Burntown

Set in a decaying New England mill town, Jennifer McMahon's *Burntown* follows Eva, a young woman whose life is shattered by a catastrophic flood that kills her father and brother and forces her and her mother into hiding. Her father, an eccentric inventor, had built a machine he believed could commune with the dead, and the secrets surrounding it have made the family targets. Years later, living under a new name and a fragile sense of normalcy, Eva finds herself pulled back into the mystery when violence strikes again and her mother vanishes.

Abby Craden brings a quiet, grounded intensity to the narration that suits McMahon's atmospheric storytelling perfectly. Her voice captures the novel's dual tones of folklore and dread without overplaying either, letting the gothic undertow build naturally. The story's layered timeline and shifting perspectives translate well to audio, with Craden distinguishing between characters through subtle vocal shifts rather than theatrical performance. At just under eleven hours, the pacing feels lean and purposeful.