Burntown

A Novel

By: Jennifer McMahon

Narrated by: Abby Craden

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. A respected professor, Miles was also an inventor of fantastic machines, including one so secret that the plans were said to have been stolen from Thomas Edison's workshop. According to Lily, this machine got Miles murdered.

Necco has always written off this claim as the fevered imaginings of a woman consumed by grief. But when Lily also dies under mysterious circumstances, and Necco's boyfriend is murdered, she's convinced her mother was telling the truth. 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 of edge-of-your-seat suspense begins to unfurl with classic Jennifer McMahon twists and turns.

Critic reviews

“McMahon’s latest is bar-raising. . . . . A stunning genre blend of thriller and fantasy.” --Booklist

Slow start, great finish!

Slow to get going but once the story unfolded, I couldn't stop listening. Slow sections remain throughout but the author keeps you engrossed with the layers upon layers of character build.

OH EM GEEE! You have to read this book.

I am seriously in love with author Jennifer McMahon's writing. She is just a sheer genius when it comes to writing stories that mesmerize you from the very beginning. She is able to get a few different stories that all come into a full circle. She does not write a lot of magic, paranormal, or even supernatural but there are always an aspect of the one in her books. This is where I get sucked into the world she has built with every book I read of hers.

Had a hard time finishing.

I kept hoping the story would grab me but the reveal of the killer was anti-climactic and the ending, although hopeful, left me flat.

Struggle to finish this one

I usually enjoy Jennifer McMahon's works. But this one took me a lot longer than usual and it was because it wasn't holding my interest very well. Not sure what it was, some of the narration was a bit odd, but in the context, I suppose it was acceptable. The story felt like it went on for far too long and just didn't have characters that drew me into their worlds.

Great story

I loved Jennifer McMahon and her story telling, this book just fell a tad flat for me. It will keep you entertained for hours, the ending was just a little predictable.