The Burning Tree is one of those rare books that is a terrific story that is so well told you find yourself enveloped by the world and the characters and their adventure. Helen Dent has masterfully crafted a tale with a voice that fits the place and the people who populate the hamlet of Bishop’s Gap. The entire town and its Hatfield/McCoy style simmering feud is hostage to an inventive curse that Dent weaves through the narrative, binding generations and personalities to the story’s core in a manner that is as natural as turning the page. And you will keep turning the page.