Catherine Ryan Howard’s latest psychological thriller, Burn After Reading, is a cleverly constructed labyrinth of deception that keeps readers guessing until the final page. The novel follows Emily Joyce, a struggling writer with a secret of her own, who reluctantly accepts a ghostwriting assignment for Jack Smyth, a former professional cyclist suspected of murdering his wife. What begins as a desperate attempt to erase her debt to her publisher quickly becomes a dangerous game of cat and mouse, where distinguishing truth from fiction could mean the difference between life and death.
Having delivered critically acclaimed thrillers like The Nothing Man, 56 Days, and most recently The Trap, Howard once again demonstrates her exceptional talent for crafting compelling mysteries that explore the darkest corners of human behavior. But with Burn After Reading, she elevates her craft by examining the nature of truth itself – how it can be manipulated, repackaged, and sold to the highest bidder.
The Setting: An Eerie Backdrop for an Unsettling Tale
One of the novel’s most distinctive elements is its setting. The fictional town of Sanctuary, Florida, is a masterful creation that immediately puts readers on edge. This master-planned community is described as “sterile” and “silent,” with stark white buildings, empty streets, and bizarre architectural features like the giant traffic cones (or “butteries”) that mark its entrance. The result is an unsettling backdrop that feels both pristine and deeply wrong – a perfect metaphor for the seemingly perfect story Jack wants to tell.
Howard’s decision to set much of the action in this artificial environment brilliantly underscores the novel’s themes about manufactured narratives. Like Sanctuary itself, Jack’s version of events has been carefully designed and constructed, but beneath the smooth surface lurks something far more sinister.
Complex Characters with Competing Agendas
The strength of Burn After Reading lies in its richly drawn characters, each harboring their own secrets and motivations:
- Emily Joyce: Far from the typical protagonist, Emily is deeply flawed and morally compromised. Her desperation to escape her financial troubles blinds her to the danger she’s walking into, and her own past creates a fascinating parallel to Jack’s situation.
- Jack Smyth: A charismatic former athlete who masterfully plays the grieving widower. Howard crafts Jack as an enigma – capable of evoking both sympathy and suspicion, making readers constantly question whether he’s victim or villain.
- Ben: Jack’s former teammate and supposed best friend adds another layer of complexity to the narrative. The dynamic between Jack and Ben becomes increasingly intriguing as their shared history is gradually revealed.
- Jean Whelan: A woman with her own grievances against Jack who becomes a crucial piece in the puzzle Emily is trying to solve.
What makes these characters particularly compelling is how Howard allows readers to view them through multiple lenses. The same character who seems trustworthy in one chapter becomes suspect in the next, creating a constant sense of unease and forcing readers to reevaluate their assumptions.
A Masterclass in Narrative Structure
Howard uses a sophisticated structure to tell her story, alternating between Emily’s present-day experiences in Sanctuary and flashbacks to the days leading up to Kate’s death. This approach creates a dual narrative that gradually converges, with revelations in each timeline informing and complicating the other.
The novel also features excerpts from Kate’s perspective in the days before her death, which add emotional weight to the story and ensure she isn’t reduced to merely a plot device. Through these sections, Kate becomes a fully realized character whose fate genuinely matters to readers.
Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the novel’s structure is the way Howard incorporates the ghostwriting process into the narrative. As Emily listens to Jack’s story and tries to shape it into a compelling book, readers are treated to fascinating insights into how narratives are constructed and manipulated – making us complicit in the very process the novel is critiquing.
Strengths That Make This Thriller Stand Out
- Metafictional Elements: Howard cleverly blurs the line between fiction and reality, not just within the plot but in the novel’s very construction. The story’s exploration of how books are written, published, and marketed adds a layer of commentary that elevates it beyond typical genre fare.
- Psychological Depth: The characters feel authentically complex, with believable motivations and psychological nuance. Emily’s inner struggle with her own past and her growing suspicions about Jack create genuine tension.
- Pacing: The novel maintains an impressive balance between slow-burn suspense and shocking revelations. Just when readers think they’ve figured things out, Howard introduces a new twist that forces a reevaluation of everything that came before.
- Thematic Richness: Beyond its gripping plot, the novel explores thought-provoking themes about truth, fiction, and the stories we tell ourselves and others. It asks difficult questions about accountability, redemption, and whether we can ever truly escape our pasts.
Room for Improvement
While Burn After Reading is an exceptional thriller, it’s not without flaws:
- The novel’s middle section occasionally feels repetitive, with Emily cycling through the same suspicions without significant forward momentum.
- Some readers may find the resolution of certain plot threads too convenient, particularly regarding how evidence falls into Emily’s hands at crucial moments.
- A few secondary characters, particularly Grace, could have benefited from more development to make their motivations clearer.
- The final explanation, while satisfying, requires readers to accept some coincidences that stretch credulity.
A Thought-Provoking Exploration of Truth and Fiction
What distinguishes Burn After Reading from many contemporary thrillers is its thoughtful exploration of how narratives are constructed and weaponized. The novel asks penetrating questions about the nature of truth:
- Who gets to tell their story?
- How do we decide which version of events to believe?
- What responsibility do writers have when fictionalizing real events?
These questions resonate throughout the novel and linger long after the final page. Howard draws fascinating parallels between Emily’s novel The Witness and Jack’s memoir project, suggesting that the line between fiction and non-fiction is more porous than we might like to admit.
Verdict: A Sophisticated Thriller That Delivers on All Fronts
Burn After Reading represents Catherine Ryan Howard at the height of her powers. It combines the pulse-pounding suspense of The Nothing Man with the structural innovation of 56 Days to create something uniquely compelling. Fans of psychological thrillers that challenge as much as they entertain will find much to appreciate here.
The novel stands alongside works like Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects and Ruth Ware’s The Turn of the Key in its exploration of unreliable narrators and hidden truths, while adding its own distinctive twist on the genre. Howard’s background research on real cases like OJ Simpson’s infamous “If I Did It” book adds a layer of authenticity to the publishing industry elements that grounds the more sensational aspects of the plot.
For readers who enjoy crime fiction that makes them question not just “whodunit” but the very nature of truth itself, Burn After Reading is an essential addition to their reading list. It’s a sophisticated, meticulously plotted thriller that demonstrates why Catherine Ryan Howard continues to be one of the most exciting voices in contemporary crime fiction.
Burn After Reading seamlessly combines a gripping mystery with thoughtful commentary on storytelling and truth. Despite minor pacing issues in the middle section, it delivers a satisfying and thought-provoking experience that will appeal to fans of literary thrillers and psychological suspense.
Perfect for fans of:
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
- The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
- The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
- The Guest List by Lucy Foley
