The Burning Air

The Burning Air by Erin Kelly

Obsession:  Compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea, an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by anxiety

Obsession can be dangerous...

The MacBride family seems to have it all.   Patriarch Rowan is headmaster at a prestigious private school in Saxby, England;  his three children attend tuition-free. Wife Lydia is a magistrate, respected and revered.  A happy family?  What we perceive may not be reality.  Events from this point in time will haunt their future.
 
Flash forward to November, 2013.  Eldest child Sophie is the mother of three sons and now dotes upon daughter Edie.  Her marriage is crumbling.  Tara struggles to raise son Jake without his father.  Felix is relatively happy as long as he doesn't look in a mirror.  Lydia has succumbed to cancer. Still, the family decides to continue with the tradition of traveling to Far Barn, their countryside retreat. For the first time, a girl accompanies Felix.  Her name is Kerry.  There is something unsettling about her, but it is hard to pinpoint why.  Rowan is unaccountably drinking to excess.  Perhaps Lydia's darkest secrets hidden in her diaries might be the reason.  He vows to never reveal the truth.  Tara's new boyfriend,  Matt,  makes her  happy by taking on the role of surrogate father to Jake. Too good to be true?  Will, Sophie's husband, struggles with guilt. Forgiveness seems to be elusive.     

Then the unthinkable suddenly disrupts this seemingly tranquil, healing  weekend.  Precious baby Edie disappears.  Hatred, revenge, mystery, and deception take hold.  This "perfect" family must unite as one in order to survive. 

The beginning of this novel may seem a little slow,  but by chapter three,  it becomes a fascinating story of a twisted mind bent on the destruction of others.  A well-developed intriguing plot.  A suspenseful thriller.  The author skillfully meshes past events with the present  and as you read, it all begins to make sense. 

With a surprising ending.......