Dread running into old foes? Or flings? Abby has you beat. She swings into her hometown to not only investigate a very popular local business, but also rip open old wounds of an unsolved disappearance, all while confronting her childhood demons.
Immediately following graduation, Abby escapes the torment of her rural Midwest town by moving to Chicago. Nearly ten years later, she returns as an environmental lawyer probing a local business, Optimal. Unfortunately, Optimal owns the town, engrossing itself in every aspect of life from jobs and politics to infrastructure and education. This makes Abby an unpopular person, a familiar position for her in Barrens, Indiana.
Abby’s legal work quickly takes a back seat to her obsession of learning more about the vanishing of her adolescent friend and prom queen, Kaycee. After a decade of rumors, no one has real information of her whereabouts (or at least none they would like to share). Abby’s unanswered questions expose her to the unfortunate truth that the past is never dead and some things never change.
Abby is an incredibly relatable, albeit flawed protagonist. She straddles the line between hot mess and potential hero. She binge drinks and lies (both to others and herself), but she is determined to prevail – against Optimal and her past. Personally, I love how she handles encounters with her high school bullies – never letting them off the hook for how they tortured her as teenagers. As the past and present collide, she flips the town upside down, struggling to reconcile new impressions and old memories.
Bonfire is the first novel by Krysten Ritter, the star of Marvel’s Jessica Jones. Ritter doesn’t reinvent the wheel but executes a great, suspenseful story. I was engrossed in the nostalgia of high school even though she focuses on the horrible things kids do to each other. Each chapter had me hooked to find out what happens in the next, and I finished this short read in 24 hours.
Conspiracy? Check. Mysterious disappearance? Check. Small town gossip? Check. Confronting the past? Check. Bonfire checks all the boxes for your next beach read.
Verdict: Read it.
Length: 290 pages
Quote: “Memories are like fire, and need only a little oxygen to grow.” (Sneaky amount of great quotes, especially consider it is the debut novel of an actress turned author.)
When: Next plane ride or vacation. Doesn’t require a beach, but I recommend one.
Also Try: The Dry by Jane Harper (also try watching Jessica Jones on Netflix)
Click here to get Bonfire
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