffering from dementia, her uncle John appearing to know nothing of it, and her brother Frank reacting badly when Bella raises this possibility.

So, does Bella know her family members as well as she thought she did?

Sophie Mackenzie has done it again. Although the protagonist's musings occasionally feel slightly repetitive, this is a consistently entertaining story that holds the reader's interest well. It gets 3.5 stars.

This book was easy to read, the plot is interesting and there’s some suspenseful moments that keep you turning the page. I enjoyed reading this book. The diary and old murder mystery pulled me in at first, and I liked the setup. It kept my attention, but I wanted more tension and surprise.
I really don't like romance in the books I read and that was a downside for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

A well written suspense filled with twists that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
An intriguing story with characters who draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
The characters were all realistic and very well developed.
I really enjoyed the writing style. I found myself gripped, turning the pages, not knowing what was to come next.
It was suspenseful, mysterious and unpredictable.

At only 10 years old, Bella deals with the tragic loss of her childhood best friend. Now, 30 years later, Bella has decided to move back to her childhood home as she needs a place to stay while she's reinventing her life after a messy divorce. With her mother passed on and dad at a live-in facility for dementia, Bella is tasked with cleaning up the old house and all that remains hidden in it. While going through boxes of her mom's things she finds a well hidden journal that's been titled, "BURN THIS." An entry in the journal rocks Bella's world as it seems as though her mother witnessed her best friend's murder all those years ago. But, the story is left unfinished as multiple pages have been ripped from the journal, leaving her wondering who the killer was.

Bella then takes it upon herself to investigate the old case to try and find justice for her best friend and her remaining family. When she starts poking around, tensions run high as many want to leave the past in the past. But she will stop at nothing to figure out the truth, no matter how upsetting it may be, even if it sheds negative light on those closest to her.

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This was a very addictive, fast paced thriller! I was personally able to read it in two sittings and I was very invested in the mystery as I just needed answers. The messy family dynamics were entertaining to read about, especially when people start getting cagey about the past. While I didn't always agree with how Bella handled the investigation, I was rooting for her to find answers to her tragic past. There did seem to be a bit too many characters, as some of them just felt like filler and unnecessary. I also didn't like how quickly Bella was to not trust someone even if they'd been treating her and her daughter well, she should've given them more reasonable doubt, in my opinion. The reveal at the end was shocking, but ultimately still believable in a real world setting. While I was enraptured in the story and solving the mystery, I still don't know that this is a new favorite or will be that memorable after any amount of time. But, if you're looking for a quick popcorn thriller, this is a good pick!

*Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Canelo Publishing for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.*

When Bella was just ten years old, her best friend Vicky was murdered. With no idea who the perpetrator was, the case went cold. Now thirty years later, Bella is back in her childhood home, trying to clean out and organize after her mother's death. When she finds a notebook among her mother's things with the words "Burn This" on the cover, she cannot resist seeing what's inside. Along with the general ramblings and writing lies a bombshell of a secret. It seems that Bella's mother Barbara had witnessed the murder of Vicky 30 years ago. When the police, family, and friends dismiss the notebook as a fictional story, Bella takes the investigation into her own hands, not knowing just how close to a killer that she has been.

So while this novel had a strong premise, I felt like the execution left me a bit underwhelmed. McKenzie does well drawing in the reader with the suspense and tension early on. The diary entries are compelling, but it just didn't land for me. The pacing dragged in the middle, losing momentum instead of ramping up like I expected. Bella as our main character, while relatable at times, felt really hard to connect with. And then the ending. While it was surprising, I just felt like it was a bit rushed. Overall, Burn This is a decent pick if you are in the mood for an escapist read full of secrets and lies.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie McKenzie, and Canelo Suspense for this ARC! Publication date is July 24th 2025.

This book had me in a deep chokehold until the very last page. I could not get enough of the plot, though felt like the story wrapped up too quickly at the end.

An enjoyable read with twists and turns and a cast of characters to support the mystery of it all.
A long ago unsolved murder and a mysterious book with missing pages pointing to a more personal stake in the mystery leaves the reader unsure who to trust.

Firstly thank you for my opportunity to read in advance .
I’ve read a few of Sophie’s books including her ya collection and she knows how to write an addictive thriller !!
Packed with suspense and tension this was a fantastic read .
Family secrets , resentment , friendship and new beginnings .
Who is telling the truth and who is going out their way to stop the truth being revealed .

Burn This by Sophie McKenzie is a compelling, fast-paced thriller that effortlessly blends a gripping mystery with a richly layered backstory. From the opening pages, McKenzie hooks the reader with an intense narrative that unravels in just the right way—teasing out clues, secrets, and emotional depth with expert precision.

What makes this novel truly stand out is the way the past weaves seamlessly into the present, offering context and complexity to the unfolding mystery. McKenzie’s storytelling is sharp and immersive, with just enough twists to keep readers constantly reevaluating what they think they know. The pacing is tight, and the suspense never lets up, making it easy to lose yourself in the story from start to finish.

Burn This is an outstanding addition to McKenzie’s body of work. It’s a one-sitting kind of read—engrossing, emotionally driven, and expertly plotted. A must-read for fans of intelligent, character-driven thrillers.

Bella has moved into her childhood home with her daughter, Tora, after her marriage has failed. While clearing out her late mother's old things, she finds a diary that contains an account of witnessing a murder. Not just any murder... her childhood best friend, Vicky, who died when she and Bella were only small kids. The diary has BURN THIS written across the front.

Should Bella burn the evidence, or chase the lead and find Vicky's killer?

This has a strong premise and opening (with a fantastic flashback scene to the day Vicky died) but poor execution. That initial whopper of a start proceeds to fall flat and plateau throughout the rest of the novel. The plot was meandering, predictable, and was lacking the excitement that a thriller needs. I also found the style a bit confusing. It's an adult story but told in YA language and tone. I just couldn't connect with Bella, Lonnie, Mercedes, Frank, or any of our central characters.

A hidden diary reveals a decades old murder that refuses to stay buried. It is twisty, emotionally charged and has you unsure of who to trust,

When Bella finds a diary that her mother wrote implicating someone for the murder of Bella's childhood friend, it is quickly dismissed by all as fiction. But Bella is convinced there is more to it.
This was a relatively quick red with plenty of twists if somewhat superficial in the plot. A good holiday read.

This was an enjoyable and easy read and I was interested from beginning to end.

With great characters and an enjoyable plot It was a good read.

The author did a good job of telling the story and I really enjoyed the writing style

Overall, I found this book to be a solid choice. It's a good pick if you're looking for something engaging that doesn't require too much effort. I'd recommend it. It's a fab read.

This was a quick read but unfortunately it was the lack of real substance that made it so. One review I read said it was a good book to take on holiday and I think that’s a good summary.

I found this a good fast-paced read, perfect for taking on a summer holiday. There were plenty of twists and tense moments that kept me reading.

A few niggles: I was frustrated by Bella's inability / lack of interest in really getting to the root of her daughter's change in mood and obvious unhappiness; Lonny's dad's character just didn't ring true to me, he seemed a strange amalgamation with moments of menace but then almost laughably pathetic threats in the night scene on the industrial estate; the ending seemed abrupt and a little disappointing as I font think abella would have kept the truth from everyone involved, not matter the trauma.

Thank you NetGalley and Canelo for an e-copy of this ARC.

This is a good read with some twists you don't see coming. I really enjoyed this book!

This book was great, it had twist after twist and I didnt expect to love it as much as I did. Great characters and story.

I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did—but wow, it completely pulled me in! I went in expecting a standard “how did my childhood best friend die?” mystery, but I got so much more.

The narrator was super likable, and I didn’t see most of the twists coming. The ending wrapped up in such a satisfying way—tight, believable, and not over the top.

If you’re a fan of fast-paced, darker whodunnits with strong characters and clever turns, definitely add this one to your list!