But when someone close to her is brutally murdered and Ava is the primary suspect, she starts to wonder if the legends surrounding the town are more fact than fiction.
Whatever secrets Burden Falls is hiding, there's a killer on the loose, and they have a vendetta against the Thorns...
Ava Thorn lives in Burden Falls. Well, that’s a cheerful sounding town. Imagine growing up there. Especially since Burden Falls has a scary unofficial mascot, Dead-Eyed Sadie, and a creepy superstition about her and the supposedly cursed waterfall. Not to mention the general feeling of malcontent about those Bloody Thorns. In any case, after the death of Ava’s parents, her Uncle Ty has had to sell Thorn Manor, the orchards, the distillery, and the land which includes Burden Bridge. For the first time ever, there will be no Thorns at Thorn Manor.
As if Ava doesn’t have enough to deal with, a brutal and horrifying murder of someone she knows puts her smack dab in the middle of the police investigation as prime suspect number 1. Ava knows she didn’t kill anyone, but everything is pointing to her. Why has her life gone to such shit before she’s even had a chance to get started living? If she doesn’t find out who is responsible and soon, she could be spending the rest of her life behind bars. Or worse.
Well, this is a creepy piece of work! Is the ghost real? Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? But there’s a very real killer on the loose in this depressingingly named town. I mean, seriously. Who wants to live in a town called Burden Falls? It just sounds dark and creepy and, well, depressing. Anyway, Ava is a great character even if she’s not all that great a judge of friends. And even if she makes stupid choices, but then she’s a teenager so stupid choices kind of go hand and hand with the teenage years.
The murder is twisted and mystifying. Who the hell did it? And why? There are several possible suspects including Ava, so it’s not an easy solve. When another murder happens in a similar fashion Ava is really beginning to think she’s next. Or maybe she’s just going crazy. In any case, real people are dying and someone is responsible. When Ava becomes friendly with someone she figured for an enemy she slowly realizes she has an ally amongst all the hostiles.
The buildup and conclusion are nail-biting and edge of your seat anxiety inducing. Especially that one part that triggered my claustrophobia. UGH! I will not be re-reading that. Ever. Come for the intrigue, stay for the mystery, and be rewarded with a happy ending? Depends on your definition of ‘happy’, I guess. There is resolution and that’s important.
Kat Ellis is a young adult
author whose novels include Wicked Little Deeds/Burden Falls (August 2021),
Harrow Lake (July 2020), Purge (September 2016), Breaker (May 2016), and
Blackfin Sky (May 2014). She is a fan of all things horror and sci-fi, and a keen
explorer of ruins, castles and cemeteries – all of which are plentiful in North
Wales, where Kat lives with her husband.
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