The Burning Air: A Novel
*Starred Review* The MacBride family has only known privilege and success—father Rowan is headmaster at the elite Saxby School, matriarch Lydia is a respected magistrate, and their grown children have been afforded the luxury of being able to do as they please in life. When Lydia dies from cancer, a sinister chill takes over the family, and not just because they are in mourning—Darcy, a mysterious figure from their past, has decided to exact revenge against the entire clan. Born in poverty to a deranged mother, Darcy was denied a scholarship to Saxby and has vowed revenge on the MacBrides, holding them responsible for every little thing that’s gone wrong since then. As the family gathers at their rural vacation home to spread Lydia’s ashes, they are unaware that their tormentor has put mechanisms in place to bring them down one by one. As with her previous psychological thrillers, Kelly (The Dark Rose, 2011) shows a knack for creating realistic, creepy characters that make readers squirm. Fans of Gillian Flynn, Tana French, and Ruth Rendell will be lining up to read this one. --Rebecca Vnuk