Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing The Burn Line by Jonathan Sims. I don’t usually reach for straight up horror, but this book sounded so interesting when I ran across it on NetGalley. So, I thought… why not? lol. Did I enjoy it even though it’s not my usual read? Read on to find out!

There’s something lurking in the stifling darkness and labyrinthine tunnels that run below London… something old, something vicious, and something very, very hungry.

It’s the hottest summer on record and London is dying. Prices are high, pay is low, and stressed commuters are packed onto London Underground trains again like the pandemic never happened. To add to the misery, the temperatures underground just keep climbing and climbing, the heat trapped in the clay with nowhere to go.

Then one fateful morning five travellers on an unlucky tube carriage find themselves bound together as witnesses to a single horrific event – an event they can’t quite seem to remember.

They make an unlikely team – a weary tube driver, a disillusioned civil servant, an ambitious city trader, an overwhelmed hotel worker, and an unhoused young man just trying to get by – but now they must come together to confront what they have seen and stop it in its tracks before it kills them all.

From the dark and twisted mind behind Thirteen Storeys, Family Business, and podcast sensation The Magnus Archives, The Burn Line is a sinister and socially conscious horror masterclass perfect for fans of Stephen King, Jordan Peele, and Black Mirror.

***Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an advanced copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

The Burn Line was SUCH a creepy and suffocating journey. The writing in this book gave me chills at times with its descriptions, which created an aura of pervasive eeriness embedded within almost every sentence. I could feel the dread of the characters oozing out of the page, and the author did a magnificent job of creating a nagging feeling that something was just a bit off, especially before the truth of the horror was revealed.

The major strength of The Burn Line was also its greatest weakness: the characters. Each of them was masterfully crafted and had so much depth. The reader really got a great snapshot of their day to day lives and what it’s like to be working class in modern London. I felt like I got to know each of them pretty personally, which is a great feat for a book with five major POVs. Aaron was probably my favorite, though, and I found his portrayal as a person without housing to be equal parts heartbreaking and endearing. That being said, taking the time to so deeply establish all five characters hurt the pacing of the novel. Things got bogged down significantly in the latter part of the first half of the book. I didn’t mind much because I was so invested in the mystery and found the characters and their lives interesting, but the plot did slow down to a crawl.

The latter half of The Burn Line really picked up in pace. I rarely wanted to put the book down and enjoyed seeing these characters I’d come to know so well come together to face a truly terrifying horror. I don’t want to say too much about the plot because of spoilers, but the tension ratcheted up and up as the story progressed. The little found family that the characters created to cope with and fight back against the enemy was possibly my favorite thing about the book. Although, I could have done without the author’s attempt at romance. It felt ham-fisted and like it was thrown in for the sake of the book having a romance subplot.

The imagery that The Burn Line used to address its themes was SO GOOD. It really made me think about how the “elite” class is just a bunch of parasites sucking the life out of the working people. lol. Most of the social commentary was super on the nose, though, which I’m sure will probably turn some people off. I also really loved how diverse the characters were and how the story illustrated the lie of meritocracy so well.

All in all, The Burn Line was a horrifyingly good time. It struggled some with pacing and could’ve gained from utilizing a little more subtlety in its messaging. The atmospheric writing, interesting plot, and good character work more than made up for any flaws, though. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

There you have it! My thoughts on The Burn Line by Jonathan Sims. Does this sound like something you’d enjoy? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!