To be honest, I only reviewed this as it is based in Indiana which is the name of my new granddaughter! However, what is basically a big company allegedly polluting water, and the resulting conspiracy theory, the book turns out to be far more than that. One of the investigators, Abby Williams, returns to her home town after being away for some time. It is this homecoming which is really well described with her having to come to terms with old college friends and her father. She struggles with many trust issues, and I loved this aspect of the book.

I absolutely thoroughly enjoyed this intense and atmospheric tale from Krysten Ritter - whilst it is far from being the first "Girl escapes small town only later having to return and face her demons" tale I have read, it is definitely one of the ones of superior quality and storytelling - Abby as a character immediately engaged me and the well layered, twisted yet authentic plot just sealed the deal.

Big corporation v socially engaged lawyer is another type of story that I love to read - this is also the defining theme within "Bonfire" which the author uses to great effect - mixing up Abby's past life with her present, making her see things with new eyes and eventually leading us to answers and a rather heart stopping conclusion. I liked that Abby was portrayed as strong, driven, yet haunted by her very realistic demons - there was no sense of safety within the story for her at all, no promises made that she would endure. The supporting cast are cleverly woven in, the socially relevant big corporation cover up is given a new little twist and ultimately this is a tale of redemption and understanding. Sometimes you know, you just can't go home....

The small town setting is beautifully described, you can smell the "Bonfire" in the air, see the good and the bad and all the area's in between - I want to describe it in some ways as "mean girls on acid" but that doesn't really say what I mean, Krysten Ritter building her relationships between the people you meet in an intelligent and thought provoking way. The mystery elements are clever, you'll love/hate/love Kaycee as remembered by Abby and the ups and downs between these two girls is one of the strengths here.

Very good indeed. Yes. I'm aware of course that the author is a well known and much admired actress - I have not watched any of her screen moments but I'm fairly sure that if she is as good an actress as she is writer I'd better go track them down.

Recommended.

Kristen Ritter is a strong writer who is able to build suspense and create characters. I started reading because she was awesome in Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23 and Jessica Jones but I kept reading because the story sucked me in and wouldn't let me stop.

ARC gratefully received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this debut novel from Krysten Ritter. Abby Williams is a lawyer and a new case sees her moving back to the small town she grew up in. I really enjoyed learning the truth and unravelling the mysteries along with her. My thoughts pretty much alined with Abby's the whole time. I was suspicious of the same people and felt her frustration and disappointment when she was doubted and kept hitting barriers.

Abby's determination to get answers kept me engaged and interested. The truth when it was finally revealed shocked me as much as Abby.

This was an immersive page turner from start to finish. I enjoyed the fact that as focused as Abby was about the case and getting answers there was a lot of human emotion throughout the book. She isn't just a lawyer. There's emphasis on the fact she's a daughter and friend too.