Catherine Ryan Howard is always surprising. Her latest thriller, Burn After Reading, is a beautifully told story that is tension filled and suspenseful and also packs a powerful psychological punch. She has the knack of turning a story on its head, sometimes more than once, and this book certainly kept me guessing. It has a cleverly constructed plot offering a labyrinth of twists and turns.

Emily Joyce, our protagonist, wrote a successful debut novel that did rather well. But she had a two book deal and has been unable, for reasons that become clear much later in the book, to write another. Having taking the advance, and now earning very little, she lives in trepidation of her publishers asking for their money back. So when she is approached by them, she feels she has no option but to accept an offer to ghostwrite the memoir of Jack Smyth, a former professional cyclist whose personal life is shrouded in controversy. In exchange, they will wipe out her debt.

Jack Smyth’s wife, Kate, died in a house fire under suspicious circumstances, leading to suspicion that Jack was involved, despite a lack of formal charges and that he wasn’t in the house at the time. Determined to tell his side of the story and clear his name, Jack has a publishing deal for his story and his publisher pretty much blackmails Emily into being his ghostwriter, setting the stage for a complex exploration of truth and deception.

The narrative revolves around what happened prior to Kate’s death and whether Jack was really involved. As Emily spends days cooped up in a house in Florida, interviewing Jack, digging into his past and the events leading up to the fire, she uncovers layers of secrets and lies that blur the lines between innocence and guilt. The narrative is further complicated by Emily’s own hidden past, adding another dimension to the unfolding drama.

Catherine Ryan Howard’s writing is both engaging and immersive, characterised by meticulous attention to detail and an understanding of human psychology. She employs a multi-perspective narrative, seamlessly weaving together various timelines and viewpoints, including those of Jack’s wife, Kate. This approach not only enriches the storytelling but also deepens our connection to the characters. Her prose is crisp and evocative, capturing the nuances of each scene and emotion with precision.

She excels in creating multidimensional characters whose motivations and actions feel authentic and relatable. Emily is a flawed yet determined protagonist, her internal struggles and moral dilemmas adding richness to her character. Jack is equally compelling, depicted as both charismatic and enigmatic, leaving us to question his true nature. The dynamic between Emily and Jack is well-developed; their interactions charged with tension and ambiguity. Other characters, such as Emily’s friend Alice, and assistant, Grace, contribute to a complex narrative full of tension, which exemplifies Howard’s skill in character portrayal. ​

The novel’s pacing is deliberate, allowing for a gradual buildup of suspense that culminates in a series of shocking revelations. While the initial chapters begin at a leisurely pace, this measured approach serves to heighten the impact of the plot twists. The atmosphere is downright weird. Emily and Jack are staying in an empty house in a deserted place called Sanctuary, in Florida. Sanctuary is a man-made town, not yet developed and only half built. That makes it deserted at night and eerie in the extreme. This is an environment where isolation and secrecy breed paranoia, immersing us in a world where danger feels omnipresent. The tension is meticulously calibrated, with each chapter ratcheting up the sense of unease, keeping us on edge throughout and enhancing the novel’s suspenseful atmosphere.

With strangers on the shore, strange e-mails and texts on Emily’s phone and just a connecting door between Emily and Jack, it’s no wonder that both Emily and I spent the whole book on edge. In this novel no-one is quite who they seem to be and the whole book left me still agog at where the real truth lay.

Verdict: Burn After Reading is a testament to Catherine Ryan Howard’s prowess as a storyteller. With its intricate plot, well-drawn characters, and atmospheric tension, the novel offers a compelling exploration of truth, guilt, and the stories we tell ourselves and others. This is a psychological thriller that captivates, grips and challenges perceptions, keeping us guessing until the very end.

Emily Joyce is the author of a successful debut crime novel, ‘The Witness”, but she is struggling to write her second novel. She had an advance from her publisher, Morningstar, six years ago but it is long gone and she can’t afford to pay it back. However, Morningstar has come up with an offer to free her of debt. They will wipe the slate clean if she agrees to ghost-write a memoir for an ex professional cyclist, Jack Smythe, who is suspected of killing his wife, Kate.

Jack’s account of Kate’s death is that he ran into his burning house to pull her out, badly burning his hands, but she died in his arms. He bizarrely wants to write an O.J. Simpson type memoir hypothesising what he would have done if he had killed his wife.
With no other way to pay back her advance, Emily reluctantly agrees and find herself secluded in an empty town under construction on the Californian coast with a man who may well be a murderer. Staying in the guest cabin of a house belonging to one of Jack’s friends, she has been given a week to interview him under strict security guidelines and must then return home to London to write the book.

The dynamics between Emily and Jack are quite chilling. They must spend hours together each day while he recounts the story of his rise in the cycling world and the crash that ended his dream. Emily suspects Jack is not a reliable narrator and doesn’t know how much she can trust him.

Most of the novel is narrated from Emily’s point of view but we also hear from Kate in the days leading up to her death, when her battered body was pulled from the burnt out ruins of their house. Jack has not been arrested for her death, or for the fire but the public is not convinced of his innocence, which is why he wants to tell his story and release his memoir as quickly as possible.

The suspense is slow to build, gradually creeping in when Emily starts to see a strange man watching her, but doesn’t really become pick up until near the end when Jack gets to the final chapter of the book describing how he would have killed Kate <u> IF </u> he’d done it. Although, the plot is intriguing and the setting of an uninhabited town under construction is very eerie, as is Emily’s feeling of being trapped with no one to call for help, the story as a whole felt quite flat and it wasn't until the end that I felt at all invested in what was going to happen.

Burn After Reading by Catherine Ryan Howard - out 10 April 2025

Brief blurb: A ghostwriter is locked in an interview room with a man who might be a murderer.

My thoughts: An author with a secret that could destroy her and a man accused of murdering his wife are teaming up to write his story in an isolated house in Florida. Is he guilty and is she in danger? With dual timelines and multiple narrators I found this a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining book.

If you enjoy books with twists and turns then you will love this.
4 stars

I’m a bit of a fan of Catherine Ryan Howard’s novel and Burn After Reading didn’t disappoint.
Emily is forced to take a ghostwriting job by her publishers. She owes them a second book and has already spent her advance - this is a way to cancel the debt. However, the subject is Jack Smyth - a famous cyclist back in the day, now under suspicion of murdering his wife. He just wants to set the record straight, doesn’t he?
Put to work in a luxurious house in a half built beach town in Florida, Emily is increasingly aware of her isolation, especially as she begins to realise she is being watched and then the notes begin to arrive. It appears to know her long buried secret.
The tension is expertly ratcheted up, the twists are clearly used - all in all a very clever thriller.

Emily struggling to write her second book is offered a ghostwriting job by her publisher. Jack Smyth an Olympic cyclist who's wife died a year earlier in a house fire but the autopsy revealed she was already dead. Twist and turns in this book ramps up the tension between the two main characters who are well drawn by the author. I would recommend this book and I'll be looking forward to more books from this author. Thanks to Random house and Netgalley fro this review ARC.

We start the book with a fire. A woman is trapped in a flat, all methods of escape appear futile... Then we go back in time to various timelines to see how she ended up there. Emily is an author with one best seller under her belt. She "owes" her publisher her second book, which she has yet to even really start and it is way way overdue. And they are calling it in. She is offered an alternative to paying the advance back. To ghostwrite a book for former pro cyclist Jack Smyth, who tragically lost his wife Kate in a fire a year ago. Obviously he was suspect number one but, to date, it's only mud being slung at him, rather than charges. He wants to write a book to get ahead of the chasing pack, to put these rumours to bed by giving his side... Emily has no real option than to accept so is flown out to Florida to hear his side of what happened...
And that's all I can say as the rest of what you are about to read is rather twisty and turny and rather intriguing. Emily is also not without her own skeletons though, which adds a whole other layer to the mix. If I do have one criticism, it is with the pacing. It is a bit hit and miss and often a tad on the slow side. Not enough to give up, just made it a bit too easy to put down and get distracted by other things... First third is build up, second drags a bit, but, when you get to the final third it all comes crashing down at quite the pace, delivering shock after reveal that, even me a seasoned pro at reading this genre, didn't get the half of.
Characters were all interesting and all played their parts well. It's hard to say much more due to the nature of the most of them being not always on the straight and narrow, but I did connect to the majority quite well. I did like Emily but I also found her to be a bit naive at times.
All in all, a worthy addition to an already well impressive back catalogue, most of which I have already read and enjoyed. Roll on next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I’m fairly new to Catherine Ryan Howard’s work but have really enjoyed all the ones I’ve read and the premise of this one sounded excellent.

There is quite a lot going on and a few twists along the way, although I did work out most of them. I have been told that my habit of figuring out plots and storylines is annoying and I should just enjoy the story and generally I’m not actually trying to do it but sometimes it just happens.

In the introduction, Howard highlights the OJ Simpson book as one of her inspirations and I would say that it was obvious and maybe a little too on the nose, having Jack’s character be a former professional sportsman for example.

The story isn’t told in a linear format. We have the parts in the present with Jack telling his story to Emily and then we’re seeing Kate’s point of view in the days leading up to her death. It’s a really effective way of telling the story and it’s always clear where we are in the timeline.

I love the way Howard writes and I’ve found her books always hold my attention really well. This would be an excellent holiday read if you have a trip coming up as you can really get stuck into it. Her writing has a nice flow and I was thoroughly engrossed.

I always find reviews for books like this hard to write as I don’t want to spoil anything but there were some bits, particularly of Emily’s story, that just didn’t feel fleshed out enough for me and the ending felt a little rushed after the time spent building up the tension and the story.

Overall, it’s an intriguing and unusual story.

Apologies but unable to read due to the pink numbers after every sentence and lao mid sentence throughout the whole book,hd it just been a few that would have been fine but it is constant and makes it unable to read,well for me anyway,apologies again

This is an edge of the story that just when you think you have it sussed the story throws another red herring at you. it does drag a little but keep at it for the end.

This was a very suspensful and tense read, especially as you are constantly questioning who to trust.

A really tense, twisty rollercoaster of a book. I really liked the characters and felt I was definitely engrossed in their stories. This is clever with a lot of red herrings. I couldn’t put it down!

Very cleverly put together, and endearing you easily to all the characters, making it hard to know who was telling the truth right to the end. I really enjoyed the suspense but also the slightly unreal setting. Thank you to Netgalley for the advance reader copy.

My thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Burn After Reading’ written by Catherine Ryan Howard in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Jack Smyth attempts to rescue his wife Kate from a burning house but is too late and although thought of as a hero it emerges that Kate died before the fire started. Emily owes her publisher a large sum of money for a second book that never materialised so to avoid having to pay back money she doesn’t have, she’s persuaded to be the ghostwriter for Jack Smyth’s book.

‘Burn After Reading’ is a thriller based in Florida with a unique plot and nicely fleshed out main characters but it was slow to get going and the story dragged until I found I was reading for reading’s sake and not because I was enjoying it. The initial description made it sound like the type of novel I’d enjoy but unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations and although it perked up a bit later on by then I’d lost interest in the characters and the plot. I’ve no doubt it's been well-written and will appeal to a lot of readers but I’m afraid I’m not one of them.

I seriously enjoyed this book. I think this author just keeps getting better and better. I loved the concept and inspiration for this story. The plot does twist and turn but in a way that makes total sense and flows well right to end. I loved the not knowing who to believe and the way glimpses of the truth were revealed. The locations are perfect helping create the right atmosphere and sense of suspense.

As a big fan of Catherine Ryan Howard, I was really looking forward to Burn After Reading, but sadly it didn’t deliver.

The story follows once-successful novelist Emily, who’s drowning in debt and offered a lifeline: ghostwrite a book for disgraced ex-cyclist Jack Smyth, who may or may not have murdered his wife.

The story felt overly slow and never quite caught fire. The writing was overly descriptive at times, making it feel like the plot lost its focus. The characters lacked depth. I struggled to stay engaged. It only started to pick up in the second half of the book but by then I felt more like I was reading just to finish.

I kept waiting for the trademark twist to surprise me—but it never came.

I found those book to be a slow read, I kept waiting for the pace to pick up.
The story is one of truth and deception. Jack Smyth, a famous former cyclist, may have killed his wife, she dies in a fire in their home, but the autopsy revealed she was dead before the fire started.
Emily, who is the main character has written one successful novel, she has been hired by her publisher to ghostwrite Jacks story.
Did Jack kill his wife? Emily is spending a week with him, recording his story as he talks, for material for the book. Should she be afraid of Jack?
The story dragged on, I found it a little dull and I did not particularly care for either Emily or Jack.
Not my favourite book by this author, but would read more.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Random House UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. 3.5stars.

Emily is struggling to find inspiration for another book after the success of her debut so when she is given the chance to fulfil her contract by being a ghostwriter it's an offer she can't refuse.

The subject is Jack, whose wife has died in suspicious circumstances. While he protests his innocence everyone believes he did it, and so in a similar vein to OJ Simpson he decides to write a book from the perspective that he is guilty.

In a creepy uninhabited town in Florida that's still under construction, Emily is alone with Jack and as his story unravels she begins to appreciate the danger she may be in!

I really enjoyed this story, it had twists and turns galore and made it hard to put down! The opening pages really set the tone for the anxiety inducing situations that continue throughout.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for providing a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Emily Joyce had written a successful novel and been contracted for a second. But the words wouldn't come. She had no idea why, but the more she worried the worse the word block became. When she was approached by her publisher to take a ghostwriting job, or pay back the $25,000 she'd been advanced, her choice was obvious. Emily didn't have that amount of money - heavens, she was living day to day! So that saw Emily on the next flight to Florida, from Ireland, where she was to spend a week with Jack Smyth, an ex-professional cyclist who had lost his wife Kate to a house fire a year ago. His heroic efforts to save her by racing into the burning house came to nothing, but when it was discovered she was dead before the fire started, Jack went from hero to villain. Now, he wanted to prove his innocence in a memoir, ghostwritten by Emily...

Burn After Reading is an intriguing story and my first read by Catherine Ryan Howard. It's very twisty with red herrings galore; told by Kate before the fire and Emily once she became involved. But I found it slow going until after the half way mark, with the last third being the best. Recommended to fans of the author.

With thanks to NetGalley & Random House UK for my digital ARC to read and review.

I like this author and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The setting, an unoccupied new town in Florida was creepy and I went back and fore as to whether I thought Jack was a grieving husband or a psycho killer.

Gripping stuff, kept me engaged while the story unfolded, was not quite sure whose side of the story to believe at some points.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.