Burntown: A Novel

by Jennifer McMahon

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Winter People comes a novel of edge-of-your-seat suspense starring a group of misfits trying to outsmart a killer in small-town Vermont.

On the surface, Ashford, Vermont, seems like a quaint New England college town, but to those who live among the shadowy remains of its abandoned mills and factories and beneath its towering steel bridges, it's known as Burntown. 

Eva Sandeski, who goes by the name Necco on the street, has been a part of Burntown's underworld for years, ever since the night her father, Miles, drowned in a flood that left her and her mother, Lily, homeless. 

Now, on the run from a man called Snake Eyes, Necco must rely on other Burntown outsiders to survive. As the lives of these misfits intersect, and as the killer from the Sandeski family's past draws ever closer, a story begins to unfurl with classic Jennifer McMahon twists and turns.

• ISBN10: 1101971851
• ISBN13: 9781101971857
• Publish Date: 30 January 2018 (first published 25 April 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Anchor Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781101971857

Reviews

[leahrosereads]

After The Winter People, I knew I found an auto buy author in Jennifer McMahon, and Burntown has helped solidify McMahon as one of my favorite authors. And one I absolutely plan to reading everything I can consume of hers.

Burntown was just such a fantastic and fantastical story. It was thrilling, with interesting and so very flawed characters, with a plot that had my head a spinning.

I can usually get the punchline or twist before it's revealed, but this one blindsided me, and I loved it.

I wish parts of the story were explored more, mainly around the father. But that's kinda how I feel about all of McMahon's stories. They're grey, but I wish they'd go on forever.

The stories are that good to me!

[chymerra]

I really wasn’t too sure what to feel about this book. It had everything I like about mysteries in it: an unknown villain, a plucky heroine, and a good cast of supporting characters. The only thing that this book lacked was a plotline that stayed engaging. I lost interest in the book after Hermes was killed and both Theo, Pru and Fred were introduced into the story. While I wanted to find out who Snake Eyes/Chicken Mask Man was and if Necco/Eva had the plans for the machine that can talk to the dead, I almost didn’t finish the book because I couldn’t get involved.

I also didn’t like that there were so many points of view. If the author had just kept with Necco and Theo, I would have been fine with it. But you had Martin, Pru and Fred’s point of view added in. While I appreciated it, again, my focus was lost with so many points of view and I felt that it took away from the story.

I also wish that the machine that could talk to the dead was featured more in the book. I was fascinated by it from what was described and I really felt that the author could have gone a whole different direction with the story if Martin hadn’t told Errol to destroy it.

I did like Necco. She was so strong even when everything that she had been told by her mother ended up being all false. Honestly, that would have broken me.

When it was revealed who Snake Eyes/Chicken Mask Man was and his ties to Necco, I was very surprised. I was only surprised because that character I assumed died. Don’t ask me why I assumed that because it was never mentioned. But that person was never mentioned in the book again, so I just assumed that person died. Guess I was wrong.

The end of the book was your typical HEA with the mystery being blown wide open.

How many stars will I give Burntown: 3

Why: I just couldn’t connect with the characters or get into the storylines. I wish I did or else this review would be different….sigh.

Will I reread: Maybe

Will I recommend to family and friends: Maybe

Age range: Adult

Why: Violence and language

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

[dpfaef]

This review was originally posted on The Pfaeffle Journal