Burn After Reading by Catherine Ryan Howard is a captivating psychological thriller that masterfully blends suspense, secrets, and the blurred lines between truth and deception. The story follows Emily Joyce, an inexperienced ghostwriter, as she takes on the daunting task of writing the memoir of Jack Smyth, a former professional cyclist who has retreated into obscurity after the suspicious death of his wife.

Set in the eerie, desolate town of Sanctuary, Florida, the novel paints a chilling backdrop that perfectly mirrors the tension building between Emily and Jack. As she delves deeper into Jack’s life, Emily begins to question not only his version of events but also her own safety as dark revelations come to light.

Catherine Ryan Howard’s trademark storytelling shines in this book, with tightly woven plotting and deeply layered characters. Emily’s internal struggles and Jack’s enigmatic persona add richness to the narrative, while the isolated setting amplifies the suspense. The twists are expertly paced, keeping readers guessing right up to the final pages.

Highly recommend.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a great premise - the questionable celebrity widower getting his memoir written and the ghostwriter tasked with writing this highly-anticipated book. What could go wrong?
The characters are great. Jack, the former world-renowned cyclist is determined to clear up any questions over his involvement in the death of his wife by telling his story; Emily, the writer, doesn't even want to take the job but is motivated by needing the money, so badly that she ends up in not only an uncomfortable situation, but a very dangerous one. The narrative is written so we have insights into a future part of the story early on, a stylistic feature I enjoy as the hint at what is to come is engaging and thought-provoking.
As always, Ryan Howard's trademark twists and turns are amply evident throughout and she keeps you guessing whether Jack really is innocent or is something more sinister at play right until the end.

My copy wasn't formatted correctly so it took me a while to actually get through it.

I enjoy CRH books and this was no exception. I think the slow burn at the start was perhaps slightly too drawn out, but overall it came together well at the end.

Less gory and a lot less people dying, so quite a diversion from her usual books.

I thought this was a really interesting concept and the twists and reveals kept me intrigued. A great read and I’ll look out for more books by this author

We start 'Burn After Reading' with main protaganist and newly-christened ghost writer Emily trapped in a room full of fire – and then we go back(draft) in time…

Early on we learn that Emily has written a best-selling book five years ago called ‘The Witness’ which became a number one bestseller and for which she was paid a huge advance. But the second book her publisher expected just hasn’t materialised and there are reasons why – which are slowly revealed over the course of the book. There’s also mysterious and threatening emails. Hmm.

Publisher to the rescue. They want Emily to ghostwrite a book to come good on the advance. It’s to be the life story of Jack Smyth, former cycling hero, who recently stormed his burning house to try and save his wife. He failed, but it’s later revealed she was already dead before the fire took hold. Suspicions arise…

And so Emily takes to the US where Jack is staying in best friend Ben’s residence and prepares to jot down Jack’s life story and his version of the events of the night of the fire – in his own words. But there’s more. Obviously.

Catherine spoke briefly about this book at this year’s Harrogate Theakstons Crime Writing festival and the spark that set this fire going was based on OJ Simpson’s account of his crime – IF he had done it.

I’ll leave it there for fear of setting alight some spoilers for you.

This is my third book by the author and I really enjoyed it. There’s plenty to keep you turning the pages as the reveals come through. I particularly loved section six where some masks are dropped…

My only teeny weeny niggle with BAR is that a couple of sub-plots felt a bit familiar. That’s obviously no fault of the author – it’s just me reading far too many books 😬 That aside it’s a solid four star read and hotly recommended when it’s released next spring.

I’ve read all of Catherine Ryan Howard’s books and I am always intrigued to see what kind of tale she will weave in her offerings. Burn After Reading is her latest, and while it has an interesting premise, I have to say that I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I have with some of her previous books. It’s a bit predictable if I’m honest, but I’m sure crime fiction readers will enjoy it all the same.

Jack is accused of murdering his wife. Did he or didn’t he? Emily, an author has struggled to start her second book and she has no choice but to agree to be Jacks ghostwriter to write his side of the story.

I found this to be a slow burn and honestly it took me a while to work out what was going on. It had great promise and the storyline was ok but it just didn’t wow me like the authors books have previously.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for an e-ARC and Penguin Books Ireland for a physical proof. All thoughts are my own!

The latest from the undisputed queen of Irish thrillers is a pacey, twisty whodunnit with more than one mystery threaded through its pages. If there's one thing CRH does well, it's lead you down the completely wrong path as far as theories are concerned! I was constantly second guessing what the truth was - whether in the main plot (did Jack kill his wife?) or the subplot (what's Emily's big secret?). I'm so grateful I got to read this early, and I implore anyone who enjoys a thriller to preorder it - and read her back catalog is you haven't already!

I absolutely adore Catherine Ryan Howard and devoured Burn After Reading in one sitting. Is Jack Smyth innocent? Or will his ghostwriter become the next target? Fantastic book, fantastic wrtiter. 4 stars

‘Burn After Reading’ by Catherine Ryan Howard is a tense, immersive and incredibly smart thriller starring Emily, an author struggling with her second book who is offered a lifeline by her publisher - ghostwriting a memoir in exchange for them not demanding back her advance. Her subject: Jack - a former Olympic cyclist and golden boy, whose career came crashing down due to injury before he became the most notorious man in Ireland, suspected of - but never charged with - murdering his wife.

The novel is written across multiple timelines, with a horrifying prologue and multiple threads of plot building up the tension as they describe Emily’s conversations with Jack, his wife Kate’s final weeks, and reminisces about life on the cycling tour. The author skilfully weaves these together to make the book totally gripping from start to finish.

I especially liked Emily as a character; her determination to complete the ghostwriting assignment and her own long-buried secrets made her both relatable and intriguing. The setting of much of the story - a Floridian new build estate of pristine second homes for the wealthy called Sanctuary - was immersively described and eerie in its emptiness. Without giving any twists away, I found the culmination of the novel surprising and satisfying, and admired the clever epilogue. This book will definitely linger in my mind for a while.

I am giving this 4.5 stars as it had all the ingredients of a must-read thriller and I found myself glued to my kindle.

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Random House UK via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Burn after reading is the new novel by talented writer Catherine Ryan Howard.
Jack Smyth is a former known cyclist who returns home to find that his home is on fire. He rushes into the house to save his wife, but she was already dead. After the fire the investigation reveals that his wife was dead before the fire started and he is the No 1 suspect.
A year later he meets Emily who once wrote a best-selling book. But now she is in debt because she has trouble writing her next book in her Two book deal. So instead, her publishers asks her to be a ghostwriter for Jack on a book to confess what happened to his wife.
This is another gripping thriller full of tension and I liked the storyline and the location setting. But for me I found the conclusion to this story a bit underwhelming. 4 stars from me.

I always look forward to a new Catherine Ryan Howard novel, so was eager to read this. It didn't disappoint. Catherine really knows how to keep your attention all the way through a novel and this was brilliantly done.

as always, howard has created a compelling and thrilling story that keeps me up way too late. absolutely phenomenal work as always!!!

Another interesting read by author Catherine Ryan Howard, having read most of her previous reads this is not my favourite by far but still a good story/novel.

We meet Jack, who tragically lost his wife in a house fire but it was proved that she had died previously before the fire in an attack and obviously Jack was the number one suspect, although never charged for the murder of his wife.

Formally, Jack was a professional cyclist so the news of the fire and the death of his wife was widespread. He decides to tell his story and hires a ghost-writer. We are introduced to Emily, who is a good well-rounded character and carrying secrets of her own.

Burn After Reading was very atmospheric and felt like the characters were well liked.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for allowing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. 3.5 stars from me.

Amazing edge of your seat story you won't be able to put down this is a thriller which will keep you turning the pages long into the night

I've read and loved all of Catherine Ryan Howard's novels so was very keen to read Burn After Reading. This is a slow-burn thriller that really hooks the reader in. We follow Emily who is hired to ghost write the memoir of Jack - a former professional cyclist who is under suspicion of murdering his wife. We also see the days leading up to the death of his wife from her perspective. The novel feels claustrophobic and I was on the edge of my seat for parts of it. Other parts felt a little too drawn out, and there were times when it was a bit repetitive. On the whole though I really enjoyed this one and will definitely recommend it.

Burn after reading deserves the full five stars! A ghostwriter is locked in an interview room with a man who might be a murderer, in this gripping new mystery which I couldn’t put down!

Burn After Reading was a great read with a storyline that kept you guessing as you worked through the character’s different sides to the story. It built well without slow spots and had a strong conclusion, I’d recommend this read.

Confession time: I'm not a huge fan of twisty psychological thrillers in general as the whiplash twists are often more ScoobyDoo than anything extraordinary in nature BUT I always read CRH and I was delighted to get the opportunity to read an early copy of Burn After Reading.

I saw an instagram post explaining the book idea came from seedlings of the OJ Simpson story; what if a suspected murderer suggested how he could or would commit the crime without saying he actually did it. So I was intrigued and when I got into the story I was even more delighted to see links not just to that crazy crime caper but also to cycling scandals and silence amongst the sport fraternity; all topcis that have fascinated me over the years.

This novel is different to CRH's previously work, it's still a psychological thriller but it is the excellent story telling, that keeps you turning the pages, and not the body count or number of wild rollercoaster twists, that delight you.

It's genuinely riveting and I was so interested to see how she was going to manage to successfully tell a brand new story by retelling multiple tales that are likely very fresh in most readers minds. I thought it was very clever indeed.

This is a very enjoyable read, in all honesty, I too was obsessed by the OJ story, let's be honest that was a rare time the Scooby Doo ending was actually real life.
Note to self: the next time I am rolling my eyes at the twist in the tale, I should bear that in mind.

#BurnAfterReading is available in April 25, stick it on the TBR list folks. Many thanks to #netgalley and @randomhouseUk for the advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Writer Emily owes her publishers an advance for a book she hasn't written, so agrees to ghost write the story of retired cyclist Jack Smyth, whose wife Kate tragically died in a fire just under a year ago, Jack apparently wants to clear his name of suspicion. But is he telling the truth? And what is Emily herself hiding?
I really liked the way the plot of this thriller was constructed. It opens with Emily trapped in a fire, then toggles timelines to give us both her and Kate's story, while moving the narrative along in real time.
There's a constant sense of danger and fear, and the tension of the emerging truth is heightened by the secrets Emily herself is reluctant to face,
The title of Emily's first book, The Witness, really does come back to haunt her as she becomes a witness to Jack's version of his tragedy.
I felt Jack's justifications for writing a tell-all book were a little contrived, but that's my only criticism of an overall page-turning story.