The Night We Burned: A Novel

A new psychological thriller from suspense powerhouse S.F. Kosa featuring a decades-old secret, a mysterious cult fire, and a woman looking to outrun the ashes of her past...until they come roaring back once more.

Dora is always aware of the line between fact and fiction. As a fact checker at an online magazine, her job depends on it. And as a woman outrunning her secrets, so does her life. But when a colleague decides to pursue a story about a murder in her hometown, one linked to a deadly fire at a cult compound twenty years prior, suddenly all of Dora's carefully spun deceptions are at risk.

And if she can't stop the story, her entire life is on the line.

As Dora works with her colleague, altering facts to hide her past along the way, she's thrown back into a world she tried desperately to leave behind. One of ritual and belonging, of danger and darkness. A world where two girls promised to help each other through...until it all went up in flames.

As her lies pile up, so do the murders. Until Dora realizes she won't be lucky enough to escape twice.

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Published Aug 10, 2021

370 pages

Average rating: 8.6

5 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Cantina Book Club
Nov 03, 2025
8/10 stars
Dora Rodriguez is a fact-checker at a popular online magazine. On the surface she’s just a single 38-year-old who wants to mind her own business and do her job. However, her past contains fascinating yet dark secrets that she’s been running from for the past 20 years. Up until now, she has successfully covered her tracks and moved on with her life. When a colleague pitches a story that hits too close to home, she volunteers to assist so that she can throw him off the scent. The Night We Burned follows Dora as she compromises her integrity as a fact-checker to stay off the radar and survive.

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