The Burning
A Novel
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4.0 • 399 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Things get personal for Deputy Coroner Clay Edison when a murder hits close to home in this riveting, emotional thriller from the bestselling father-son team who write “brilliant, page-turning fiction” (Stephen King).
A raging wildfire. A massive blackout. A wealthy man shot to death in his palatial hilltop home.
For Clay Edison, it’s all in a day’s work. As a deputy coroner, caring for the dead, he speaks for those who cannot speak for themselves. He prides himself on an unflinching commitment to the truth. Even when it gets him into trouble.
Then, while working the murder scene, Clay is horrified to discover a link to his brother, Luke. Horrified. But not surprised. Luke is fresh out of prison and struggling to stay on the straight and narrow.
And now he’s gone AWOL.
The race is on for Clay to find him before anyone else can. Confronted with Luke’s legacy of violence, Clay is forced to reckon with his own suspicions, resentments, and loyalties. Is his brother a killer? Or could he be the victim in all of this, too?
This is Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman at their most affecting and page-turning—a harrowing collision of family, revenge, and murder.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
It's wildfire season in Northern California, a time of "million-acre fires, killing winds, and weeklong blackouts," in the Kellermans' intriguing fourth mystery featuring Clay Edison, Alameda County's deputy coroner (after 2020's Half Moon Bay). Kitted out in a respirator mask, Clay makes his way to a crime scene on the sprawling estate of wealthy Rory Vandervelde, a collector of all things expensive, from sports memorabilia to rare automobiles, who has been shot dead. In the victim's garage, Clay is shocked to find a late-'60s Camaro, painted a searing shade of green, which he identifies as belonging to his problematic younger brother, Luke. His suspicions mount when he can't locate Luke. Faced with the need to protect his brother, Clay decides to run a clandestine investigation of his own. In doing so, he crosses ethical and professional borders, and soon his lies are "piling up like bad debt." The troubled familial relationships play an integral part in the unraveling of the whodunit and the why, adding pathos to the riveting finale. Once again, the bestselling Kellermans provide food for thought along with a tidy mystery.
Customer Reviews
Not my favorite
I’ve read the series. This one seems a bit off. There’s too much filler. It also seems like, to me, the writing found a way to insert profanities wherever possible.
Dreadful writing
Overblown descriptions, and fundamentally boring characters. Add to that a non-plot and you have a complete waste of money. I’m done with Kellerman.
Not up to what’s expected
I have been a long time fan of Kellerman, this book was a huge disappointment. It starts slow and never picks up. The main character Clay is made to seem like a worrying grandmother and the story is never truly developed and seems rushed at the very end to make sense of the whole book. I believe this book instead of adding to what was a good series more effectively kills it.