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Jenny Cooper #6
The Burning
In the depths of a frozen winter, Coroner Jenny Cooper is called to the scene of a devastating house fire that has claimed the lives of Ed Morgan and his two step-daughters in the isolated hamlet of Blackstone Ley.
The police look no further when they discover the message Ed left for his wife, Kelly, telling her that he set the fire as revenge for her infidelity and that she will never find their infant son.
As Jenny digs into Blackstone Ley’s murky past, she uncovers a history that begs more and questions. What provoked Ed’s murderous rage? How might the other, guarded inhabitants of the village have been involved? And what connects the fire with the unsolved disappearance of a four-year-old girl nearly ten years ago?
Finding herself ranged against forces far darker than she could ever have imagined, can Jenny unearth Blackstone Ley’s secrets before more lives are claimed?
The police look no further when they discover the message Ed left for his wife, Kelly, telling her that he set the fire as revenge for her infidelity and that she will never find their infant son.
As Jenny digs into Blackstone Ley’s murky past, she uncovers a history that begs more and questions. What provoked Ed’s murderous rage? How might the other, guarded inhabitants of the village have been involved? And what connects the fire with the unsolved disappearance of a four-year-old girl nearly ten years ago?
Finding herself ranged against forces far darker than she could ever have imagined, can Jenny unearth Blackstone Ley’s secrets before more lives are claimed?
320 pages, Hardcover
First published February 15, 2014
36 people are currently reading
434 people want to read
About the author
M.R. Hall
23 books196 followersM R Hall, otherwise known as Matthew Hall, lives and works in the Welsh borders near Monmouth. Born in London in 1967, he was educated at Hereford Cathedral School and Worcester College, Oxford, where he graduated in law.
After several years as a criminal barrister in London, Matthew started writing TV drama, beginning with epsiodes of ITV's Kavanagh QC. He was nominated for a BAFTA for his first original series, Wing and a Prayer. He has since written over 60 hours of prime time drama including the recent BBC hit series, Keeping Faith.
His debut novel, The Coroner (2009) was shortlisted for the CWA's Gold Dagger, as was his fourth, The Flight. The Jenny Cooper coroner series has now been adapted for television. 'Coroner' is made in Toronto for CBC and distributed internationally by Cineflix.
Series:
* Jenny Cooper
After several years as a criminal barrister in London, Matthew started writing TV drama, beginning with epsiodes of ITV's Kavanagh QC. He was nominated for a BAFTA for his first original series, Wing and a Prayer. He has since written over 60 hours of prime time drama including the recent BBC hit series, Keeping Faith.
His debut novel, The Coroner (2009) was shortlisted for the CWA's Gold Dagger, as was his fourth, The Flight. The Jenny Cooper coroner series has now been adapted for television. 'Coroner' is made in Toronto for CBC and distributed internationally by Cineflix.
Series:
* Jenny Cooper
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
June 13, 2017
This is the best book so far in Hall's Coroner series. I found the earlier books a little formulaic- with the neuroses of the main character and over use of medication on one hand and her perpetual battles with the Ministry of Justice on the other. This novel is largely free of both, and while we still get a picture of a woman lacking self confidence but being stubborn and resolute as well, she does push through to lay bare a complex set of murders and survive a tense ending
January 9, 2014
Coming 27th February from Macmillan
Thank you to the author and publisher for the advance reading copy.
A family tragedy. A buried secret. What lies hidden in the flames? A dense, bitterly cold fog has settled over the Wye Valley when Bristol Coroner Jenny Cooper is called to the scene of a dreadful tragedy: in the village of Blackstone Ley, a house has burned to the ground with three members of a family inside. Though evidence of foul play is quickly uncovered, it isn’t long before the police investigation is drawn to a close. It seems certain that the fire was started by one of the victims, Ed Morgan, in a fit of jealous rage. But their infant son is still missing and Ed had left a message for his surviving wife, Kelly Hart, telling her that she would never find the child . . . As Jenny prepares the inquest, she finds herself troubled by the official version of events.
The Jenny Cooper series is one I have followed from the beginning so never was I more pleased to see an early copy of a novel as I was to see this one.
In this instalment we find Jenny coping not only with an emotive case but with the aftermath of previous events and some tough decisions about her future.
I love these because they are so compelling – the mystery element is always intriguing, tightly plotted and often unexpected – and the characters always illicit an emotional response. The legal aspect of a coroner’s work is authentic and Jenny Cooper herself is an interesting protagonist both in how she thinks and acts…and realistically flawed.
This one kept me up into the early hours, always a good sign. And as usual the personal lives of the regulars was just as fascinating as the case they were solving..another great thing about this particular series is how well rounded each story is. M R Hall writes with a matter of fact but appealing style that digs you deep into the story and keeps you there until it is done.
All in all an excellent addition and I look forward to more adventures in the future.
Happy Reading Folks!
Thank you to the author and publisher for the advance reading copy.
A family tragedy. A buried secret. What lies hidden in the flames? A dense, bitterly cold fog has settled over the Wye Valley when Bristol Coroner Jenny Cooper is called to the scene of a dreadful tragedy: in the village of Blackstone Ley, a house has burned to the ground with three members of a family inside. Though evidence of foul play is quickly uncovered, it isn’t long before the police investigation is drawn to a close. It seems certain that the fire was started by one of the victims, Ed Morgan, in a fit of jealous rage. But their infant son is still missing and Ed had left a message for his surviving wife, Kelly Hart, telling her that she would never find the child . . . As Jenny prepares the inquest, she finds herself troubled by the official version of events.
The Jenny Cooper series is one I have followed from the beginning so never was I more pleased to see an early copy of a novel as I was to see this one.
In this instalment we find Jenny coping not only with an emotive case but with the aftermath of previous events and some tough decisions about her future.
I love these because they are so compelling – the mystery element is always intriguing, tightly plotted and often unexpected – and the characters always illicit an emotional response. The legal aspect of a coroner’s work is authentic and Jenny Cooper herself is an interesting protagonist both in how she thinks and acts…and realistically flawed.
This one kept me up into the early hours, always a good sign. And as usual the personal lives of the regulars was just as fascinating as the case they were solving..another great thing about this particular series is how well rounded each story is. M R Hall writes with a matter of fact but appealing style that digs you deep into the story and keeps you there until it is done.
All in all an excellent addition and I look forward to more adventures in the future.
Happy Reading Folks!
April 10, 2017
Jenny has 2 problematic deaths on her hands - the apparent suicide of an aid worker and the death of a child from antibiotic resistant meningitis. What unfolds from there is a frantic rush to get to the truth before the spooks and other interested parties. I think the stress Jenny is under is extremely well communicated as I felt it throughout the book but Jenny herself is turning into a rather self obsessed unlikeable character. The plot, whilst hugely unrealistic in some respects, is a page turner and I just had to know what was happening next. I don't know if the gene technology bit is true or not but it's incredibly scary if it is and if not, why let the truth get in the way of an amazing conspiracy theory (up there in my top 10)? I must admit, however, that I have no technical background whatsoever so my eyes glazed at most of the technical stuff and I skim read it to get to the good bits. This is a good, tense novel if you leave your disbelief at the door.
February 21, 2015
I have a love/hate relationship with Jenny Cooper. She's brilliant (although her officer Alison doesn't get the credit she deserves) at her job. I love that she doesn't back off from trying to get at the truth despite all the threats. It's her attitude to her love life that winds me up, she is so immature and silly when it comes to men. I'm reminded of the fact that the author of these books is a man when it comes to that side of her personality. I get that it's supposed to make us see that she has a vulnerable side so that she doesn't come across as too hard but it doesn't ring true. Especially in this book. The whole Michael storyline was believable but then up springs good looking, sweet talking, touchy-feely DI Ryan and hey presto! She's falling for him! What?? Really? She didn't ever come across as that fickle before. Then Michael comes to her rescue and they're back to being a happy couple again. Just like that. Wow
February 16, 2022
I love The Coroner books. They are always well written and the twists and turns keep you guessing till the end.
May 31, 2024
Audiobook. Another great installment in the Coroner series. Looking forward to the next one.
July 4, 2017
For reasons entirely beyond my ken I cannot get it into my head that M R Hall is male. Part of the reason is that the focus is on Jenny Cooper for so much of the time, and seems to me to contain a high proportion of female frilly wishful thinking, incompatible with someone who has attained the rank of coroner. And yet, I suppose it could be woman-as-viewed-by-man - one with illogical reasoning, poor judgement and shilly-shallying over every man that comes within her radius; allowing her plainly lunatic assistant back in the office, for example. And with the memory span of a goldfish; castigating journalist for making things up one minute then admitting to a stream of 'angry, cathartic fantasies the next.
Always an entertaining story, even if a little improbable, but I think I'll bid farewell to Jenny Cooper.
Always an entertaining story, even if a little improbable, but I think I'll bid farewell to Jenny Cooper.
July 3, 2019
This scrapes a third star because it kept me reading to the end - but it was a close thing, because once I got to the end, I felt dissatisfied with the result.
One of the pleasures of a whodunnit is trying to guess which character is the murderer. As the body count rises, you try to find connections to narrow down the field. So I feel cheated if the author (a) presents two or three UNconnected deaths or (b) makes the murderer a person whose existence isn't even suspected until the last couple of chapters. Mr Hall does both of those!
As others have commented, Jenny did feel like a woman written by a man, and I didn't warm to her.
One of the pleasures of a whodunnit is trying to guess which character is the murderer. As the body count rises, you try to find connections to narrow down the field. So I feel cheated if the author (a) presents two or three UNconnected deaths or (b) makes the murderer a person whose existence isn't even suspected until the last couple of chapters. Mr Hall does both of those!
As others have commented, Jenny did feel like a woman written by a man, and I didn't warm to her.
February 9, 2015
These stories by M R Hall just get better and better. I can't wait for the next installment in the life of Jenny Cooper, coroner.
June 15, 2016
Excellent, now I just have to find and read nos 2-5. What a difficult life I have !!!!!!!!!.
April 5, 2022
This is book no 6 in The Coroner series, I've listened to the audio of book 1 and read books 2 and 3 from the library, and now this one, also from the library.
I have to say that this was the most complicated one of M R Hall's coroner's books, and I needed to keep my attention unwavering in case I missed a clue! Jenny is taking an inquest into the deaths of a husband, his two stepdaughters and the disappearance of his 3yr old son, oh and the husband and stepdaughters were all shot and their house razed to the ground. The inquest was to investigate cause of death, accidental, deliberate or not sure so that would be an open verdict. At the same time a man who worked for the passport office was found hanged in his flat and a solicitor told Jenny that a polish gangster had been shot in his car and the police weren't investigating.
All very confusing at first but the stories did begin to settle down alongside each other, and to make matters even more complicated Jenny's partner, the pilot Michael, wants them to move in with each other and settle down, but DI Gabe Ryan is also showing a strong interest in her, but is he whom he seems? And to get even deeper Allison Trent, Jenny's assistant who has a metal plate in her head and is becoming a bit strange, has been found to have leaked details of the inquests to the press meaning Jenny is possibly facing charges of not being in control of her staff etc, but Allison swears she didn't do it.
I told you it was confusing!! I hung on in there and all was sorted out at the end, although this was the first book in which Mr Hall spent the last few pages actually spelling out who was who and what was what and why why was why. I did enjoy it though!
Oh did I mention that Jenny had been feeling sick in the mornings?
I have to say that this was the most complicated one of M R Hall's coroner's books, and I needed to keep my attention unwavering in case I missed a clue! Jenny is taking an inquest into the deaths of a husband, his two stepdaughters and the disappearance of his 3yr old son, oh and the husband and stepdaughters were all shot and their house razed to the ground. The inquest was to investigate cause of death, accidental, deliberate or not sure so that would be an open verdict. At the same time a man who worked for the passport office was found hanged in his flat and a solicitor told Jenny that a polish gangster had been shot in his car and the police weren't investigating.
All very confusing at first but the stories did begin to settle down alongside each other, and to make matters even more complicated Jenny's partner, the pilot Michael, wants them to move in with each other and settle down, but DI Gabe Ryan is also showing a strong interest in her, but is he whom he seems? And to get even deeper Allison Trent, Jenny's assistant who has a metal plate in her head and is becoming a bit strange, has been found to have leaked details of the inquests to the press meaning Jenny is possibly facing charges of not being in control of her staff etc, but Allison swears she didn't do it.
I told you it was confusing!! I hung on in there and all was sorted out at the end, although this was the first book in which Mr Hall spent the last few pages actually spelling out who was who and what was what and why why was why. I did enjoy it though!
Oh did I mention that Jenny had been feeling sick in the mornings?
March 1, 2020
I really enjoyed this one. I've read all the previous ones, some better than others, got a bit fed up with the sameyness of some of the storylines and relationships after book 1, but I was totally gripped by this one. Had trouble putting it down.
I liked that Jenny had properly moved on from her previous hangups. I liked that her ex husband and annoying son didn't feature much. I liked that there weren't multiple threats of taking her off the case from on-high. And I really enjoyed the new post-accident Alison and her revamped relationship with Jenny. Soooooo much better than the previous prickly non-relationship they had before. And it actually added some humour into the book (which made me realise humour had been lacking before).
The twists and turns of the story had me hooked. I expect there were holes in it, but I neither noticed nor cared.
I liked that Jenny had properly moved on from her previous hangups. I liked that her ex husband and annoying son didn't feature much. I liked that there weren't multiple threats of taking her off the case from on-high. And I really enjoyed the new post-accident Alison and her revamped relationship with Jenny. Soooooo much better than the previous prickly non-relationship they had before. And it actually added some humour into the book (which made me realise humour had been lacking before).
The twists and turns of the story had me hooked. I expect there were holes in it, but I neither noticed nor cared.
March 18, 2020
Jenny Cooper as always at her formidable best. She is like a dog with a bone and just has that knack of seeing what others are trying to hide. As always, this brings trouble to her door, and as this series progresses, the trouble just gets a lot worse.
I absolutely love this series, and now will be starting the last book in the series. All I feel is a sense of dread as I hate coming to the end of a series that has had me so totally engrossed I don't want to leave the characters behind. I do hope that MR Hall revisits this character.
I absolutely love this series, and now will be starting the last book in the series. All I feel is a sense of dread as I hate coming to the end of a series that has had me so totally engrossed I don't want to leave the characters behind. I do hope that MR Hall revisits this character.
December 13, 2024
3.5 stars
I like the case Jenny was working on, its plot and story line but I like none of the characters including Jenny. May be because I didn't read the previous books, I don't know but I don't think I missed much, though. I don't like the romance in the story and that's one of the reason I didn't feel related to Jenny Cooper. Hall made her sounded like a dog in heat, that's what irked me most.
I like the case Jenny was working on, its plot and story line but I like none of the characters including Jenny. May be because I didn't read the previous books, I don't know but I don't think I missed much, though. I don't like the romance in the story and that's one of the reason I didn't feel related to Jenny Cooper. Hall made her sounded like a dog in heat, that's what irked me most.
January 19, 2020
A child was missing, the case is closed short after even the body has never found and the criminal is never identified. A decade later, the same neighbourhood was shaken by a house on fire. Inside, they found three bodies, a man with his stepdaughters. Investigation follows and they dig every lead they get when the criminal is actually closer than they think.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2019
I enjoy this series, mainly for the complicated plots, but like others I'm often slightly irritated by the portrayal of the central character, the coroner Jenny Cooper. The series is written by a man, and I do think that he sometimes falls down in the way he portrays her inner thinking and motivation.
April 21, 2021
I have been enjoying this series so I recommend this novel. THE BURNING captivated my interest with great story lines with plenty of twists and turns. I had not predicted the ending, something I appreciated. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
January 26, 2024
Finished under sufferance. The first half was entertaining, even though the writing was an overly detailed and more florid than I prefer. But the second half of the book descended into ridiculous red herrings and was all over the place, then came to a hurried happily ever after end. 2.5 stars
December 29, 2025
This is a modern work of art in pathetic fallacy. Hall's creation of mood in relation to a place is outstanding and reeks from the pages. The plot is well paced, and follows on from the previous Coroner novel well.
October 4, 2018
Another brilliant addition to a great series. Jenny Cooper is a well rounded character who has now lost a good proportion of her neurotic characteristics and is the better for it.
April 3, 2019
A wonderful and engrossing read!
July 1, 2019
Possibly the best of the series for me. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
February 12, 2021
Not bad book.
December 21, 2022
Generic crime novel with local interest, perfect easy reading
February 14, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyable read. The twists and turns that you see coming as well as those that you don’t make it a completely engrossing story
February 24, 2023
A good few twists in this one
October 16, 2023
Really good!
November 6, 2023
Hooked from the moment I started but it got typical but still rather enjoyed it and didn't expect the last 1/3rd
March 14, 2024
A good read if you like this kind of novel. Had me guessing until the end.
August 8, 2025
This is one of a series of books about a coroner in Bristol. It was well written and had a very twisty plot which all resolved in the final pages.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews