Book Review -- Bonfire by Krysten Ritter

Should you ever go back?

That is the question that is posed by the debut novel of Krysten Ritter. Yes, that Krysten Ritter -- our very own Jessica Jones has written a book! When I saw that this book was available as a advanced readers copy well before its publication date (released on November 8, 2017) at Book Con on June 3, 2017 as well as Krysten Ritter just rocks (yes I am still bitter about the cancellation of Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23 but thank you Netflix!) -- I knew I had to pick this up. There was a little scandal about me picking up this book though but let me just say these four words -- QUEEN OF SMALL TALK.

Now before I get into what the book is about let me preface any possible hesitation you may have about reading this.. You know how when a singer is so famous they get so full of themselves and think they can act too? (AHEM, Mariah Carey) Or just because you can act means you can also sing? Well what if just because she is a talented actress/producer that means she can write a book without it sucking? I have faith in her, but that question is was a Cranberries song. But I will say this -- all of that trepidation and uncertainty was silenced. the further into the book I got.

Here is the book description: It has been ten years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night stands. But when a new case takes her back home to Barrens, Indiana, the life Abby painstakingly created begins to crack. Tasked with investigating Optimal Plastics, the town's most high-profile company and economic heart, Abby begins to find strange connections to Barrens’ biggest scandal from more than a decade ago involving the popular Kaycee Mitchell and her closest friends—just before Kaycee disappeared for good. Abby knows the key to solving any case lies in the weak spots, the unanswered questions. But as Abby tries to find out what really happened to Kaycee, she unearths an even more disturbing secret—a ritual called “The Game,” which will threaten the reputations, and lives, of the community and risk exposing a darkness that may consume her. With tantalizing twists, slow-burning suspense, and a remote, rural town of just five claustrophobic miles, Bonfire is a dark exploration of the question: can you ever outrun your past?

Krysten Ritter has written a gripping and beautifully written crime debut; while not perfect as she falls into the trap that so many action and crimes do where the villain gives a long winded dramatic speech justifying why they were so hell bent on why they destroyed everything. It is tense and suspenseful, drawing in the reader with ease. The greatest strengths of the book lie in the complex character creation and development of Abby, a woman who wants to come to terms with the past so that she can be alive in the present. Ritter presents a picture of a woman paying a heavy price as she gets closer to the truth, no-one believes her, yet despite her life disintegrating around her, she clings on with a tenuous grip with determination.Everything doesn't start coming all together until the last like, 25% of the book but even with that being said I found Bonfire a really compelling read, one I devoured pretty quickly and enjoyed quite a bit. I'll definitely be looking out for Ritter's next book at some point.