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The Night We Burned
A new psychological thriller from suspense powerhouse S.F. Kosa featuring a decades-old secret, a mysterious cult fire, and a woman looking to outrun the ashes of her past...until they come roaring back once more.
Dora is always aware of the line between fact and fiction. As a fact checker at an online magazine, her job depends on it. And as a woman outrunning her secrets, so does her life. But when a murder crops up in her old town, one linked to a deadly fire at a cult compound twenty years prior, suddenly all of Dora's carefully spun deceptions are at risk.
Because she's seen a murder like this before. She knows what the police missed.
And if she doesn't stop the story, she may be next.
As Dora follows the journalist, altering facts to hide her identity along the way, she's thrown back into a world she tried desperately to leave behind. One of ritual and belonging, of danger and darkness. A world where two girls promised to help each other through...until it all went up in flames.
And Dora knows, she won't be lucky enough to escape twice.
Dora is always aware of the line between fact and fiction. As a fact checker at an online magazine, her job depends on it. And as a woman outrunning her secrets, so does her life. But when a murder crops up in her old town, one linked to a deadly fire at a cult compound twenty years prior, suddenly all of Dora's carefully spun deceptions are at risk.
Because she's seen a murder like this before. She knows what the police missed.
And if she doesn't stop the story, she may be next.
As Dora follows the journalist, altering facts to hide her identity along the way, she's thrown back into a world she tried desperately to leave behind. One of ritual and belonging, of danger and darkness. A world where two girls promised to help each other through...until it all went up in flames.
And Dora knows, she won't be lucky enough to escape twice.
368 pages, Paperback
First published August 10, 2021
169 people are currently reading
3931 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 242 reviews
August 30, 2021
OMG🔥🔥🔥
Out of the 123 books I’ve read this year this in the top 5, and I can’t believe more people aren’t talking about it.
I have never read a book like this, and there was a shocking twist at the end that I was SCREAMING about.
I looked up the author to see if I can read more of her work and it says she is a clinical psychologist and it explains why this book was so good at getting inside these characters heads, and why and how they made good, and also very Horrible decisions.
Out of the 123 books I’ve read this year this in the top 5, and I can’t believe more people aren’t talking about it.
I have never read a book like this, and there was a shocking twist at the end that I was SCREAMING about.
I looked up the author to see if I can read more of her work and it says she is a clinical psychologist and it explains why this book was so good at getting inside these characters heads, and why and how they made good, and also very Horrible decisions.
September 29, 2021
The Night We Burned by S.F. Kosa is a thriller with two timelines. Dora, the protagonist, had joined a cult twenty years ago. Today she is a fact-checker for an online magazine. She has changed her name and her history in order to hide her identity because of what happened all those years ago. The chapters alternate between life in the cult and Dora’s life in the present. This works well for the reader. When a murder occurs, the victim is someone who has a link to the cult. Dora fears the same thing may happen to her. She is afraid her co-workers will learn about her past. The cult chapters are an accounting of life in a cult, but there is nothing new there: male leaders playing mind games with female members, everyone behaving like they can’t think for themselves. The other chapters have a high level of tension and suspense and deal with Dora’s attempt to protect her secret and maybe protect her life. The Night We Burned was worth reading and I would read more books by S.F. Kosa. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 12, 2021
The Night We Burned is a taut, pulse-pounding and unnerving thriller about a woman who is desperately trying to keep her dark and disturbing past under wraps for fear it will unravel her life completely. Dora Rodriguez is a copy editor and fact-checker for an up and coming online magazine based out of Seattle, Washington. Until now, she has successfully kept her traumatic past and genuine identity under wraps from colleagues and friends, barely giving it a second thought, but a news story threatens to bring her world crashing down around her. Twenty years earlier, Dora had a lucky escape from a cult when she burned down the compound and ever since has had to keep her real identity a closely guarded secret so as not to be criminally prosecuted for her role in its demise. It had been her only aid when she was lost, vulnerable, in need of instant love and searching for belonging. One morning she attends a staff meeting alongside co-worker Miles, a reputable investigative reporter who has been on the story of revealing what happened to the infamous Oracles of Innocence religious cult, if there were any other survivors and most importantly what happened to the only surviving member they knew about who has now been brutally murdered?
Dora decides that the only way she is going to be able to keep a lid on everything is to work alongside Miles, so she agrees to travel with him from Portland to Bend, Oregon, in the hope that she will be able to get away with editing things enough to stop the truth about her own ties to this nefarious cult coming under scrutiny and being released into the public sphere. This is a compulsive, enthralling and refreshingly original thriller with an interesting premise; while cult involvement/escape is nothing new in the genre, the way Kosa has woven this tale means it stands out from the rest. Following Dora, as she desperately tries to hold together her rapidly expanding web of deception which is rapidly disintegrating, Kosa alternates this with horrifying flashbacks of her time spent in the confines of the cult including detailing the manipulation, brainwashing and sexual envy that took place. Switching seamlessly between past (2000) and present (2020), there is an enigmatic mystery, palpable suspense, great characterisation and a plethora of wicked twists and turns culminating in an explosive climax. Overall, this is an engrossing, emotional and thoroughly entertaining read. Highly recommended.
Dora decides that the only way she is going to be able to keep a lid on everything is to work alongside Miles, so she agrees to travel with him from Portland to Bend, Oregon, in the hope that she will be able to get away with editing things enough to stop the truth about her own ties to this nefarious cult coming under scrutiny and being released into the public sphere. This is a compulsive, enthralling and refreshingly original thriller with an interesting premise; while cult involvement/escape is nothing new in the genre, the way Kosa has woven this tale means it stands out from the rest. Following Dora, as she desperately tries to hold together her rapidly expanding web of deception which is rapidly disintegrating, Kosa alternates this with horrifying flashbacks of her time spent in the confines of the cult including detailing the manipulation, brainwashing and sexual envy that took place. Switching seamlessly between past (2000) and present (2020), there is an enigmatic mystery, palpable suspense, great characterisation and a plethora of wicked twists and turns culminating in an explosive climax. Overall, this is an engrossing, emotional and thoroughly entertaining read. Highly recommended.
October 12, 2021
This was a #bookstagrammademedoit Unable to find this in Australia ! I ordered it from the US and it was so worth it. So glad I ordered it, it was dark, tense and addictive page turner.
It is the story of Dora, a fact checker for an online magazine. She has been hiding her true identity and past for 20 tears but now it is coming back to haunt her. A man is murdered in her home town of Bend, Oregon and the magazine see a story. The victim was a former member of the Oracles of Innocence cult and one of only a handful of survivors of the fire 20 years earlier. Dora manages to talk her way into the story and will do anything to stop the real facts from getting out, along with her past.
How good does that sound? You gotta read this book, more people should be talking about this one. It is unsettling and shocking and a must read.
It is the story of Dora, a fact checker for an online magazine. She has been hiding her true identity and past for 20 tears but now it is coming back to haunt her. A man is murdered in her home town of Bend, Oregon and the magazine see a story. The victim was a former member of the Oracles of Innocence cult and one of only a handful of survivors of the fire 20 years earlier. Dora manages to talk her way into the story and will do anything to stop the real facts from getting out, along with her past.
How good does that sound? You gotta read this book, more people should be talking about this one. It is unsettling and shocking and a must read.
March 12, 2021
Tense and unsettling, this captivating tale follows Dora, a newspaper fact-checker with dark secrets, as she desperately tries to outrun her past. With high stakes and a compelling protagonist, the story rockets towards its shocking conclusion, deftly exploring the line between fact and fiction and posing the question: do facts always matter? A wild and entertaining read.
Read
September 15, 2021This was GOOD. And that twist!! The first one to truly shock me in ages, while also making complete sense and not coming from left field. Absolutely riveting.
August 13, 2021
Simmering, eerie, and intense!
The Night We Burned is a gripping, suspenseful thriller that takes you to Bend, Oregon and into the lives of multiple acquaintances, including journalist fact-checker Dora Rodriguez as their pasts come back to haunt them twenty years after they first crossed paths as fellow members of the Oracles of Innocence cult before it all went up in flames.
The writing is edgy and tight. The characters are consumed, deceitful, and troubled. And the plot using flashbacks and a back-and-forth style immerses you in an ominous tale full of twists, turns, secrets, obsession, mayhem, deduction, abuse, violence, childhood trauma, swirling emotions, shocking revelations, and murder.
Overall, The Night We Burned is a twisty, unpredictable, sinister page-turner that transports you into the darkest corners of the human psyche and takes you on a roller coaster ride of psychological manipulation, control, indoctrination, corruption, and deviant ideologies.
Thank you to Raincoast Books and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Night We Burned is a gripping, suspenseful thriller that takes you to Bend, Oregon and into the lives of multiple acquaintances, including journalist fact-checker Dora Rodriguez as their pasts come back to haunt them twenty years after they first crossed paths as fellow members of the Oracles of Innocence cult before it all went up in flames.
The writing is edgy and tight. The characters are consumed, deceitful, and troubled. And the plot using flashbacks and a back-and-forth style immerses you in an ominous tale full of twists, turns, secrets, obsession, mayhem, deduction, abuse, violence, childhood trauma, swirling emotions, shocking revelations, and murder.
Overall, The Night We Burned is a twisty, unpredictable, sinister page-turner that transports you into the darkest corners of the human psyche and takes you on a roller coaster ride of psychological manipulation, control, indoctrination, corruption, and deviant ideologies.
Thank you to Raincoast Books and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 25, 2024
My Rating 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rounded up from 3.5 it was good and the twist was cool but it wasn’t the best Cult book I’ve read!!
Dora is always aware of the line between fact and fiction. As a fact checker at online magazine, her job depends on it. And as a women outrunning her secrets, so does her life.
But when a murder in her old town is reported, that is very similar to one that is linked to Dora’s past in a cult fire some 20 years prior she is very keen to keep her secrets to herself.
I am going to put it out there… I have been slack with my reviews due to being busy so this will be a shortie I think… unless my memories of the book come flooding back. It was good but it wasn’t great so its not playing on repeat in my head.
I really enjoyed this one but, it wasn’t my favourite cult novel I’ve even read this year. It was well written and engaging. I quite liked Dora and I really enjoyed the flash back scenes where we find out more about the cult and what was going back in those days.
The twist snuck up on me and I was shocked but I guessed it as I was reading it and my jaw dropped a little bit… so that was really good.
There are some predictable moments in this one where you think… yeah thats happened in EVERY other Cult book I’ve ever read but lets be honest… cult leaders kind of follow the same recipe of manipulation and then descend into some kind of madness at some point… so it was always going to be this way.
The story was well written and easy to follow which I appreciated and I really liked learning about how Dora became Dora. The author wasn’t shy of killing off a character as well which actually built quite a lot of suspense you are thinking to yourself holy shit is anyone going to be left at the end. I didn’t think there were too many plot holes or things not explained. I liked that Dora had a unique job… not one that I have heard of before…she wasn't the reporter or journalist… it was something different where she could hide in the background and mess with the story in a very different way.
Overall I would recommend it if you like a cult novel I think you will enjoy it… but know that there are quite a few that are much better…
Dora is always aware of the line between fact and fiction. As a fact checker at online magazine, her job depends on it. And as a women outrunning her secrets, so does her life.
But when a murder in her old town is reported, that is very similar to one that is linked to Dora’s past in a cult fire some 20 years prior she is very keen to keep her secrets to herself.
I am going to put it out there… I have been slack with my reviews due to being busy so this will be a shortie I think… unless my memories of the book come flooding back. It was good but it wasn’t great so its not playing on repeat in my head.
I really enjoyed this one but, it wasn’t my favourite cult novel I’ve even read this year. It was well written and engaging. I quite liked Dora and I really enjoyed the flash back scenes where we find out more about the cult and what was going back in those days.
The twist snuck up on me and I was shocked but I guessed it as I was reading it and my jaw dropped a little bit… so that was really good.
There are some predictable moments in this one where you think… yeah thats happened in EVERY other Cult book I’ve ever read but lets be honest… cult leaders kind of follow the same recipe of manipulation and then descend into some kind of madness at some point… so it was always going to be this way.
The story was well written and easy to follow which I appreciated and I really liked learning about how Dora became Dora. The author wasn’t shy of killing off a character as well which actually built quite a lot of suspense you are thinking to yourself holy shit is anyone going to be left at the end. I didn’t think there were too many plot holes or things not explained. I liked that Dora had a unique job… not one that I have heard of before…she wasn't the reporter or journalist… it was something different where she could hide in the background and mess with the story in a very different way.
Overall I would recommend it if you like a cult novel I think you will enjoy it… but know that there are quite a few that are much better…
July 3, 2022
TW: Rape, abuse, alcoholism, murder, language, animal death, miscarriage, death of child, eating disorder,
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Dora is always aware of the line between fact and fiction. As a fact checker at an online magazine, her job depends on it. And as a woman outrunning her secrets, so does her life. But when a murder crops up in her old town, one linked to a deadly fire at a cult compound twenty years prior, suddenly all of Dora's carefully spun deceptions are at risk.Because she's seen a murder like this before. She knows what the police missed.And if she doesn't stop the story, she may be next.As Dora follows the journalist, altering facts to hide her identity along the way, she's thrown back into a world she tried desperately to leave behind. One of ritual and belonging, of danger and darkness. A world where two girls promised to help each other through...until it all went up in flames.And Dora knows, she won't be lucky enough to escape twice.
Release Date: August 10th, 2021
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 368
Rating: ⭐ ⭐
What I Liked:
1. The whole cult plot
2. Fast read
What I Didn't Like:
1. Reads like a YA book
2. Needs an editor
3. Way too many me tons to her heart rate
Overall Thoughts:There's a quote that Christy says to Noah about how she hates the word cult. She says No one joins a cult." That's what Deborah Layton said in her book; Seductive Poison. She's a survivor of the Jim John's massacre. That was an interesting add in for the story even more so because it follows Noah talking about Jim Jones.
This is how dumb people are. You know the part in the horror movie where the characters make all the wrong decisions? That's Christy, who decides that when a fellow cult member is murdered decides to go back to the town where they think someone is killing the survivers. I get that no one knows she survived but my spidey senses would tell me that someone is trying to get me to come home.
Some of the jobs that Miles is okaying for Christy to do make zero sense. Why wouldn't he want to be the one to interview the people that helped in the fire and murders?? Why would he be too busy to want to do that? Wtf is he even doing that he is too busy to want to talk to them? So he'd rather talk to the families of the Oracle members than interview a murderer(s) !
Arman carrying her to car because she broke her wrist. Like what? Why? Her legs aren't broken... She can walk still.
The way Christy says she's thin because she's a vegan explains nothing. As though because you're vegan you're thin. I am not a thin vegan. I didn't care for that sentance. It gives people this idea that it's a diet and you just lose all of this weight and that's not it at all. And of course she's underweight. She never eats.
It makes no sense that Ladonna would serve 9 years in prison for manslaughter, change her name, become a nurse, and then live in the same town as the murders. You can't be a nurse with a manslaughter conviction.
Page 172 the author gives away the twist that Christy was really Eszter when she is looking at the photo of Hailey's daughter. She then wonders " I remember wondering if my daughter would have looked that way, had she lived." Then we get to page 222 where Eszter has lost her daughter via miscarriage. It's a pretty hard scene to read. It's sad and they hold the baby. Very rough.
Why is Miles calling Hailey? It's such a weird thing for the dude she is working with to be calling her "mom." Of course she doesn't question why he would be.
Ben finds out from Miles that Christy was in the cult and was found that night, and she doesn’t deny any of this. He then takes her to the police station but lets her just leave because her "parents" house was on fire. He tells her not to leave town. What?! You have no idea who this person really even is, you can place her around the person who was murdered, she was in the cult with the person(people) who was murdered, she's been lying about who she really is this whole time, and you just let her go telling her to not leave town??????? What kind of podunk town is this.
The thing that bothers me the most about this book is that it forgets its own story. Christy asks Noah if he copied her car key and he says no. She then asks him if he drives a blue car and he says yes. What does it matter what he drives when the police have already taken her car because they found the exact silver paint on it and scratches from the accident?! Plus her seat was moved. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT HE DRIVES!!
Okay the book took a turn that I knew it was going to do, which makes zero sense as to why 90% of this book would be from the pov of Parveneh and the author switched it on the readers and it was actually Eszter's story. Why would she be telling us a story from Parveneh's perspective? It just doesn't make ANY sense! She didn't need to pretend to be her in her mind since no one knew who she was and she was only lying to the readers.
The story was just so predictable. I knew that Noah was going to be Xerxes. That Arman was going to be no good. No surprises here.
Final Thoughts: I hated the ending. It's so much a Jim Jones ending. The whole testing them withFlavor-aid milk was straight out of Jonestown. Then you have the police showing up and wanting to take the kids so that pushed him to want to kill everyone and yet again that happened at Jonestown. I just wish this book would have had its own ending instead of stealing one from a famous cult murder. Like maybe he would have lined them all up on a cliff and he would stand behind them and make them think that he was going to push them off. Something original at least. This ending was just lame.
Recommend For:
• People that love cults
• Suspense
• Strong female bonds
IG | Blog
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Dora is always aware of the line between fact and fiction. As a fact checker at an online magazine, her job depends on it. And as a woman outrunning her secrets, so does her life. But when a murder crops up in her old town, one linked to a deadly fire at a cult compound twenty years prior, suddenly all of Dora's carefully spun deceptions are at risk.Because she's seen a murder like this before. She knows what the police missed.And if she doesn't stop the story, she may be next.As Dora follows the journalist, altering facts to hide her identity along the way, she's thrown back into a world she tried desperately to leave behind. One of ritual and belonging, of danger and darkness. A world where two girls promised to help each other through...until it all went up in flames.And Dora knows, she won't be lucky enough to escape twice.
Release Date: August 10th, 2021
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 368
Rating: ⭐ ⭐
What I Liked:
1. The whole cult plot
2. Fast read
What I Didn't Like:
1. Reads like a YA book
2. Needs an editor
3. Way too many me tons to her heart rate
Overall Thoughts:There's a quote that Christy says to Noah about how she hates the word cult. She says No one joins a cult." That's what Deborah Layton said in her book; Seductive Poison. She's a survivor of the Jim John's massacre. That was an interesting add in for the story even more so because it follows Noah talking about Jim Jones.
This is how dumb people are. You know the part in the horror movie where the characters make all the wrong decisions? That's Christy, who decides that when a fellow cult member is murdered decides to go back to the town where they think someone is killing the survivers. I get that no one knows she survived but my spidey senses would tell me that someone is trying to get me to come home.
Some of the jobs that Miles is okaying for Christy to do make zero sense. Why wouldn't he want to be the one to interview the people that helped in the fire and murders?? Why would he be too busy to want to do that? Wtf is he even doing that he is too busy to want to talk to them? So he'd rather talk to the families of the Oracle members than interview a murderer(s) !
Arman carrying her to car because she broke her wrist. Like what? Why? Her legs aren't broken... She can walk still.
The way Christy says she's thin because she's a vegan explains nothing. As though because you're vegan you're thin. I am not a thin vegan. I didn't care for that sentance. It gives people this idea that it's a diet and you just lose all of this weight and that's not it at all. And of course she's underweight. She never eats.
It makes no sense that Ladonna would serve 9 years in prison for manslaughter, change her name, become a nurse, and then live in the same town as the murders. You can't be a nurse with a manslaughter conviction.
Page 172 the author gives away the twist that Christy was really Eszter when she is looking at the photo of Hailey's daughter. She then wonders " I remember wondering if my daughter would have looked that way, had she lived." Then we get to page 222 where Eszter has lost her daughter via miscarriage. It's a pretty hard scene to read. It's sad and they hold the baby. Very rough.
Why is Miles calling Hailey? It's such a weird thing for the dude she is working with to be calling her "mom." Of course she doesn't question why he would be.
Ben finds out from Miles that Christy was in the cult and was found that night, and she doesn’t deny any of this. He then takes her to the police station but lets her just leave because her "parents" house was on fire. He tells her not to leave town. What?! You have no idea who this person really even is, you can place her around the person who was murdered, she was in the cult with the person(people) who was murdered, she's been lying about who she really is this whole time, and you just let her go telling her to not leave town??????? What kind of podunk town is this.
The thing that bothers me the most about this book is that it forgets its own story. Christy asks Noah if he copied her car key and he says no. She then asks him if he drives a blue car and he says yes. What does it matter what he drives when the police have already taken her car because they found the exact silver paint on it and scratches from the accident?! Plus her seat was moved. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT HE DRIVES!!
Okay the book took a turn that I knew it was going to do, which makes zero sense as to why 90% of this book would be from the pov of Parveneh and the author switched it on the readers and it was actually Eszter's story. Why would she be telling us a story from Parveneh's perspective? It just doesn't make ANY sense! She didn't need to pretend to be her in her mind since no one knew who she was and she was only lying to the readers.
The story was just so predictable. I knew that Noah was going to be Xerxes. That Arman was going to be no good. No surprises here.
Final Thoughts: I hated the ending. It's so much a Jim Jones ending. The whole testing them with
Recommend For:
• People that love cults
• Suspense
• Strong female bonds
IG | Blog
March 20, 2022
Anyone who knows me well, knows I am completely fascinated with cults which makes me wonder why it took me so long to read this one!
It captured my attention from the get go and held it all the way through! It’s dark and twisted storyline (not surprising being that it’s cult based) had me intrigued, captivated and on the edge on my seat.
Dora has been trying to outrun the secrets of her past for the last twenty years but when a murder in her home town is linked to a fire at a cult compound twenty years prior where the leader and most of his followers excluding a few died, will her past finally catch up with her or can she put a stop to the story before it gets out and her true identity is revealed?
The twists and turns were perfectly placed and there was definitely jaw dropping moments! The psychology and research into the actions and ways of cult leaders and members is very evident. An absolute winner in my eyes!
It captured my attention from the get go and held it all the way through! It’s dark and twisted storyline (not surprising being that it’s cult based) had me intrigued, captivated and on the edge on my seat.
Dora has been trying to outrun the secrets of her past for the last twenty years but when a murder in her home town is linked to a fire at a cult compound twenty years prior where the leader and most of his followers excluding a few died, will her past finally catch up with her or can she put a stop to the story before it gets out and her true identity is revealed?
The twists and turns were perfectly placed and there was definitely jaw dropping moments! The psychology and research into the actions and ways of cult leaders and members is very evident. An absolute winner in my eyes!
December 8, 2021
I received an ARC of this book through Early Reads.
This was a very interesting book. It is the story of Dora, a woman who works in journalism and is trying to move on from a tragic past. The reader also follows the unfolding of the events that seem to be a part of Dora's past: the decline and downfall of a cult in rural Oregon, which Dora is desperate to keep hidden. Dora's desire to leave her past behind is seriously threatened when the few surviving members of her former cult are being found murdered and her colleagues are working to find the truth.
The book started off just a bit slow, but Dora is a fascinating character who quickly draws the reader in with her struggles to function "normally" in the present and her quest to leave her past behind. In the earlier timeline, the reader knows bad things will happen and really doesn't want to witness them occur, yet the way the author tells the story is terribly compelling.
I really had no idea what would happen with Dora in the present storyline, and wondered how exactly she would get out of the "cult" in the earlier storyline. There were definitely some suspicious characters who I wondered if they could be responsible for the murders and I was kept guessing. There was a very big twist that I did suspect from about halfway through, but it did not take away from my enjoyment of the book at all.
If you enjoy thrillers, suspense, or twisty mysteries, then I would recommend this book.
This was a very interesting book. It is the story of Dora, a woman who works in journalism and is trying to move on from a tragic past. The reader also follows the unfolding of the events that seem to be a part of Dora's past: the decline and downfall of a cult in rural Oregon, which Dora is desperate to keep hidden. Dora's desire to leave her past behind is seriously threatened when the few surviving members of her former cult are being found murdered and her colleagues are working to find the truth.
The book started off just a bit slow, but Dora is a fascinating character who quickly draws the reader in with her struggles to function "normally" in the present and her quest to leave her past behind. In the earlier timeline, the reader knows bad things will happen and really doesn't want to witness them occur, yet the way the author tells the story is terribly compelling.
I really had no idea what would happen with Dora in the present storyline, and wondered how exactly she would get out of the "cult" in the earlier storyline. There were definitely some suspicious characters who I wondered if they could be responsible for the murders and I was kept guessing. There was a very big twist that I did suspect from about halfway through, but it did not take away from my enjoyment of the book at all.
If you enjoy thrillers, suspense, or twisty mysteries, then I would recommend this book.
August 6, 2021
Dora has a past that she has tried to leave behind a long time ago. She now enjoys her work as a fact checker at an online magazine company. But when a murder happens in her old town, her 20 year old past is brought to the forefront once again. Can Dora keep her past a secret? She does her best to keep her past hidden by spinning an alternate story to a journalist and hiding her involvement along the way. Will she get caught up in more lies?
If you are looking for something completely different, you found it! I loved this fascinating story about the fictional Oracles of Innocence cult. I have never read a book with this type of subject matter before but i can imagine that there was plenty of research that went into this book. S.F. Kosa is a trained psychologist and it shows in her superb character development. THE NIGHT WE BURNED is a brilliant psychological thriller that will keep you glued to the pages!
Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) on August 11, 2021.
If you are looking for something completely different, you found it! I loved this fascinating story about the fictional Oracles of Innocence cult. I have never read a book with this type of subject matter before but i can imagine that there was plenty of research that went into this book. S.F. Kosa is a trained psychologist and it shows in her superb character development. THE NIGHT WE BURNED is a brilliant psychological thriller that will keep you glued to the pages!
Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) on August 11, 2021.
September 24, 2021
The Night We Burned is one of the best books I've read this year, and it deserves so much more hype! Absolutely incredible. I can't stop thinking about it!
November 1, 2022
After a slow start, this one was quite the thrilling read. It was extremely graphic and dark, and there was a twist I for sure did not see coming and was absolutely perfect. Dora has a past she is trying to put behind her, and it all comes crashing back quickly when one of the reporters at the online magazine she works for as a fact checker decides to write a story on a deadly fire at a cult compound twenty years prior. This one is told in two timelines, current day and the past leading up to the fire, and like I said, it is wild.
Once the story got going, I enjoyed both timelines equally and was flipping the pages trying to see how both timelines would end. The author does a fantastic job of describing the cult activities, the characters, building the suspense and the aftermath that occurs 20 years later. I highly recommend this one and am sorry it took me so long to read it.
Thank you to Kaye Publicity and Sourcebook for the free copy review.
Once the story got going, I enjoyed both timelines equally and was flipping the pages trying to see how both timelines would end. The author does a fantastic job of describing the cult activities, the characters, building the suspense and the aftermath that occurs 20 years later. I highly recommend this one and am sorry it took me so long to read it.
Thank you to Kaye Publicity and Sourcebook for the free copy review.
December 4, 2021
Quite an interesting book about a woman who used to be in a cult and is now trying her hardest to keep that a secret. Even though it was mostly quite intense and interesting, the story did drag a bit in the middle and I never got a satisfying conclusion to some of the story lines that were introduced.
September 5, 2021
I found this book to be dreadfully slow, to the point towards the middle of the book, I was making hard guesses and even being able to predict what was coming with certain characters.
There were no real strong answers ether as far as our main character goes. At least not with how much they talked about certain things and then didn’t give any definitive answer to.
I made myself get to the end, hoping for a more interesting conclusion than the twist it turned out to be. It all came down to the confusion of a single name… that was the twist. It was pointless to me, what was the point of making us think the main character was a certain character the whole time just to turn it to be another character? It made no difference to me, it’s not like I thought one character was so much better than the other, or the other being more or less likable.
I feel we didn’t get to know anyone well enough to care about who was really who. No one got a thorough enough story to really understand or care about them. We never got into Dora’s psychology of how she really felt about her life, mostly just all the pain she endured.
And we didn’t even get to hear about Noah’s story he wanted Dora so desperately to read, I thought that is where the shock and twist would have been. When the twist was being revealed, I was more feeling confused, such as, why do I need to now think of this person instead of the one we thought we were thinking about the whole time. It was tiresome and unnecessary.
There were no real strong answers ether as far as our main character goes. At least not with how much they talked about certain things and then didn’t give any definitive answer to.
I made myself get to the end, hoping for a more interesting conclusion than the twist it turned out to be. It all came down to the confusion of a single name… that was the twist. It was pointless to me, what was the point of making us think the main character was a certain character the whole time just to turn it to be another character? It made no difference to me, it’s not like I thought one character was so much better than the other, or the other being more or less likable.
I feel we didn’t get to know anyone well enough to care about who was really who. No one got a thorough enough story to really understand or care about them. We never got into Dora’s psychology of how she really felt about her life, mostly just all the pain she endured.
And we didn’t even get to hear about Noah’s story he wanted Dora so desperately to read, I thought that is where the shock and twist would have been. When the twist was being revealed, I was more feeling confused, such as, why do I need to now think of this person instead of the one we thought we were thinking about the whole time. It was tiresome and unnecessary.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2021
ooooooooo. This is a contender for Top Five of the 2021 for me.
1. Cult
2. Twist
3. Split timelines
4. A woman escaping her past.
Dora will do anything to hide her past - including lie - despite the fact that her job is fact checking. As the 20 year anniversary of the Oracles of Innocence fires approaches, renewed interest in the story causes Dora to return to her hometown to try and cut off her colleague on his fact finding mission.
This isn't a run of the mill thriller. There are twists that I would have NEVER guessed. I read a LOT of thrillers and this one really took me by surprise. It's original storytelling about a compelling topic. There's fire, there's deceit, there's murder, there's weird robes, there's woods, there's babies....it's everything you would expect from a cult....and more.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.
1. Cult
2. Twist
3. Split timelines
4. A woman escaping her past.
Dora will do anything to hide her past - including lie - despite the fact that her job is fact checking. As the 20 year anniversary of the Oracles of Innocence fires approaches, renewed interest in the story causes Dora to return to her hometown to try and cut off her colleague on his fact finding mission.
This isn't a run of the mill thriller. There are twists that I would have NEVER guessed. I read a LOT of thrillers and this one really took me by surprise. It's original storytelling about a compelling topic. There's fire, there's deceit, there's murder, there's weird robes, there's woods, there's babies....it's everything you would expect from a cult....and more.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.
November 17, 2021
If you enjoy reading about cults then this book is for you!
Will update soon! 4.5 stars
Will update soon! 4.5 stars
January 2, 2022
Wow!! This thriller took me by surprise. I struggled to get into it, and that’s why it’s not a full 5 stars for me. I had been in a reading slump. Then about 35% into it, I could NOT put it down. This takes you back and forth in two timelines. You read about this cult and the character building starts. You see how the cult started and then how it went very dark! I love cultish books and this was the best I’ve read so far. Then your reading about murders on the surviving members in present day. And how one survivor is doing everything to protect her identity. You don’t know who is who throughout the book and then the ending wraps it all up nicely and blows your socks off.
It was just so good. I’m surprised this book is not getting all the attention and hype it deserves.
Some triggers and some disturbing parts. But isn’t that why we read thrillers!?!?
It was just so good. I’m surprised this book is not getting all the attention and hype it deserves.
Some triggers and some disturbing parts. But isn’t that why we read thrillers!?!?
April 14, 2023
Good read especially if you like books about cults. I am always fascinated by what makes normal people join up with charismatic leaders who make them do things that they normally wouldn't do. This book does a good job of explaining that.
August 17, 2021
MY BRAIN HURTS AND I LOVE IT 🤣
Crap on a cracker this book was INTENSE. The only reason that I’m thankful I’m done is that I can breath again.
I’m calling this the most twisty book I’ve read this year. I’m talking upside down, inside out, head on a swivel, roller coaster reading ride! I thought I had it nailed down…I failed miserably. In fact!! I have to skim back AAAALLLL the way to the beginning when the twist happened because I was certain I had done the book wrong. I did. I was so so wrong 🤣
Cult fiction lovers, suspense lovers, you are going to need to read this! Told in alternating perspectives from past and present, The Night We Burned is a heart stopping, crackling force to be reckoned with!
Crap on a cracker this book was INTENSE. The only reason that I’m thankful I’m done is that I can breath again.
I’m calling this the most twisty book I’ve read this year. I’m talking upside down, inside out, head on a swivel, roller coaster reading ride! I thought I had it nailed down…I failed miserably. In fact!! I have to skim back AAAALLLL the way to the beginning when the twist happened because I was certain I had done the book wrong. I did. I was so so wrong 🤣
Cult fiction lovers, suspense lovers, you are going to need to read this! Told in alternating perspectives from past and present, The Night We Burned is a heart stopping, crackling force to be reckoned with!
January 2, 2022
Entertaining! Cults suck but they make for great stories. 3.5 stars
May 13, 2022
This book was an easy 4/5 ⭐️s. I loved the character development and how the author bounced back and forth between past and present day. It made for such an interesting plot. I honestly didn’t know much about the dynamic of cults and this was soo interesting to read!
August 23, 2023
So this book has an interesting synopsis, but I’m sorry but it seemed to drag on. Her trying to hide her past was just so repetitive. I only really enjoyed the parts about the cult. And the lil twist at the end where the character from the present was Ester not Parvaneh was good BUT it was super confusing at first. After I reprocessed the entire book as a dual POV I kinda ate up the twist. It just doesn’t make sense to me that Parveneh would turn out like that. Almost the entire time she seemed to be questioning the cult and I thought she would snap at the attempt murder Xerxes, but NO???? She loved Xerxes and never fully trusted the cult, so it truly doesn’t make sense that all of a sudden at the last minute she would die for it. AND HOLD A DECADE LONG GRUDGE??? AND KILL HER CULT MATES AFTER ANYWAYS??? Nope doesn’t add up!!
June 9, 2021
The Night We Burned is a fascinating, disturbing and sad look at cults and cult psychology. Dora confused and frustrated me but her actions were understandable. I sympathized with her and wanted things to end well for her. There are surprises—some can be guessed but others are skillfully placed and unexpected.
At one point Dora thinks, “No one ever joins a cult. Not on purpose. They hook up with nice people. They connect with the message of a strong leader. They feel like they belong when the rest of the world has stomped on them or turned them away. And that’s why they stay. It’s not like it’s better on the outside, right?”
Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.
At one point Dora thinks, “No one ever joins a cult. Not on purpose. They hook up with nice people. They connect with the message of a strong leader. They feel like they belong when the rest of the world has stomped on them or turned them away. And that’s why they stay. It’s not like it’s better on the outside, right?”
Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.
August 14, 2021
My Review Of
THE NIGHT WE BURNED
By S.F. Kosa
Gifted by @KayePublicity
Published by {Partner} @Bookmarked
On Sale: 8/10/21 - Purchase Link in my Bio
******
Where are all my cult fans at? You must buy this book, you must buy this book & you must buy this book….sorry I’m not Oprah, otherwise I’d be gifting them to you. You will absolutely find everything fulfilling that you need in a cult fiction thriller in this book. I was so pleased because I loved the cover and it’s not always 2/2 when liking the cover & reviewing in the Bookstagram world. The cover✅ the content✅, and this one paints a realistic picture of what it’s like from the initial befriending of a cult member, to becoming fully indoctrinated yourself. This novel is told in dual time periods with a 20 year gap in between. One telling the protagonist’s journey from homelessness to meeting and living within the cult; to the latter of a former cult member reliving the murderous evening when she was rescued. It also explains her tie to helping investigate the 20th year Anniversary and mark of a serial killer reminiscent of the cult from the past. The Author is incredible at disguising who escaped the night of the fires and also the new found serial killer. You won’t even be able to guess, even as you take notes and investigate as you read along. This book is cunning, thrilling, edgy and has an unexpected twist. A book you must not miss.
THE NIGHT WE BURNED
By S.F. Kosa
Gifted by @KayePublicity
Published by {Partner} @Bookmarked
On Sale: 8/10/21 - Purchase Link in my Bio
******
Where are all my cult fans at? You must buy this book, you must buy this book & you must buy this book….sorry I’m not Oprah, otherwise I’d be gifting them to you. You will absolutely find everything fulfilling that you need in a cult fiction thriller in this book. I was so pleased because I loved the cover and it’s not always 2/2 when liking the cover & reviewing in the Bookstagram world. The cover✅ the content✅, and this one paints a realistic picture of what it’s like from the initial befriending of a cult member, to becoming fully indoctrinated yourself. This novel is told in dual time periods with a 20 year gap in between. One telling the protagonist’s journey from homelessness to meeting and living within the cult; to the latter of a former cult member reliving the murderous evening when she was rescued. It also explains her tie to helping investigate the 20th year Anniversary and mark of a serial killer reminiscent of the cult from the past. The Author is incredible at disguising who escaped the night of the fires and also the new found serial killer. You won’t even be able to guess, even as you take notes and investigate as you read along. This book is cunning, thrilling, edgy and has an unexpected twist. A book you must not miss.
August 10, 2021
If you're into reading about cults (fiction or nonfiction), this is a MUST read!!! I could not put this down and only wanted to read THIS vs my other books I currently had going.
The Night We Burned is written by S.F. Kosa who is a psychologist and based this book off of similar happenings in Jonestown, Branch Davidians and Manson cults plus a few others as she explains at the end of the book.
This is a thriller told in a Then and Now timeline format. Through the eyes of one woman, Dora, who was in the fictional cult, we get to read and experience how she came to be in the cult, how the group operates, how she escaped and what led up to that time. In the Now portion Dora is living under her new identity trying to cover up her past and working as a fact-checker for an online magazine. When one of the journalists she works with wants to look into the old story because the 20yr anniversary of the cult's demise is coming up and one former member has recently been murdered, Dora volunteers to go with him to work on the article in her old hometown to try to save her secrets from discovery.
What I liked too about this story is we learn so much about the psychological effects of being in such a group can do to a person even 20 years after the fact.
Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for this free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
The Night We Burned is written by S.F. Kosa who is a psychologist and based this book off of similar happenings in Jonestown, Branch Davidians and Manson cults plus a few others as she explains at the end of the book.
This is a thriller told in a Then and Now timeline format. Through the eyes of one woman, Dora, who was in the fictional cult, we get to read and experience how she came to be in the cult, how the group operates, how she escaped and what led up to that time. In the Now portion Dora is living under her new identity trying to cover up her past and working as a fact-checker for an online magazine. When one of the journalists she works with wants to look into the old story because the 20yr anniversary of the cult's demise is coming up and one former member has recently been murdered, Dora volunteers to go with him to work on the article in her old hometown to try to save her secrets from discovery.
What I liked too about this story is we learn so much about the psychological effects of being in such a group can do to a person even 20 years after the fact.
Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for this free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
October 14, 2021
Unbelievable book, thank you for this author Gina! I probably read this in 24 hours, and it was definitely a Gasp and shout book - where I yell the plot twist at my family and they ignore me ;) And what a plot twist it was!!! But I digress*
Kosa goes back and forth again with present and past, and this time I was more ready, or she honed the skill more - maybe both? Either way it was not as tough to remind myself, “Okay what is happening here again?” Dora’s story just felt so sad and weak - there was no substance, no life to her. It was all about covering up what she used to be, even though people around her tried to reach out to her (SO, was she even living the life she fought so hard to escape? Good discussion question Gina!) It seemed pretty obvious that things would come back to haunt her, but hey I admired how hard she tried to stay in denial!
Parvenah’s story was so heartbreaking and seemed so real - I just finished another podcast on cults and Kosa just absolutely nails the realism. Wow. Darius is so easy to see through, as are Gil the records keeper and the women, but Kosa does a good job of getting you to see how lost these people were (or in their different stages of Looking for more) it was just so difficult not to slow motion yell, “Noooooo,” every chapter or so :(
I loved Xerxes, loved Eszter (and guessed part of that story, but not the final part!* wow what an ending!) I enjoyed Miles and Hailey and Martin too. As Noah says, the Pacific Northwest is the place to be for cults and true crime followers! What I’m obsessed with right now with podcasts, what a treat to find such a well written fiction book about this too!
Kosa goes back and forth again with present and past, and this time I was more ready, or she honed the skill more - maybe both? Either way it was not as tough to remind myself, “Okay what is happening here again?” Dora’s story just felt so sad and weak - there was no substance, no life to her. It was all about covering up what she used to be, even though people around her tried to reach out to her (SO, was she even living the life she fought so hard to escape? Good discussion question Gina!) It seemed pretty obvious that things would come back to haunt her, but hey I admired how hard she tried to stay in denial!
Parvenah’s story was so heartbreaking and seemed so real - I just finished another podcast on cults and Kosa just absolutely nails the realism. Wow. Darius is so easy to see through, as are Gil the records keeper and the women, but Kosa does a good job of getting you to see how lost these people were (or in their different stages of Looking for more) it was just so difficult not to slow motion yell, “Noooooo,” every chapter or so :(
I loved Xerxes, loved Eszter (and guessed part of that story, but not the final part!* wow what an ending!) I enjoyed Miles and Hailey and Martin too. As Noah says, the Pacific Northwest is the place to be for cults and true crime followers! What I’m obsessed with right now with podcasts, what a treat to find such a well written fiction book about this too!
August 20, 2021
Special thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS for the ARC of this book in exchange for my own opinion.
This book was an intense gripping thriller and I really, really enjoyed it. This book had twists I never saw coming and might be one of my favorite reads of 2021. Dora, a fact checker, is trying to outrun her past by going home and trying to cover up her past that another journalist is covering, because in her past, she belonged to the cult he's covering.
With cult books being the trend right now, I'd suggest anyone to read this one, if any. It had everything a good cult book should, fires, children, dark woods, murder and much, much more.
A very thrilling, intense, great book. 5 stars!
This book was an intense gripping thriller and I really, really enjoyed it. This book had twists I never saw coming and might be one of my favorite reads of 2021. Dora, a fact checker, is trying to outrun her past by going home and trying to cover up her past that another journalist is covering, because in her past, she belonged to the cult he's covering.
With cult books being the trend right now, I'd suggest anyone to read this one, if any. It had everything a good cult book should, fires, children, dark woods, murder and much, much more.
A very thrilling, intense, great book. 5 stars!
January 13, 2024
Was good but not great….There was SOOO much going on and was hard to keep it all straight. The chapters go back and forth from past and present. The twist wasn’t as exciting as I was hoping it would be. Tbh I got bored half way through and looked it up because I was tired of trying to figure it all out. This book is about a cult and has some dark themes so please be mindful of that as I was unaware when starting and was caught off guard.
If you like cults you’ll really enjoy this one, it just wasn’t for me 👍🏽
If you like cults you’ll really enjoy this one, it just wasn’t for me 👍🏽
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