Happy Release Day!
Congratulations Rachel
on the release today of
The Storm!
The Storm by Rachel Hawkins
Mystery, Thriller, 288 pages
Published January 6, 2026 by St. Martin's Press
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 about The Storm ~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)
First lines—"'It's worse when they come at night'"
Hurricanes are really scary to live through. And then throw in a woman accused of murder coming back to town to try to clear her name. Is she really innocent or is she really up to no good?
As with all of the other stories by Rachel Hawkins, the reader is taken on a journey with questions piling up before answers are given. Twists and turns, secrets and lies abound. Getting to the truth is what kept me turning the pages. And what a satisfying ending it was, after all that.
I have read all of Rachel's thrillers and I am never disappointed. The Storm is another great one and I can highly recommend.
I received an ARC of The Storm and this is my honest opinion.
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About the author
Rachel Hawkins is the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs, Reckless Girls, The Villa, and The Heiress, as well as multiple books for young readers. Her work has been translated into over two dozen languages. She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University and currently lives in Alabama.
Connect with Rachel
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