[Book Review] Burn Our Bodies Down

 

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Wilder Girls comes a new twisty thriller about a girl whose past has always been a mystery—until she decides to return to her mother’s hometown . . . where history has a tendency to repeat itself.

Ever since Margot was born, it’s been just her and her mother. No answers to Margot’s questions about what came before. No history to hold on to. No relative to speak of. Just the two of them, stuck in their run-down apartment, struggling to get along.

But that’s not enough for Margot. She wants family. She wants a past. And she just found the key she needs to get it: A photograph, pointing her to a town called Phalene. Pointing her home. Only, when Margot gets there, it’s not what she bargained for.

Margot’s mother left for a reason. But was it to hide her past? Or was it to protect Margot from what’s still there?

The only thing Margot knows for sure is there’s poison in their family tree, and their roots are dug so deeply into Phalene that now that she’s there, she might never escape.

What did I just read?

First of all, what? And second of all, why? I actually love suspense books, especially when they keep me on my toes. Unfortunately, I was able to guess what Margot was in relation to her mom and grandmother from the start. I was not able to guess the why, but at the end of the book when the why was revealed, I still didn't fully understand.

The thoughts and narration from Margot throughout the book are inconsistent and full of plot holes. She goes from one feeling to the next without any logical reason. She goes from no suspicion to all the suspicion within the span of 5 minutes, and gives no reason as to why her thought pattern has changed. It was weird and hard to follow.

The plot twist seemed to be kind of a let down. I just didn't feel that surprised, and the reason behind everything seemed flawed, and just didn't seem to pan put the way the author intended. I feel like in the end I was left with more questions than answers. 

Also, the dialogue between Margot and her mother was almost infuriating. Margot was very... annoying. Yes, her mother is not an A+ mother by any means, but she did not owe Margot any kind of explanation. Those explanations Margot wanted were courtesies, not her right. And the way she goaded her mom and threw a fit about not receiving what she felt she deserved was just super annoying. I did not empathize with Margot at all. By the end of the book, I didn't really care what happened to any of the characters to be honest. 

Rory Power grew up in New England, where she lives and works as a crime fiction editor and story consultant for TV adaptation. She received a Masters in Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia, and thinks fondly of her time there, partially because she learned a lot but mostly because there were a ton of bunnies on campus.

She is represented by Daisy Parente at Lutyens & Rubinstein and Kim Witherspoon at InkWell Management.