Review of The Storm by Rachel Hawkins

The past and present storms added thrills and chills to the dual-timeline coastal Alabama story. Predicting a few elements of the mystery didn't diminish my enjoyment of the fast-paced tale in which a young woman digs to understand a suspicious death and ends up coming to terms with her legacy and her future.

St. Medard's Bay, Alabama, seems to attract the strongest of hurricanes, and the only building that's withstood every storm for a century is the charming Rosalie Inn.

But St. Medard's Bay was also the center of a media whirlwind in the early 1980s following the mysterious death of Landon Fitzroy, the governor's handsome son, in the midst of that year's hurricane. Married Landon was having a passionate affair with a beautiful, spunky local young woman, Lo Bailey, who was later accused of his murder but never convicted.

Now Geneva Corliss is running the money pit Rosalie Inn, taking up the mantle of her family's business. When Lo Bailey and a handsome ghostwriter come to stay while crafting a book about the events around Landon's death, Geneva begins uncovering secrets that shake what she always believed to be true regarding the inn, her community, and even her own family.

The small-town setting was great, and the pacing of The Storm moved along nicely. I felt equally invested in the past and present timelines, and while I predicted a few elements of the big reveal, I was intrigued by how Lo turned the demonization of the Other Woman on its head and gained power from the media slander and efforts to discredit her.

Hawkins delivers a wrapped-up, satisfying ending although (as becomes apparent in relatively early foreshadowing) not every character survives the modern-day storm.

I received a prepublication version of The Storm courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

More from Rachel Hawkins

Rachel Hawkins is also the author of The Heiress, The Villa, Reckless Girls, and The Wife Upstairs.