The Storm

I love Rachel Hawkins’ books. An Alabama girl who knows how to choose the perfect setting for a fast-paced mystery always has my heart, and any story set on the Gulf Coast attracts my attention since those beaches were the stomping grounds of many of my childhood summers and school breaks.

Set in St. Medards Bay, Alabama, Geneva is struggling to keep her parents’ inn on the bay afloat. Her father has passed away, and her mother’s mind has been stolen by early-onset dementia. Furthermore, Chris, her boyfriend (ex now), decided the Hallmark version of this life was about all he could handle and bolted when things got hard.

Enter Lo Bailey, a local girl once accused of murdering the governor’s son during a hurricane years earlier. She returns to town with a journalist named August, who plans to help her finally tell her side of the story. Geneva is thrilled to have two rooms booked for weeks and hopeful that maybe, just maybe, the Rosalie Inn might find its way back onto the tourist map.

But secrets have a way of surfacing along the Gulf Coast. As the truth about that long-ago summer begins to unravel, including pieces that involve Geneva’s own mother, things get very interesting, and quickly. Hawkins once again proves she knows exactly how to deliver a smart, atmospheric mystery that keeps the pages turning.

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