Alice Blanchard

Having read Blanchard's Darkness Peering and The Breathtaker, I knew that I would enjoy her writing style. That certainly hasn't changed; her words flow smoothly and create vivid pictures, and the story moved along quickly. However, I am glad the story moved swiftly because the book suffers from "too much middle" and needed tighter editing. It certainly didn't help that I deduced very early on the identity of the killer, and-- although she has reason to be fragile-- Kate's insecurities wore show more me down.

On the whole, A Breath After Drowning is a fast-paced enjoyable read with a thought-provoking plot, and I'm glad I read it. Give it a try! show less

Review of eBook

The annual October celebration in Burning Lake, New York culminates in a town packed with tourists celebrating Halloween. The Monster Mash music competition is over, the Witches’ Ball is coming to a close, and soon all that will be left is the massive clean-up.

Burning Lake Police Department detective Natalie Lockhart is one of the many volunteers working on the clean-up that will likely take most of the week to complete. But the gruesome discovery of a young woman’s body show more lying in a dumpster interrupts her volunteer efforts. No one knows the identity of the young woman with the enigmatic tattoo on her arm and the callus beneath her chin.

As Natalie investigates, she uncovers other disappearances that, while seemingly unrelated, may actually link to her case in some way. And she begins to wonder if this murder case has any connection to the disappearance, some twelve years earlier, of her best friend, Bella Striver. Can Natalie find the answers before someone else falls victim to the killer?

Burning Lake, a sleepy little rural town, retains its atmospheric pensiveness in this, the second Natalie Lockwood narrative [following “Trace of Evil”]. As with the previous story, the setting firmly anchors the narrative while an underlying creepiness pulls the reader into a captivating story filled with mystery and populated with well-defined, realistic characters.

References to events that took place in “Trace of Evil” give clarification and provide backstory for readers new to the series. However, allusions to some events remain hazy and only half-explained, leaving those new readers to wonder exactly what took place. And, while readers are certain to grieve with Natalie over the loss of her sister, Grace, the detective’s incessant mournfulness throughout most of the narrative tends to overwhelm readers and keeps them from being fully involved in the telling of the tale.

The unfolding story surprises readers with unexpected revelations, but with some significant events left up in the air, they are likely to feel frustrated. Despite being a strong presence in this narrative, Bella’s story remains static and problematic, giving readers no closure. And a completely out-of-the-blue ending is certain to leave readers feeling both stunned and flummoxed.

Nevertheless, the story itself is complex and intriguing.
Unfortunately, an unnecessary, offensive expletive mars the telling of the tale and lowers the rating for this book.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#TheWickedHour #NetGalley show less

So this is the second in the series, and while I loved the first one, I am a bit more lukewarm about this one. It's not the mystery. I thought the mystery was great. And like the first one, there is a great autumnal/Halloweeny/witchy vibe that I think the author does a spectacular job in conveying. I also love her insights into the main character and her flaws, and particularly her grief in this book.
Unfortunately, I thought this book jumped around with the backstory (and did so with much show more vague innuendo) that it felt almost disjointed and, even though I had read the first one, I felt a little confused at times. I would have to say to anyone interested in reading this one, to definitely read the first one. If you have read the first one, I would still recommend this one. It has all the great components of the first one. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy. show less

I'm not sure what I expected with this book, but it truly surprised me. It is very well-written, and the character development is well crafted. I usually don't expect these two components in a thriller, so this book was a pleasant surprise. The book is extremely well-plotted too and the tension builds up and builds up throughout the book. It literally left me on the edge of my seat throughout. Not only that, but I got a lot of information about storms and particularly tornados. The book is show more terrfiying, both with the tremendous storms and the damage they cause and also because of the totally fascinating and chilling killer that stalks the country during tornado season. This depraved individual wreaks havoc on families who have already had to deal with enormous loss inflicted by a catastrophic tornado. Charlie Grover is the police chief in small little Promise, Alabama. Charlie can't believe what he discovers in the wake of this murderer. This is a killer unlike any other he has ever dealt with, and he finds his family and himself personally in imminent danger as he tracks him all across Tornado Alley. A different premise for a thriller, but this is one exciting book. show less