The Storm by Rachel Hawkins (2026)
Get ready for more than just one Dark Stormy Night to kick off an equally dark stormy
plot.........prepare yourself for decades of hurricanes that perpetually blow ill winds into the little Gulf Coast town of St. Medard's Bay, Alabama. One of the worst of the storms leaves plenty of violent tragedy in its wake.......at least one of the victims, Landon Fitzroy, young scion of a powerful political dynasty, didn't die from storm related injuries. But Lo Bailey, the beautiful, lower-class local girl accused of his murder was never convicted of the crime, though evidence pointed to her as a jealous, spurned girlfriend.
Years later, Geneva Corliss struggles to make ends meet as the owner-manager of the Rosalie Inn, renowned for weathering all the previous catastrophic storms that came barreling into St. Medard's. As she tries to keep the inn solvent enough to cover the care for her Alzheimer's afflicted mother, Geneva's summer guests include writer August Fletcher. He's working on a book about Lo Bailey's scandalous affair and subsequent murder trial..... and guess who's coming with him to provide authenticity to the project as well as clear her name - Lo Bailey herself, still a dynamic provocative force to be reckoned with. Emotions still run deep in the town when it comes to Lo, including those of Geneva's loyal assistant Edie, who doesn't appear as if she's......well, particularly high on Lo. And August, fueled with dreams of crafting a bestseller, seems bound and determined to probe every detail of what really happened to young Fitzroy on that eventful, storm tossed night.
Need I describe more? Wouldn't dream of it. Because of course there's a host of long held, well kept secrets and plot twists that commence rolling in like the tide. Also rolling in, to nobody's surprise given the the town's location - the next whopper of a Category 5 Hurricane, relentlessly on a course to smash right into St. Medard's Bay and the Rosalie. And it's entirely possible that once again, someone might not make it through the storm.......but through no fault of the storm.
'The Storm' does take its own sweet time to get past its initial set-up and all the required exposition and past histories, but once it gets going (and the winds start blowing), it efficiently moves toward its great big whammer of a finale along with a bittersweet satisfying little conclusion. But I'm pretty sure some readers will think twice before booking a stay at a beachside Gulf Coast inn during Hurricane season.....at least not without life-jackets
plot.........prepare yourself for decades of hurricanes that perpetually blow ill winds into the little Gulf Coast town of St. Medard's Bay, Alabama. One of the worst of the storms leaves plenty of violent tragedy in its wake.......at least one of the victims, Landon Fitzroy, young scion of a powerful political dynasty, didn't die from storm related injuries. But Lo Bailey, the beautiful, lower-class local girl accused of his murder was never convicted of the crime, though evidence pointed to her as a jealous, spurned girlfriend.
Years later, Geneva Corliss struggles to make ends meet as the owner-manager of the Rosalie Inn, renowned for weathering all the previous catastrophic storms that came barreling into St. Medard's. As she tries to keep the inn solvent enough to cover the care for her Alzheimer's afflicted mother, Geneva's summer guests include writer August Fletcher. He's working on a book about Lo Bailey's scandalous affair and subsequent murder trial..... and guess who's coming with him to provide authenticity to the project as well as clear her name - Lo Bailey herself, still a dynamic provocative force to be reckoned with. Emotions still run deep in the town when it comes to Lo, including those of Geneva's loyal assistant Edie, who doesn't appear as if she's......well, particularly high on Lo. And August, fueled with dreams of crafting a bestseller, seems bound and determined to probe every detail of what really happened to young Fitzroy on that eventful, storm tossed night.
Need I describe more? Wouldn't dream of it. Because of course there's a host of long held, well kept secrets and plot twists that commence rolling in like the tide. Also rolling in, to nobody's surprise given the the town's location - the next whopper of a Category 5 Hurricane, relentlessly on a course to smash right into St. Medard's Bay and the Rosalie. And it's entirely possible that once again, someone might not make it through the storm.......but through no fault of the storm.
'The Storm' does take its own sweet time to get past its initial set-up and all the required exposition and past histories, but once it gets going (and the winds start blowing), it efficiently moves toward its great big whammer of a finale along with a bittersweet satisfying little conclusion. But I'm pretty sure some readers will think twice before booking a stay at a beachside Gulf Coast inn during Hurricane season.....at least not without life-jackets
4 stars (****).
