Review: Burnt Paper Sky by Gilly Macmillan

 Burnt Paper Sky by Gilly Macmillan

My Rating: 


I received a free copy of Burnt Paper Sky from the publisher in return for an honest review.

I loved everything about this book. I'm not a huge fan of police procedurals, they either tend to go into so much detail that I get bored or they just don't feel right. Burnt Paper Sky had just the perfect balance, the investigation felt very real and I was hooked.

The plot really plays on the fears of every parent out there. You can't watch your children 24/7, it's impossible to hold onto those reigns forever and as they grow up you need to slacken them to allow them that freedom they crave. What if in giving them that little bit of freedom your child vanishes? Does this make you a bad parent? How will the world see you? How do you survive knowing that your child is out there, alone and scared?

Burnt Paper Sky is full of fear, frustration and raw emotion. The characters feel real, their emotions and feelings just jump out the pages. The pacing was nice and steady and just when you think you have an idea who is to blame, something else is revealed that has you rethinking everything. The author does a great job of keeping you guessing. Everyone is a suspect but it's not clear who the guilty party is till almost the end of the book.

I particularly liked the social media aspect of the story. The blog posts and comments really show you how easy it is to judge someone when you don't know all the facts. Hatred and vicious online abuse are sadly a reality in this day and age when you are in the public eye, people are so fast to judge and it really opens your eyes to the effect this can have on someone.

Although Burnt Paper Sky is about the abduction of a young child, the story centres around the case itself, the suspects and the mother. For those who don't like to read anything that involves abuse towards a child, you need not worry when picking up this book.

I stayed up all night reading this in one sitting and I will be watching out for more from this author in future. Highly recommended.


Reviews also posted to my blog: Scarlet's Web
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