House on Fire

Author: Bonnie Kistler
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Suspense???
Type: Trade Paperback
Pages: 400
Publisher: Atria (Simon and Schuster Canada)
First Published: March 12, 2019
Opening Lines: "A half hour before midnight the greatest day of Kip Conley's life came to an end."

Book Description from GoodReads: In the bestselling tradition of Jodi Picoult and Celeste Ng, a tightly would and suspenseful novel about a blended family in crisis after a drunk driving accident leaves the daughter of one parent dead - and the son of the other parent charged with manslaughter.

Divorce lawyer Leigh Huyett knows all too well that most second marriages are doomed to fail. But five years in, she and Pete Conley have a perfectly blended family of her children and his. To celebrate their anniversary, they grab some precious moments of alone time and leave Pete’s son Kip, a high school senior, in charge of Leigh’s fourteen-year-old daughter Chrissy at their home.

Driving back on a rainy Friday night, their cell phones start ringing. After a raucous party celebrating his college acceptance to Duke and his upcoming birthday, Kip was arrested for drunk driving after his truck crashed into a tree. And he wasn’t alone—Chrissy was with him.

Twelve hours later, Chrissy is dead and Kip is charged with manslaughter.

Kip has always been a notorious troublemaker, but he’s also a star student with a dazzling future ahead of him. At first, Leigh does her best to rally behind Pete and help Kip through his ordeal. Until he changes his story, and claims that he wasn’t driving after all—Chrissy was, and he swears there is a witness.

Leigh is stunned that he would lie about such a thing, while Pete clutches onto the story as the last, best hope to save his son, throwing his energy and money into finding this elusive witness. As they hurtle toward Kip’s trial date, husband and wife are torn between loyalty to their children and to each other, while the mystery of what really happened that night intensifies.

This richly conceived and tightly plotted psychological exploration of family and tragedy will have you racing toward its shocking and thought-provoking conclusion.

My Rating: 2.5 stars

My Review: I was eager to read this domestic fiction read that is touted as a cross between Jodi Picoult and Celeste Ng. Those are big shoes to fill but House on Fire impressed me with its strong, tense opening scenes which had me looking forward to a tense, emotional drama about a blended family suffering through a horrific event. 

But, House on Fire soon became a convoluted read when several subplots were thrown in leaving the book with a decidedly disjointed feel. It felt like it didn't know precisely what it was supposed to be. Suspense? Domestic tearjerker? Legal thriller?  There's one entire subplot that could have easily been omitted. 

House on Fire had so much potential but unfortunately, I was left feeling underwhelmed with it. This is a domestic fiction read that touches on some big familial issues but not with the depth or emotion that I expected. With its muddled plot and rushed ending, I struggled to stay interested in its numerous plots and characters.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.