As a big fan of murder mysteries, I was stoked to receive a copy of Their Burning Graves. Murder and nail biting suspense awaits you in this installment of the Detective Morgan Brookes series. Read on and learn the reason this book will appeal to fans of murder mysteries.
They are picture perfect. A young, happy family sat around the kitchen table. But no one moves as wisps of smoke filter into the room and the house becomes a burning grave around them… I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
Title: Their Burning Graves
Author(s): Helen Phifer
Series: Detective Morgan Brookes #8
Published by Bookouture on December 19, 2022
Pages: 265
Source: Publisher
Format: eBook 
Purchase: Amazon|Audible
Rating: 
Series Rating:
When reports come in of a family trapped in a burning house, Detective Morgan Brookes rushes to the scene. But as soon as she enters the ruined home, she is devastated by what she finds. Tied to the kitchen table, Sally and David Lawson, and their young son, had no chance of escaping the flames and the smoke…
Neighbours all agree the Lawsons were the perfect family, and CCTV shows nothing suspicious. Morgan’s only clue is the silver crucifix necklace around Sally’s neck. Because according to friends, she wasn’t religious. Was someone passing divine judgement on this mother and her family?
Focusing on Sally’s last steps, Morgan gets the breakthrough she needs – just days ago Sally had confided in a friend that she felt someone was watching her. And when Morgan finds photos of Sally on her neighbour Luke’s phone, all the pieces slot together.
Only then another local woman reports feeling watched. Nothing seems to link her to Luke, but Morgan can’t ignore it. Could the killer still be out there? Going deeper into Sally’s past and uncovering the killer’s motivations is her only chance to save more innocent lives, but can she solve the twisted puzzle in time?
Their Burning Graves by Helen Phifer is the 8th book in the Detective Morgan Brookes series and my first time reading the author’s work. Now while the case within this installment is independent, the information contained within points to events from the previous books. Based on this it would one can surmise that reading the series in order will provide a better understanding of these events.
The prologue sets the tone for the remainder of the story. As one progresses through the story the connection between the events of the prologue and the current murder mystery became clear. However, figuring out the identity of the person behind the murders was not an easy task. The situation grew tense when another woman landed on the killer’s radar. Revenge drove the killer. Why is this woman being targeted and what’s her connection to the previous victims? These were the questions on my mind as I progressed through the story.
Morgan impressed me with her investigating skills and her willingness to work with her team. She possesses an uncanny ability for solving crimes. Her tenacity, sense of right and wrong and the need to find justice for the victim drove her. So even without the physical evidence she relied heavily on her instincts along with the variety of clues which may pop up at any given time. Despite this being my first time interacting with Morgan, she struck me as a capable, strong and intelligent person.
In Their Burning Graves Helen Phifer delivered a well-written story which proved difficult to put down. The number of likely suspects kept me guessing. The reveals and twists surprised me, all signs of a well written mystery. My need to know who as I already knew the why kept me thoroughly invested in the story. Although the case wrapped up, some new information came to light, but no further exploration occurred. This leaves the reader in a speculative mode. However, this did not take away from the story’s enjoyment.
Overall, an exciting and thrilling read, which fans of police procedurals would enjoy.
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About Helen Phifer
Helen Phifer is the Bestselling writer of the hugely popular Annie Graham, Lucy Harwin, Beth Adams and her current series featuring Detective Constable Morgan Brooks published by the fabulous Bookouture. She lives in the busy town of Barrow-in-Furness surrounded by miles of coastline and a short drive from the glorious English Lake District. Helen loves reading books that scare the heck out of her and is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years. Unable to find enough scary stories she decided to write her own and her debut novel The Ghost House released in October 2013 became a #1 Global Bestseller. She has written over twenty books in various genres.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
