Bonfire: A Novel

I enjoyed this book, but I do think that the first half was far better than the second; it was more intriguing, ominous, and enjoyable. At the beginning, we first meet the main character, Abby, an attorney with an environmental research group. Abby, with her small group of researchers, is returning to her hometown of Barrens to investigate potential health hazards linked to a plastics manufacturer that is possibly polluting the reservoir.In returning to her Barrens, Abby recalls all the teenage miseries she experienced at the hands of three girls during her years in high school. But one of these notorious teens is special in Abby's mind, as Abby and "Kaycee" had once been friends. Kaycee had mysteriously ran off, left school and disappeared from the area, and Abby has always wondered what happened to her.The first half of the book is filled with intriguing bits of Abby's backstory and her acquaintances from her early days in Barrens. This first half, reminiscent of Flynn's Sharp Objects, brings its shadows of mystery to the reader as the main character visits her past. As readers, we ponder - What happened to Kaycee? - Could Barren's illnesses and birth defects be the responsibility of Optimal Plastics, or is there another explanation? - Are all the people of this town too frightened to be candid with Abby?Abby begins to wonder if her old acquaintances changed their spots. As she investigates, Abby becomes aware that most of Barren's population doesn't want to speak with her. They would rather be silent or distracting, and Abby suspects they all wish to protect Optimal Plastics, which is seen as saving the once-dying town.As Abby continues on her search for truth, she feels a threat, which is fully realized when her group's makeshift office in a barn is set afire.The plots moves forward but the pace gets a bit slow; Abby's team returns home to Chicago, but Abby stays in Barrens, determined to fully unravel the truth about Optimal Plastics while she obsesses continually about her former friend/enemy Kaycee's disappearance. The story starts to get repetitive and even a bit bland. It loses the shadows of darkness and mystery The second half of the book doesn't deliver the punch-impact promised in the first half of the book.I hope I haven't sounded too harsh or negative about this book because I did like it enough to stay with it, which I only do if I am enjoying a book. Also, I have recommended it to a friend. I do think that the second half of any book must be the real challenge to any writer, especially in a thriller, where it is tough to sustain the mystery and yet unfold the resolution. Four Stars - I Liked It!The above paragraph describes the first half, which is intriguing is returning to her former home town to investigate Certainly not the dark thriller I was expecting. The "twists" are predictable, dragging out and repeating the same tired "memories of the past", several plot holes, and often rushed writing where details would have helped, this book fell a little flat.However, it was an entertaining read, and something I wouldn't tell a friend not to buy if asked. Thus three stars.It really reads like a debut, which is what it is, but a debut that should have had a more honest editor send it back and say, "hey fix these things."I'm a big Krysten Ritter fan. I hope she writes again, this time with a better editor telling her where she falls short.Even though the book was a bit slow to start, I believe that reading about Abby's homecoming and her backstory is needed to appreciate what is to come. As the mystery of Optimal Plastics and this small town began to reveal itself, this is where the book took off and really pulled me in. The suspense comes from the building tensions as well as the interlacing of the environmental investigation, the disappearance of Kaycee Mitchell all those years ago, and the reemergence of a cruel "game" that targets young girls reputations.What made this book even better for me as a reader was the character of Abby. There is an honesty and realness to her that is brought out through her insecurities, emotions, and reactions to her past being thrust back into her present. Ritter manages create something fresh with a narrative that could have taken a much more mundane turn.All in all, I loved the book. It gave me a character driven mystery with a few surprises along the way

I really enjoyed this novel. I read a LOT of 'mysteries', 'suspense' novels, and expect to be glued-to-the-pages each and every time. This one definitely had me hooked from the beginning to the end. But probably the most enjoyable part of this novel was the author's writing style. I am a big highlighter of phrases/thoughts - passages that make me pause and think, envision, 'feel' what the author is saying, 'feel' the place being described... perhaps some examples will show what I mean:"The particular odor of artificial air freshener, musty old travel guides, and baked goods is like the barrel of a gun, shooting me into the past.""That feeling again-sadness, pity, yearning to make it better-flares up in me, unbidden. I've prepared, but not for this. Suddenly I feel a new kind of fear-that I will have to learn all over again how to survive in the presence of this man, how to find myself. That he will make me love him again, and then disappoint me, and I will have to learn all over again how to unlove him.""All I know is that Barrens broke something inside of me. It warped the needles on my compass and turned the south to north and lies to truth and vice versa. And what happened to Kaycee senior year-what happened to all her friends as they began falling, fainting, and forgetting-is the central magnet. If I have any hope of finding my way again, I have to figure out which way the truth was pointing all along.""He's one of those men with a face like a CAUTION sign, always on the edge of a bad mood, like he could snap at any moment.""Being a lawyer is a little like being a doctor in reverse: you look for the damage and try to grow it, try to pushy in, dig a little deeper, open up the festering places...""He's just as handsome, but in a softer, more accessible way. His muscles have relaxed and he looks just tired enough to be real.""I decide to go all in-if we're going to remove the weeds, might as well get down to the roots.""Memories of last night do a quick-shuffle through my head: Condor's smile, the way he drums his thigh when he's thinking, his hands, brown from the sun, pulling me closer to him. Brent's hands are pale and well kept. I realize the difference between Condor and Brent. With Condor, the person I don't trust is myself.""Once, I told my mother I wanted to be a mermaid, and she told me that real mermaids were the drowned souls of broken-hearted women; I don't know why I remember that now. I blink as if it will help clear out the memory.""He's just easy and malleable and he can make a home everywhere he goes. Some of us are out of place even when we ARE home.""One of the only things I bothered unpacking is an old wooden jewelry box that used to belong to my mother and still, I imagine, every so often, releases a bit of her smell.""Joe doesn't understand that in Barrens, you can't just peel away the present from the past. It's like trying to get gum out of your hair: the more you try to separate it, the more strands get caught up.""One of my law professors once told me you could defend any liar on the planet, so long as he didn't like to you.""I know that kind of laughter: like the hooting of an owl sighting a mouse. Sharp. Predatory.""Monty isn't a hawk, but a mouse: and like all prey everywhere, he knows when there's danger in the air.""Nothing was ever her fault. She was immune to guilt, and her memory worked like one of those old gold sifting pans, shaking away all the dirt, all the bad stuff, leaving intact only the things she really wanted to remember, the things that made her look good.""May says 'college' the way someone might say 'heaven'. In some ways, it isn't surprising. Around these parts, both are just as hard to get into.""Maybe all along this is what my future held-what I tried so hard to escape, and what, ultimately, is inescapable. Time isn't a line, but a corkscrew, and the harder I've pushed, the more I've drilled back into the past.""She was always all tricks and codes and clues. The kind of girl you could only get close to the way you have to creep sideways toward a wild animal, not making eye contact, so it won't run away."

Abby Williams left home ten years ago but now a lawyer has to come back for her current case. She has to investigate Optima Plastics which in turn has a connection to a popular girl, Kaycee Mitchell disappearing.This is another book out there which is really hyped but intrigued me enough to grab a copy from my local library. I do find however that for me hyped books can be a let down. This book is one of them. I'm not saying it wasn't a good book it just didn't wow me.The story for me was ok, it made sense, it wasnt complicated. What kept me reading was the disappearance of Kaycee and what happened to her. This alone kept my interest. I'm glad the story line shifted to the disappearance of Kaycee as I'm not a big fan of legal themed books.The story plodded along and at times it was interesting. I wouldn't say it was a page turner but I thought it was an ok read.

This would not be the kind of book i would normally read, but it was part of a book group read. I didn't originally recognize the author as an actor, I am not much of a television programme watcher, however, once I looked her up i recognized her straight away. My first thoughts on reading the book was that it must be self published as the grammar, sentence and paragraph structure was really bad in parts and made it difficult to read. Also, the story is not a new one, it's been told before. There were also, too many characters, and some are still floating around out there somewhere, their stories not complete. The whole book needed more words and more time, but for a first book it was okay! I did finish it, but I can't see myself recommending it to anyone else. I gave it 3 * because to 1* = not read, 2*= not finished, 3*= finished, no recommendation.

Ritter has the beginnings of a good writer but this is just dull and trite. It just didn't keep my attention and about half way through I just can't bear to read any more.Would read another by Ritter but I think she needs to hone her writing chops a bit more.

You think you know the story of missing Kaycee and the mystery that surrounds the small town of The Barrens, but the book will keep you guessing from chapter to chapter as main character Abby investigates the wrong doings.Nicely written, and a page turner for sure. Another author to add to the watched list!

I could not put it down.The intense cloying atmosphere, the introverted and not fully reliable narrator, who may or may not be loosing it. Ten year old mystery, and potentially evil corporation.Definitely worth a read.