Burning Under

by Tom Bennitt

Set in southwestern Pennsylvania, Burning Under is a cerebral literary thriller that centers around a deadly coalmine explosion. A polyphonic narrative, the point of view shifts between three people whose lives are shaken by the disaster. Larry, a veteran miner haunted by his past, survives the explosion, but cannot avoid the media spotlight or the hero label. Denise, a young nurse, tries to escape her troubled marriage by taking a job at a Pittsburgh hospital. And Simon is a disgruntled lawyer for Commonwealth Energy who suspects the accident was caused by his company’s low safety and ethical standards. Assisted by his girlfriend, a Pittsburgh journalist, Simon digs around and uncovers a trail of evidence and a massive cover-up engineered by the CEO, George Blount. Linked by a common desire to expose the company, Simon, Larry, and Denise form an alliance; but George will do anything to conceal the truth and exact revenge, provoking a violent end.

200 pages, Paperback

Published November 5, 2018

Reviews

[Sally Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This excellent novel gives fresh life to the David and Goliath story as a coal company denies responsibility for a mine explosion that kills nine miners. While families of the dead men fight for restitution, the corporate compliance specialist, a lynchpin in the confrontation, struggles to reconcile conflicting information he has about the incident and the company. The story is gripping, but the heart of the novel is the convincing characters, including the compliance specialist, the lone surviving miner, and a dead miner’s wife, who’s not afraid to cause trouble. And binding everything together is Bennitt’s strong sense of the Rust Belt and the people who live there.

[Randy Steinberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Bennitt weaves a thrilling, Grisham-style tale of legal and physical peril with the literary quality of Anthony Kennedy introducing us to a geographical locale (in Kennedy's case Albany; in Bennitt's Pittsburgh). Burning Under will ensconce you in the mysterious and blighted landscape that is Western PA, while also entertaining you with a breathlessly paced story. Bennitt knows this world inside and out, and so too will you after reading Burning Under.

[Lurch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this. My favorite kind of book…one that really gives you a picture into the local flavor, feel, mood, etc of a part of the country I never knew. A real window into a local culture. It makes me want to jump in an old pickup and drive the backroads of Western PA.