Enjoyed this book, read in around 3 days with the ending getting closer I really struggled to put it down.

I love a good thriller and found this one did not disappoint. I have added S. K. Tremayne to my list of authors to keep an eye out for new titles.

Beautifully written with a haunting theme
If you like your stories to play out slowly this one is for you.

Very creepy and spooky. Well written and easy to read but a bit monotonous in tone at times, and the middle seemed to slow down quite a bit until it picked up closer to 2/3 of the way through. It flowed well and had a strong sense of structure and organisation. Because of this, I liked this one better than the author's first book.

The fire child

This book is set in Cornwall and has some very detailed descriptions about the miners working there years ago. It has a big sprawling estate, a dead wife, a new husband and child - One who can see and hear his dead mother. It's very creepy. Everyone has secrets. How will Rachel's life pan out especially when Jamie announces she will be dead by Christmas. It's full of twists and turns and just a great read. I also enjoyed The ice twins also by this author.

Another great creepy, twisty suspense tale by S. K. Tremayne!

While reading this I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd read something very similar before, something similar but much, much better. Mansion, dead wife who died under suspicious circumstances and who still has an effect over the house, young girl/woman marrying an older man... at times it felt like a poor, modern time copy of Rebecca.

I found certain things really hard to believe. Rachel, a young woman from a council estate in London, met and married an older man, David, after two months and moving to his mansion in Cornwall to live with him (on weekends) and his son. I really struggled with how quickly that relationship progressed, it might have worked in different times but in a modern day setting? It just feels weird. It also felt weird that Rachel was constantly described as so young. She's 30! While I don't class 30 as old, the way she was described made it sound like she was 18 with no life experience. Definitely not the case with Rachel, especially when you find out her backstory - some of which is utterly ridiculous.

The chapters hop around a lot, there can be weeks or months between chapters and I don't think it worked. While I liked the countdowns as the chapter titles - 120 days until Christmas etc. - it jumped around too much for my liking, it disrupted some of the tension and it made whatever character development there was come out of nowhere. For example, the breakdown of the relationship between Rachel and David seemed to escalate really quickly, it was really unbelievable. One minute he's all nice, the next he wants a divorce because she's mentioned something about his son, and the next... well, what an arsehole. The escalation of Rachel's mental health issues suffered too because of the time jumps.

I did like the photos included in the book, that added to the creepy atmosphere of the abandoned mines and the loneliness of rural Cornwall.

There were quite a few twists, none of them too exciting or unexpected, and I thought the ending was completely ridiculous.

great and thrilling book hard to put down which I love

Everything about The Fire Child is chilling, sinister and dark from the bleak Cornish setting of the tin mining country, to the stately but crumbling Carnhallow House, to the three rather disturbing and disturbed characters around whom the story revolves. David brings new bride Rachel back to his family mansion where she will take over the role of stepmother to his eight year old son Jamie. Jamie's mother, Nina, died eighteen months previously, believed drowned after a fall down a mine pit, but her body was never found. As Rachel settles into her new life as the new mistress of Carnhallow House, it becomes clear that there are secrets surrounding the disappearance of Nina; secrets that David doesn't want anyone to know, least of all his new wife Rachel. When Jamie starts making frightening predictions which appear to be coming true, and her new marriage starts to fall apart, Rachel begins to feel that she is going mad, and memories of her own past come flooding back.
This is a truly sinister read, reminiscent of the gothic novels of the past with its hint of madness, the big brooding house and bleak setting. Thoroughly enjoyable read.

A fast-paced, perfectly plotted thriller with a unique gothic mystery feel - the sense of place & history is fantastically emphasised through the Cornish countryside setting and the characters are somehow disturbing & relatable at the same time.

I struggled with this book and ended up adding it to my DNF pile. The long descriptions of Cornwall made this one drag for me. I know there was definite potential, but I just didn't find myself "hooked". I feel like, and I have seen other glowing reviews, that I was not the right reader for this one!

This atmospheric and wonderfully spooky book had me gripped from the first couple of pages. Honestly, when I wasn't reading it I was thinking about reading it!

The author makes great use of pathetic fallacy within this story. The descriptors are brilliant and make you feel like you are there. You can almost feel the bite of the cold and the isolation.

The author also keeps you guessing throughout. Your opinion of who's right or wrong, crazy or sane will change constantly!

A fantastic read.

I was kindly sent a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Loved this book. The twists and turns kept me gripped throughout. Brilliant page turner.

A brilliant book which I thoroughly enjoyed. This author has a real gift when it comes to storytelling and layers the story with descriptives so real you will feel like you're actually there. A very atmospheric read. I look forward to their next offering.

This author was highly recommended to me after the very successful first novel, The Ice Twins and I was really looking forward to reading this book.
While I liked The Fire Child, I have to admit that I didn't love it. I found it hard to connect with the characters and that made it a bit more difficult to get into the story-line. I did enjoy the detailed description and history of the area though. I think this book will be appreciated by anyone who is looking for a not too fast paced but still suspenseful, mysterious and atmospheric book to read.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC of The Fire Child.

I would consider this to be a mystery with a splash of horror. It begins with a newlywed couple beginning their lives together in an enormous castle-like home. The description of the house itself was enough to set the mood for a good scare.

To be honest though, too much of the story I found to be quite a stretch. I felt that too often one of the characters were acting completely differently than they are originally portrayed. I never felt very attached to any of them, but I still enjoyed the ride.

I did not however, care for the ending. It was just too much, and even still I had unanswered questions.

The fire child was a great psychological thriller that had me hooked from the first few pages. It kept me on my toes that I just had to read every spare moment I could find and I did not expect the twist at the end. A fab book.

If you've read The Ice Twins then you've read The Fire Child. Very similar in set-up and twist/conclusion. However, I still really enjoyed the book and read it in two days so still a very enjoyable read. If you enjoy Tremayne's writing style in The Ice Twins then you'll enjoy this one. If you've not read either of Tremayne's books, then I highly recommend you do - they may not be that unique from each other but they are unique within the thriller market!

I really liked this book. A mystery with tension that builds and builds.. Set in the beautiful haunting back drop of Cornwall with echoes of the tragic history of the lives of the miners. The heroine Rachel, is utterly believable as she begins to descend into madness and the reader is on tenterhooks to know if she is responsible for sinister happenings or is it her husband, or indeed her young step-son. The plot twists and turns and we don't know who to believe. Very readable.

I devoured this on the plane to Crete. Absolutely engrossing - Cornwall was perfectly captured, and it rattled along merrily. As a real fan of Rebecca and DuMaurier, I wasn't disappointed or upset by the chimes of Manderley here, it just made me love it more. I really enjoyed this read and lost myself in it for a good four hours without looking up. If you like a gripping read with an atmospheric setting that really keeps you on your reading toes, then i totally recommend. It's really hard to review without spoilers - so without any further ado, I just recommend that yu get out there and read it for yourself