The Burning Girls: A Novel

C. J. Tudor

Feb 2021 · Sold by Ballantine Books

About this ebook

An unconventional vicar must exorcise the dark past of a remote village haunted by death and disappearances in this explosive and unsettling thriller from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man.

SOON TO BE AN ORIGINAL SERIES • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY AND MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

“Hypnotic and horrifying . . . Without doubt Tudor’s best yet, The Burning Girls left me sleeping with the lights on.”—Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End

A dark history lingers in Chapel Croft. Five hundred years ago, local Protestant martyrs were betrayed—then burned. Thirty years ago, two teenage girls disappeared without a trace. And a few weeks ago, the vicar of the local parish hanged himself in the nave of the church.

Reverend Jack Brooks, a single parent with a fourteen-year-old daughter and a heavy conscience, arrives in the village hoping for a fresh start. Instead, Jack finds a town rife with conspiracies and secrets, and is greeted with a strange welcome package: an exorcism kit and a note that warns, “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.”

The more Jack and daughter, Flo, explore the town and get to know its strange denizens, the deeper they are drawn into the age-old rifts, mysteries, and suspicions. And when Flo begins to see specters of girls ablaze, it becomes apparent there are ghosts here that refuse to be laid to rest.

Uncovering the truth can be deadly in a village with a bloody past, where everyone has something to hide and no one trusts an outsider.

Ratings and reviews

A little religion, a vicar, an out of the way English village and a whole lot of secrets. C.J Tudor’s latest novel has all of these and is bloody good. Jack got in a little bit of a bind at her last church and was transferred to a small church in Sussex as the temporary vicar. Her and her daughter are finding out it is hard to fit in, in a small town when you’re an outsider. Jack and her daughter Flo are such relatable characters. And they were surrounded by a great cast of characters that had depth. There was a complex story with martyrs that were burnt at the stake, some missing girls from 20ish years ago, Jack and Flo’s backstory and the odd things going on at the church. With that much going on, it could have become messy, but the story never did. The book has you think about what makes you good or bad. If you’re a teacher or a priest are you automatically a good person? Or how many bad acts make you a bad person? The struggle is real in the book. Where do you draw the line? I really like when a book can take a topic like religion and weave it into the book without making it a religious book. And I can’t forget to mention that Tudor is artful in the way she throws in a small detail that changes your perspective on a character or situation. You were going along enjoying the book and then you think, did I just read that? The book is a slow burn, so if you’re looking for flash and action, you will be disappointed. Otherwise if you like suspense, mystery, thrillers, this is the book you want to read this winter.

A riveting read that I got through in one sitting.

About the author

C. J. Tudor is the author of The Drift, The Burning Girls, The Other People, The Hiding Place, and The Chalk Man, which won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel, the Barry Award, and the Strand Critics Award for Best Debut Novel. Over the years she has worked as a copywriter, television presenter, voice-over artist, and dog walker. She is now thrilled to be able to write full-time, and doesn’t miss chasing wet dogs through muddy fields all that much. She lives in England with her partner and daughter.