Why we’re excited
Merritt Locke has spent her life being the dependable wife, mother and daughter. After a public betrayal she does the one thing nobody expects of her, then sets out on a road trip across the country to find her estranged daughter, picking up other women along the way.
Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale and her more recent The Women were both enormous bestsellers, and this is a present-day novel from her after several historical ones. Book clubs will likely be all over it. Readers who like stories about women finding their footing late, and road trips that change people, should plan for it.
On our most-anticipated list since 21 October 2026. See all the most anticipated books →
What to know about The Fire
We have reviewed 4 of Kristin Hannah’s books, with an average score of 4.9 out of 5. Our favourite to date is The Four Winds (5★); the most recent is The Great Alone.
Readers have saved it often enough to put it at No. 2 on our list of May 2027’s most-anticipated releases.
From the publisher
From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Women comes a powerful novel of contemporary America. Set in our own deeply divided time, The Fire is an exploration of the bonds between women and the transformative power of finding one’s voice.
Merritt Locke is a woman you’ve seen before. A faithful wife, a devoted mother, a generous daughter. But every woman has a line that once crossed, changes her forever.
Betrayed by those she trusts and thrust into the pitiless glare of the public spotlight, Merritt will break the one rule everyone in her life is counting on her to uphold. In the aftermath, she embarks on an impulsive cross-country journey to reconnect with her estranged daughter, and along the way, meets―and joins forces―with women who are as familiar as they are unforgettable.
An epic novel that reckons with the history we are all living through, The Fire is an anthem to those who feel invisible and forgotten and a rallying cry for women of every age to stand together to be seen…and heard.
Description supplied by the publisher.
We haven’t read The Fire yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.
