What We’ll Burn Last by Heather Chavez

What We’ll Burn Last PDF is a thriller centered around a missing girl and a wildfire approaching a half-completed housing development, which is eerily tied to another disappearance from the same area 16 years ago.

I went into this book expecting the pacing and action to be similar to Before She Finds Me PDF, which I loved for the action, drama, tension, and suspense. This book is quite different–it is a slow-burn read with minimal action until the end.

The narrative revolves around three women: 

• Leyna, a sometimes waitress who has never given up hope that her sister Grace, who disappeared 16 years ago, is still alive. Her obsession with uncovering the truth has isolated her from everyone.
• Meredith, mother to Grace and Leyna, lives a solitary life painting replicas of famous artworks in an unfinished housing development.
• Olivia, the mother of Adam (Grace’s boyfriend) and Meredith’s neighbor, grapples with her hidden struggles.

All are keeping secrets about Grace and Adam’s disappearance. I didn’t like any of the characters, although Leyna is perhaps the most sympathetic.

The narrative structure is a bit choppy–perspectives will shift from the present to the past in the middle of a chapter, making it a bit confusing to remember which timeline I was in.

There are chapters also dedicated to the fire. I expected more tension and suspense from these chapters, but they were stagnant.

The ending is where the action, tension, and suspense finally come into play. However, the outcome fell flat. I also had some questions that were never answered.

Overall, this was a mixed bag that left me curious yet somewhat unsatisfied.

About What We’ll Burn Last PDF