Title: The StormAuthor: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Format: Audio ALC and Kindle ARC
Narrators: Alex Knox; Cathi Colas; Dan Bittner;
Jane Oppenheimer; Patti Murin;
Petrea Burchard; Stephanie Németh-Parker
Length: 7 hrs 49 mins
Date of Publication: January 6, 2026
My Rating: 5 Stars
DESCRIPTION:
St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama is famous for three things: the deadly hurricanes that regularly sweep into town, the Rosalie Inn, a century-old hotel that’s survived every one of those storms, and Lo Bailey, the local girl infamously accused of the murder of her lover, political scion Landon Fitzroy, during Hurricane Marie in 1984.
When Geneva Corliss, the current owner of the Rosalie Inn, hears a writer is coming to town to research the crime that put St. Medard’s Bay on the map, she’s less interested in solving a whodunnit than in how a successful true crime book might help the struggling inn’s bottom line. But to her surprise, August Fletcher doesn’t come to St. Medard’s Bay alone. With him is none other than Lo Bailey herself. Lo says she’s returned to her hometown to clear her name once and for all, but the closer Geneva gets to both Lo and August, the more she wonders if Lo is actually back to settle old scores.
As the summer heats up and another monster storm begins twisting its way towards St. Medard’s Bay, Geneva learns that some people can be just as destructive—and as deadly—as any hurricane, and that the truth of what happened to Landon Fitzroy may not be the only secret Lo is keeping…
MY THOUGHTS:
“Memories. Echoes. Time circling back on itself.”
Rachel Hawkins’ latest book has a variety of style Include podcasts, tabloid and press articles, interviews and memoirs.
One of my favorite narrative styles is the locked-room mystery. This is precisely the type of setting of Hawkins’ latest novel, The Storm. The story unfolds during the storm season in Alabama, spanning both the past and present. While hurricanes aren’t new to St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama, “once in a lifetime” storms are predicted to hit St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama, bringing with them a sense of impending doom. Decades before, the very same type of storm hit the town, and that storm left a dead body that was quickly ruled a murder.
The town’s inn, run by Geneva Corliss, is struggling. She is relieved to now have a couple of open-ended reservations. True crime writer August Fletcher is one of the inn’s guests and he is accompanied by Lo Bailey. Forty years previously there was a murder during the town’s first storm, and Lo was found guilty of that murder. Some more notoriety would be just fine as far as Lo is concerned, and this is why she is in town now.
The murder case has never been forgotten by the townspeople, even after Lo’s release. August is preparing a new article, and the impending storm adds an eerie atmosphere to the unfolding events.
This thrilling gothic suspense story was brilliantly narrated by a talented cast of narrators. Their narration truly amplified the dark and suspenseful atmosphere of the story.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Born in Virginia and raised in Alabama, Rachel Hawkins has been writing since Kindergarten when her first book, a tense thriller involving a unicorn, a witch, and a princess, was called, “very imaginative!” by her teacher and “a searing work of genius” by her mother.
Since then, Rachel has written over a dozen books for children and adults (sadly all unicorn-free thus far), and been published in more than twenty countries. As Rachel Hawkins, she wrote the New York Times bestselling THE WIFE UPSTAIRS, a Southern Gothic twist on JANE EYRE that the Southern Review of Books called, “a thrill ride,” and Entertainment Weekly dubbed, “a gothic thriller laced with arsenic.” Her latest thriller, RECKLESS GIRLS, also debuted on the New York Times list with Kirkus calling it, “a soapy, claustrophobic page-turner.”
When not writing modern Gothic thrillers as Rachel Hawkins, she also pens paranormal romantic comedies under the name Erin Sterling. Her debut romance, THE EX HEX, was a Book of the Month pick as well as a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller.
Rachel currently lives in Auburn, Alabama with her husband, son, and five cats. (Yes, five. She knows.). In her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and picking up an assortment of creative hobbies she will give up on after a week or two. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram.
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