Review | A Killing Fire by Faye Snowden (ARC)

When she was a child, Raven Burns was forced to watch as her father, Floyd Burns, went on a killing spree. Now she’s a homicide detective, intent on proving she’s nothing like him. But his voice is alive in her head. When a young woman is murdered in a familiar scene, she has to solve the mystery before her past catches up with her.

It didn’t occur to her that the hymn she had been whistling to banish Floyd from her mind was one that he had always favored.

A Killing Fire is a real heady, slow burn read. I loved the authentic setting of Byrd’s Landing, Louisiana. The description of the locations, the eclectic cast of characters, down to the details in the food. They make the story feel alive. Many of the characters are black including Raven herself, which makes for a nice change in a genre usually populated with white characters.

Raven is a fascinating protagonist haunted by her past. She is so adamant that she is nothing like her vicious father that she refuses to admit her own mistakes. Her friendship with her long-time partner in the police department, Billy Ray, is warm and affectionate. Those scenes are a relief in this dark story especially in between flashbacks to Floyd’s crimes when Raven was a child. Those scenes are particularly chilling and brutal in their cruelty. But they are superbly placed to show context to Raven’s increasingly erratic behaviour. Whenever she hears his melodic, insidious voice, it gets real creepy!

While I liked the character study aspect of the book, as a police procedural it fell flat. The murder investigation is compromised from the start and I found it hard to believe how much Raven got away with. She’s a notorious liar and even a possible suspect but this only comes up towards the end. I also wish we get more information where Floyd’s influence is concerned. It’s not entirely clear whether his presence has affected Raven all along for years or whether it’s a recent occurrence.

As a note for the readers, the book mainly takes the police’s side. There is a scene of a police shooting so if this is a trigger please be aware. I think it’s why I couldn’t fully enjoy the story because as much as I loved Raven I didn’t like that she just does whatever she wants behind the police badge. This is purely my personal preference though.

Other than that the book has plenty of its own merits. If you’re looking for a diverse, horror-tinged crime fiction, this would be a great choice.

Thank you to the publisher for a review copy, A Killing Fire is out on 22/8!

About the author: Faye Snowden

Photo by Stephen Radford