House on Fire

A Novel

By: Bonnie Kistler

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

“A masterfully written saga of family drama in the vein of Celeste Ng, Liane Moriarty, and Sally Hepworth” (Book Reporter) about a blended family in crisis after a drunk driving accident leaves one parent’s daughter dead—and the other’s son charged with manslaughter.

Divorce lawyer Leigh Huyett knows all too well that most second marriages are doomed to fail. Yet five years in, she and Pete Conley couldn’t be happier with their blended family.

But one rainy Friday night, on the way back from celebrating their anniversary, Peter and Leigh receive horrific news. Peter’s son Kip, a high school senior, has crashed his truck and been arrested for drunk driving. And Leigh’s fourteen-year-old daughter, Chrissy, was with him.

Twelve hours later, Chrissy is dead and Kip is charged with manslaughter.

Reeling with grief, Leigh nonetheless does her best to rally behind Peter and Kip. That is, until Kip changes his story and claims that he wasn’t driving after all—Chrissy was, and he swears there is a witness.

As they hurtle toward Kip’s trial date, husband and wife are torn between loyalty to their children and to each other, while the mystery of what really happened that night looms large.

Thought I had it figured out

This is the second book I've listened up by this narrator.... she's phenomenal. The story was sad at times, but there are so many other things going on that it won't bring you down. The stories were well balanced. I highly recommend this one.

Good story.

I really enjoyed this story. I took a chance as this is out of my normal genre and was not disappointed.

Smart, Engaging and Sensitive Story

4.5 Stars

Fantastic and engaging story of the aftermath of a tragic accident. Very insightful and sharp writing. This story would make a great movie!

This heartfelt and emotional story starts off with an almost unbearable tragedy. Two young people returning home from a party are involved in a relatively minor accident. But one of the people in the car dies. It was Chrissy, the stepsister of the alleged driver, Kip. How can their parents deal with this? When Kip is charged with manslaughter as a result, the family is broken apart. The author then raises the question: is there such a thing as a "good" lie?

"They had to start planning how to deal with this. It was what families did when an outside threat loomed. They closed ranks and worked together to shield themselves from it."

But the parents, Peter and Leigh, differ on what it means to deal with Kip's arrest and the death of young, beautiful Chrissy. I loved the questions raised by this thought-provoking book especially in light of the fact that Leigh is an experienced divorce attorney who has seen her share of broken families. Not only did she think that she and Pete had the perfect blended family, she thought she knew what it took to make a second marriage work.

"He picked sides last night, and so did she. The trouble was, neither of them had picked each other."

Family loyalties are divided as Peter and Leigh must wrestle with their grief over losing Chrissy, but with the harsh reality of Kip's arrest. Leigh does not believe her stepson's account of the night of the accident. But Pete is determined to stick by his son and will do whatever is takes to keep from losing his promising future.

“I want him to get off.” He studied the label on his beer bottle. “Don’t you?”
“Of course I do. But not if it takes a lie.”
“I guess that’s where we differ.” He got to his feet. “I want him to get off no matter what.”

I was fascinated by Leigh's clients and the way all of the threads of the plot came together in the end. While 'House on Fire' is a sharp family drama, it is also a smart legal thriller, providing plenty of intrigue and heart-stopping action. I was rooting for Peter and Leigh's marriage to survive Chrissy's death and Kip's arrest while at the same time devouring the juicy details of Leigh's clients' own family dramas. The author explores what it means to be truthful and how grief operates on its own timeline.

"All she could see was Chrissy. A beautiful child on her way to becoming a lovely young woman. Becoming. Unbecoming. Never to be."

Smart, clever and engaging, this was my kind of book. I loved this page-turner and can't wait for more books from Ms. Kistler!

Good story line

Needs a sequel written to continue the two families stories and the memory of Chrissy

Excellent Narration

Such a twisty, heartfelt story. I felt the emotion from all sides. Amazing how quickly idyllic can turn to horror. A couple of sub plots kept a rather long story interesting.