Review: What Still Burns - Elle Grawl

Review: What Stil Burns - Elle Grawl - August 2023

There's something oddly comforting about scrolling through your Kindle library when you can't decide what to read next. That's exactly how I stumbled upon What Still Burns by Elle Grawl, and I'm glad I did—though with some reservations. Having previously enjoyed Grawl's One of Those Faces, I was eager to see what she'd deliver next. This psychological thriller gave me strong vibes of Roz Watkins' The Red House, with its small-town secrets and buried family trauma.

The premise immediately hooked me: Alexis (Lexi) lost her entire family in a devastating fire as a child and was raised by her aunt. When her aunt dies, Lexi discovers she's inherited the family home—the very place where her nightmares began. Returning to her small hometown to prepare the house for sale, Lexi finds herself confronting suppressed memories and questioning everything she thought she knew about that tragic night. Was the fire truly an accident, or was something more sinister at play?

Elle Grawl excels at creating an atmosphere of creeping dread. The small-town setting feels authentic, complete with its web of gossip, long-held grudges, and residents who remember too much. As Lexi digs deeper into her family's past, recent murders in town suggest that whatever destroyed her family might not be finished. The author skillfully weaves present danger with past trauma, keeping me turning pages even when I suspected where the story was heading.

However, this is where What Still Burns stumbles slightly. While the writing is solid and the characters feel real, the mystery follows a fairly predictable path. About halfway through, I found myself correctly guessing several major plot twists. Elle Grawl's exploration of family secrets and hidden darkness hits familiar notes without adding enough fresh perspective to make it truly memorable.

What elevates this book beyond its predictable elements is its emotional core. Elle Grawl poses compelling questions: Is discovering the truth always worth the pain it brings? Can we handle learning that the people we loved harbored dark secrets? Lexi's internal struggle between wanting answers and fearing what she might find gives the story genuine emotional weight.

What Still Burns is an engaging psychological thriller that will satisfy fans of domestic suspense, even if it doesn't break new ground. A solid three-star read for when you want something familiar yet absorbing.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/45qMUTk