The Storm

The Storm is yet another reminder of why, when I see Rachel Hawkins’ name on a cover, I don’t even hesitate... I pick it up. I love books that transport me: to another time, another place, another emotional weather system. And this one does all of that and more.

This is a slow‑burn mystery that understands the power of atmosphere. Hawkins doesn’t just use nature as a backdrop; she lets it breathe, loom, and press in on the characters. The approaching hurricane becomes both a plot device and a living presence, a force that shapes choices, reveals fractures, and stirs up the past. It’s one of the most compelling uses of weather-as-character I’ve read in a while.

The story moves between timelines, anchored by a murder from 1984 show more that ripples outward in ways no one expects. Hawkins builds tension with a careful hand. This isn't flashy, its not rushed, but it is a steady and tightening force and it reads just like watching storm bands roll in on the horizon. You feel the pressure drop. You feel the unease. You feel the inevitability.

This is the kind of mystery that makes you ask:
What would I do if I were trapped in a storm with the past clawing its way back?
And that’s exactly the kind of question I love a book to leave me with.

Atmospheric, tense, and threaded with Hawkins’ signature knack for secrets and simmering danger, The Storm is a perfect pick for readers who love mysteries shaped by place, weather, and the weight of long‑buried truths. show less

Rachel Hawkins is back with another fantastic murder mystery, THE STORM. This time, however, it isn't just a suspenseful whodunit; it is also a race against the clock in the face of an impending hurricane. It is a double thriller that pushes against societal norms and family secrets while paying homage to the terrible power of Mother Nature.

Since most people who read THE STORM have never or will never experience a hurricane, it would be easy to dismiss the attention Ms. Hawkins gives them in her story. After all, many a thriller/horror/suspense novel uses thunderstorms in its climactic scenes to add that extra layer of tension. A year ago, I would have been one of those people, as I have spent most of my life living in the Midwest. A show more funny thing happened after we moved to rural South Carolina, however. Hurricane Helene hit the Gulf Shore so hard and so fast that it didn't slow down as it made its way inland. Instead, it hit interior towns and cities with the same force as it would have coastal areas. Being so far inland helped with flooding, but it did nothing to help with the wind.

Hurricane Helene officially hit my house on the Georgia/South Carolina border around 9 PM, and to say it left an impact is an understatement. In the Midwest, we worry about tornadoes and severe thunderstorms, the kinds that create baseball-sized hail and flatten crops. What I didn't understand until the night of Helene is that with a tornado or a thunderstorm, you know that it won't last long. Science shows that such storms can only behave that way for a certain amount of time before the moisture fueling the storm disappears. This is not true for hurricanes. Hurricanes are hours upon hours of sustained winds at damaging speeds with gusts that are even worse. There is no easing of the storm; the sizes of hurricanes mean that they are not 10, 20, or even 30-minute deluges from the heavens. That horrible wind blew most of Thursday, slowly getting worse throughout the day until the heart of the storm came through in the wee hours of the night. It was a terrifying experience; I have never been through anything like it and hope I never do again. And I was inland. We didn't have rising surf, high waves, or tides to deal with as well.

While reading THE STORM and reliving each character's experience with a major hurricane, I felt that same terror I felt that night a year ago. The waiting - for it to arrive and for it to be over - is excruciating. Not only because waiting is always a trial, but also because you don't know how bad it will be. It's like getting your ears pierced or undergoing a procedure; they can tell you how you should feel, but you won't believe it until it happens. The build-up is half the terror. During the storm, you want it to be over, not just because it is so loud and chaotic, but also because you want to see what the cost of the storm will be. You did the prep work, and now you want to see what you missed. How many felled trees will there be? What about property damage? It is all racing in the back of your mind, as all you can do is sit and wait for the silence to return. Ms. Hawkins captures all of it in THE STORM, making it easily one of the scariest side characters I've ever come across.

Ultimately, the Fitzroy murder mystery, which is the crux of THE STORM, is a bit anticlimactic when paired with the hurricane. Wisely, Ms. Hawkins uses that portion of her story to focus on the gender inequalities behind the investigation and media coverage. As we all continue to wait for fallout from the Epstein files revelations, Ms. Hawkins shows how white men with political power and/or money continue to benefit from a lack of media scrutiny into unsavory relationships. We see time and again how the media and the townspeople vilify Lo Bailey as the femme fatale, while never once questioning the much-older, very married man's participation in the relationship. While Ms. Hawkins doesn't provide any answers as to why people continue to use the idea that teenage girls are actively trapping older, often married men in relationships, she does highlight that people would still rather blame the woman for anything bad that befalls a male.

Without the hurricanes weaving into and out of the story, THE STORM would not be as powerful as it is. Better yet, I'm not certain you can fully appreciate just how well Ms. Hawkins captures the feelings of helplessness and terror that fill you during one of those powerful storms. I don't think I would have liked THE STORM half as much as I did had I never sat through the night waiting for Hurricane Helene to either die down or blow my house away. The murder mystery is good, and the secrets Geneva slowly uncovers are surprising in their own way, but it is the storms in THE STORM that captivated me the most. show less

Rachel Hawkins returns this January with “The Storm,” and you’ll want to be in the eye of it! I’m giving it 4 wicked stars. The only thing I’d swap is the cover. This book deserves something so bold you’d want to frame it above your bed.

Thanks to the author and St. Martin’s Press for this gifted ARC. All opinions are my own.
St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama, is no stranger to hurricanes or scandal. In 1984, Lo Bailey was accused of killing her lover, the governor’s son, during Hurricane Marie, leaving the town buzzing and her reputation in ruins. Scandal level: legendary.

Now, Geneva Corliss hustles to keep the Rosalie Inn afloat, crossing her fingers that August Fletcher, true crime writer extraordinaire, will sprinkle some show more much-needed buzz. Then Lo waltzes back in, ready to rewrite her legend.

Another storm rolls in, and the woman everyone thought was guilty steps back into the spotlight. Hawkins amps up the tension with dual timelines that snap together like puzzle pieces, daring us to guess who’s telling the truth. One minute I was Team Lo, then I bounced to others. My inner sleuth was exhausted.

Lo is still magnetic. Now in her 60s, she still attracts plenty of attention. Geneva is caught between survival mode and nosy neighbor, making her the perfect match for Lo’s drama. Together, they turn the Rosalie Inn into a stage where past and present collide. I couldn’t look away!

“The Storm” explores who gets to own the narrative in this addictive murder mystery. Hawkins hooked me with atmosphere, sharp dialogue, and relentless twists. This fierce thriller is about legacy and power. I highly recommend it for anyone who loves a twisty mystery with real emotion.

#TheStorm #RachelHawkins #GiftedARC #StMartinsPress #NetGalley show less

Rachel Hawkins returns this January with “The Storm,” and you’ll want to be in the eye of it! I’m giving it 4 wicked stars. The only thing I’d swap is the cover. This book deserves something so bold you’d want to frame it above your bed.

Thanks to the author and St. Martin’s Press for this gifted ARC. All opinions are my own.
St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama, is no stranger to hurricanes or scandal. In 1984, Lo Bailey was accused of killing her lover, the governor’s son, during Hurricane Marie, leaving the town buzzing and her reputation in ruins. Scandal level: legendary.

Now, Geneva Corliss hustles to keep the Rosalie Inn afloat, crossing her fingers that August Fletcher, true crime writer extraordinaire, will sprinkle some show more much-needed buzz. Then Lo waltzes back in, ready to rewrite her legend.

Another storm rolls in, and the woman everyone thought was guilty steps back into the spotlight. Hawkins amps up the tension with dual timelines that snap together like puzzle pieces, daring us to guess who’s telling the truth. One minute I was Team Lo, then I bounced to others. My inner sleuth was exhausted.

Lo is still magnetic. Now in her 60s, she still attracts plenty of attention. Geneva is caught between survival mode and nosy neighbor, making her the perfect match for Lo’s drama. Together, they turn the Rosalie Inn into a stage where past and present collide. I couldn’t look away!

“The Storm” explores who gets to own the narrative in this addictive murder mystery. Hawkins hooked me with atmosphere, sharp dialogue, and relentless twists. This fierce thriller is about legacy and power. I highly recommend it for anyone who loves a twisty mystery with real emotion.

#TheStorm #RachelHawkins #GiftedARC #StMartinsPress #NetGalley show less

This suspense novel was a compelling read. Composed of excerpts from books, magazines, tabloids, and other sources, the story of what happened in 1984 in St. Medard's Bay, Alabama, when Hurricane Marie whipped threw and left Landon, the scion of the wealthy Fitzoy, dead.

Pressure from the governor who happened to be Landon's father caused Landon's local lover Lo Bailey to be accused and tried for his murder. There was a hung jury but that didn't mean the Lo wasn't convicted by the court of public opinion.

Now, it is 2025 and Lo has come back to St. Medard's Bay to stay at the Rosalie Inn along with the man who is writing the book about what happened all those years ago. Geneva Corlis is the current owner of the inn. Her mother who was show more one of Lo's best friends suffers from early-onset Alzheimer's and is in a nursing home.

Geneva is struggling to hold on to the inn. Every guest is a blessing and will help with her maxed out credit cards. A writer who wants to stay for at least a month and is willing to pay double her normal rates seems like a gift from heaven.

Flashbacks fill in the reader on what happened in the past and Geneva learns all sorts of family secrets through the course of the story. And a new hurricane has St. Medard's Bay in its sights just as the most damning secrets are set to be revealed.

This was a twisty story the was the ultimate page-turner. I couldn't put it down. show less

THE STORM is an atmospheric Southern gothic mystery set along the Alabama coast in St. Medard’s Bay (which I kept calling "Menard's" like the midwestern hardware store chain). The story is told over different hurricanes throughout the years, none of which has destroyed the Rosalie Inn, so far.

In 1984, a man was murdered near the inn, and a young woman was accused and slandered. Now four decades later, a journalist brings that same woman back to the Rosalie while writing a true crime book on the scandal. Geneva, the current owner of the struggling establishment, is excited for the business the book will bring in. However, her two guests and yet another impending hurricane will be stirring up a whole heap of drama.

I really enjoyed this show more one and the unique way the story was told. Definitely an engaging read, one that kept pulling me back in when I had to set it down to do other things. It was a slow burn to start, but the pacing picked up and concluded with an exciting ending.

I had to laugh because in the book it mentions that "Geneva" is a weird name for a Southerner, but my great aunt was named Geneva and we're from Georgia, so there's that, lol. show less

Lo is a young woman is accused of murdering her lover in the midst of a hurricane in the 1980s. Now she's returned to her small hometown in Alabama to write a book about it. Geneva runs the local Rosealie Inn while trying to care for her mother who has dementia. She's unprepared for all the ways Lo's return and the author she brought with her will change her life. This was a wild ride that layers generational trauma upon ancient grudges and current storms. I loved the way the author wove the female friendships together and fleshed out the background of each character. I saw some of the ending coming, but that didn't take away from the enjoyment of the book at all.