I received an ARC of this book from the publisher at BEA in exchange for a fair review.

Bonfire  by Krysten Ritter is about going home again.  Abby Williams left home and never looked back.  She has made a name for herself as a lawyer for environmental causes.  Now she is headed home again, back to the Barrens to investigate possible water contamination on the part of a company that has become the lifeblood of the town.

Once she returns, the case she has been brought on is obviously bigger than anyone thought.  Its tentacles extend to every facet of life in the town and reopen one of the town’s biggest mysteries, a 10-year-old disappearance, What happened to Kaycee?  

This is a real page-turner of a novel.  The protagonist Abby is intelligent and driven, but clearly has issues regarding the town, her father, her own history, and substances.  Her character is complex and well drawn.   The setting, the Barrons, a small town depending  on one company for its continued existence and prosperity is  well-developed.  You can feel the  fear the townspeople have of upsetting the golden goose.  There are lots of plot lines her, the current environmental issue, the missing girl, Abby’s conflict with her father, and some slightly romantic subplots.  These all weave together seamlessly into an engrossing novel.  Fans of Erin Brockovich and Silkwood would like this.