The Burning Soul is the sixth book in the Ryan Flynn series. In this installment, Merriman delivers an engrossing and mysterious tale that keeps readers hooked from start to finish. Once again, ghost hunter Ryan Flynn is called upon to use her skills to solve a murder, clear her friend’s name, and help a few spirits to cross over.
Title: The Burning Soul
Author(s): Dawn Merriman
Series: Rylan Flynn #6
Also in this series: The Spirit Girls, The Shadow Girls , The Whisper House , The Haunted Child, The River Ghost
Published by Hachette UK - Second Sky on May 9, 2025
Pages: 214
Genre(s): paranormal cozy mystery
Source: Netgalley
Format: eArc
Purchase: Amazon|Audible
Rating:
Series Rating:
I’m Rylan Flynn. I hunt for ghosts and restless spirits, and solve the mysteries that make them haunt the living.
Flames leap from the windows of the burning house and smoke fills the air. I know immediately that this is no ordinary fire… With chaos all around her, the ghost of a young woman stands on the lawn, watching the blaze.
I call out, but she vanishes before I can learn what happened. When the police find her body in the ashes, it’s clear that she was murdered. A new twisted killer is stalking my hometown…
The obvious suspect is my friend Graham Rock. The house belonged to Graham, and the ghost I saw was his ex-girlfriend. Could he really be capable of something like this? Or is someone trying to destroy his life?
I’m desperate to find the truth. But my relationship with Detective Ford Pierce is in ruins, and he won’t let me join his investigation.
Even worse, an evil spirit that I trapped years ago has escaped. I need Ford’s help to track it down, but with so much tension between us I don’t know if he’ll believe me.
When another house burns down with someone inside, I know it’s on me to find answers—alone. Is the spirit behind these lethal attacks? Can I find the link between the victims and unmask the killer before the flames claim another soul?
A thrilling paranormal mystery packed with heart-stopping twists, The Burning Soul is perfect for fans of Heather Graham, Wendy Wang, and Noelle W. Ihli.
See why readers love the Rylan Flynn
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In this installment, Rylan witnesses the ghost of a young woman outside of a burning house. Soon after, the charred remains of the young woman are discovered in the burnt-out house. It so happens that the house belongs to a friend of Rylan. To make matters worse, the friend once dated the victim, making him a viable suspect. Rylan sets out to find the truth behind the fire. To complicate matters, the evil entity trapped in her home for years has escaped.
The Burning Soul is chock-full of twists and turns designed to keep readers on their toes. Merriman keeps her readers engaged by creating a suspenseful and atmospheric tale.
The tale kept me engaged and we learn more about the evil entity that escaped from Rylan’s home. Rylan’s and Ford’s relationship hit a roadblock in the previous book. However, we see them moving forward and everything seems to be going fine for them in this installment.
The mystery wrapped up nicely; however, the end speaks of interesting things to come. I look forward to seeing what Merriman has in store for the next installment.
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About Dawn Merriman
Dawn Merriman writes creepy small town murder mysteries from her small farm in northeast Indiana where she lives with her husband and teenage children. You can often find her with muck boots on her feet and a story in her head. She enjoys animals, auctions, snorkeling and archaeology. Dawn Merriman grew up a small town farm girl, on a small time pig farm in Indiana. She spent her young adulthood sitting on her bedroom floor scribbling stories in notebooks. She won the “Northeast Indiana Young Writers” award as a sophomore in high school. After battling severe depression, she wrote her debut novel “How Murder Saved My Life” as therapy, mixing her love of murder mysteries and farming with climbing out of the darkness of illness.
