Review: Where There's Smoke - EB Vickers

Review: Where There's Smoke - EB Vickers - December 2023

How well do we know those around us and even more so the ones we love and care about? After a rocky start this morning after the first book I tried was a DNF, I moved on to Where There's Smoke by EB Vickers and as soon as I started reading it - I didn't want to put it down as I was caught into a fast-paced read. This book starts with the funeral of Calli's father who recently died in a barn fire, he is now buried next to her mum who died 5 years earlier of Cancer. Now 18-year-old Calli has no family left but the three nurses who were her mum's best friends and her uncle - the local Bishop of the Church. When Calli arrives home from the funeral, she finds a young girl suffering from burns. Calli takes her in and soon starts to care for her with the help of her mum's friends. A missing girl has been reported from the local Ash Creek Cult, is this the girl or someone entirely different? Calli has no idea but knows she has to help her no matter what as it looks like they only have each other left in the world. What will happen though when she learns that this little girl known only as 'Ash" has more in common with her than Calli ever knew? She's also the only one who knows the truth about what happened to her Dad. But will she want to know as Ash tells Calli her story about a mean man named Silas? This book also contains at the start of each chapter a poem that talks about the monster inside of us and sometimes the monster inside of some people escapes and consumes them, making them evil on the inside and outside. It also talked metaphorically about the facades and masks that some of us hide behind when we try to lead double lives and that even though we think we know someone well enough, there will still be little dark secrets hidden that no one knows.  If you are looking to finish 2023 on a thrilling note, then check out this YA/NA thriller "Where There's Smoke" by EB Vickers.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3H2wrcg