Notes on Surviving the Fire

“A righteous, angry, and riveting work of suspense . . . but the idiosyncratic narrative style is also mordantly funny, and it’s one of the best depictions of surviving trauma that I’ve seen in recent fiction.”
—New York Times “Best Mystery Books of 2025”

“The novel’s strength lies in Sarah’s duality . . . The narrative is equally layered, with a thriller’s bones, a satire’s glare, and a comeuppance story’s anarchic spirit.”
—The New Yorker

“Murphy has certainly written a furious, fast-paced, emotionally resonant and memorable novel. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while yet.”
—Los Angeles Times

“A wild horse of a plot . . . Fiery on many levels . . . An author to watch.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“A biting, savage, unflinching story of how the culture of sexual assault is systemically tolerated and tucked out of sight into the dark corners of ivory towers. Part campus satire, part murder mystery, and most importantly a tale of formidable survival, Notes on Surviving the Fire asks: who among us is a perpetrator, and how do we keep on living once we know? Christine Murphy writes with the nimbleness of a hunter: muscularly and with precision, while also propelled by undercurrents of cold, simmering fury and hot, big-hearted empathy.”
—Aube Rey Lescure, author of River East, River West

“Murphy’s emotional, riveting suspense novel is sure to stick with readers for a long time.”
—Booklist

“A bold and complex thriller that tackles rape culture and academic bureaucracy with a pinch of Buddhist philosophy . . . Murphy establishes a convincing sense of psychological realism while making salient points about the challenges women face in the aftermath of sexual violence . . . Those in the mood for more challenging fare will be rewarded.
—Publishers Weekly