On paper, Burn This Night would seem like an impossibly complex tale more inclined to confuse than to entertain, so the fact that Alex Kenna successfully makes it work while also managing to maximize the emotional payoff is testament to her skills as a writer. Readers diving into this slow burn of a crime novel will quickly find themselves addicted to the twisting plot and fully invested in its lead character, Kate Myles.
Kate Myles is still reeling from the news that her beloved dad was not really her biological father. A spur of the moment decision to add her DNA to an online database quickly results in an unexpected discovery. Kate is distantly related to a suspect in a decades-old cold case. This would be enough stress for any one person, but Kate also struggles to contend with divorce, shared custody of her young daughter, a strained relationship with her own mother, and the loss of her law enforcement career.
While trying to make ends meet as a private investigator, Kate is offered a non-paying gig helping to clear the name of a drug addict—Jacob Colburn—who has been arrested for setting the fire that killed his sister, Abby—the only family member who unconditionally stood by him through his personal struggles. The only reason Kate agrees to the assignment is because it places her in the same vicinity as that cold case crime her distant relation is accused of committing. In that case, a local high school girl was murdered.
Alex Kenna then proceeds to let readers witness as Kate grapples with these two different cases—discoveries in one alter the path of investigation in the other and vice-versa. Adding another layer of complexity is the dual timeline. The present-day chapters come from the point of view of our main character, Kate Myles, while the chapters set in the past are recounted by the three Colburn siblings.
Readers will quickly glean onto the structural complexity as they notice these sections from the past unfold in random order, rather than the more traditional and expected chronological method. Rather than a haphazard choice, this unusual decision serves two purposes: it elevates and extends the suspense by keeping readers in the dark on a few key points and it reinforces one of the themes of the novel—the idea that tragedy often arrives not as a single moment, but as an ever-escalating pattern of poor choices culminating in an inevitable outcome of disaster.
This all illustrates how plot-heavy Burn This Night is, but make no mistake about it, Alex Kenna never shortchanges character development. In the novel, Kate navigates a new love interest, meeting the man that might be her real father, and coming to terms with her own addictive personality. In just two books Kate Myles—via Alex Kenna’s writing talents—has staked a claim as one of the great, unforgettable heroines of crime fiction.
Lastly, Burn This Night takes such an empathetic look at those struggling with addictions—of all sorts—that readers cannot help but become emotionally invested. There is definitely evil at play in Burn This Night, but Alex Kenna is careful not to condemn all those who have made unfortunate choices and in doing so imbues the book with a sense of hope that is much needed amongst all the calamity.
Burn This Night can absolutely be read as a stand-alone novel, but it will be that rare crime fiction reader who doesn’t want to go back to see how Kate Myles journey began. And that also means they will be waiting to see where Alex Kenna takes this character next.
BUY LINKS: Burn This Night by Alex Kenna
Disclaimer: A print copy of this title was provided to BOLO Books by the publisher. No promotion was promised and the above is an unbiased review of the novel.
