Each book in the series is a stand alone but for maximum enjoyment I recommend reading the series in order. Claire is enjoying her summer with her daughter Jilly when her sister Darcy disappears leaving behind no clues except that a some exotic butterflies and butterfly larvae are missing from the butterfly farm where Darcy works. Was their foul play involved?
I really liked how the author channels the dark storm breaking over Claire and her household with the hurricane intensity storm bearing down on South Florida. The true story that emerges is pretty fantastical and I have to give kudos to the author's imagination. The journey to get to this fantastic unveiling is also exciting including the evil voodoo doll which it turns out is spying on Claire's household.
As Claire and her husband Nick start to piece through the clues with their collection of family and friends readers get prepared for a ride and revelations that will leave you gasping.

As usual, Karen Harpers keeps the reader interested and on edge. I always look forward to a new Harper book as do my library readers.

I am a huge romantic suspense fan but I just couldn’t get into this book . Not sure if it was because this was the first book of the series and author I was reading or something else . I didn’t understand the whole butterfly thing or the interpersonal relationships of the characters .

I have been reading novels by Karen Harper for years. I am glad I was picked to read this one because it is amazing. It has bit of everything, suspense, heart and great characters.

❤️ out of 5
Now I love a good romantic suspense book especially with a what happened and who dunnit storyline- so the fact that I didn’t read on to find out what happened means that I had REAL issues with the book.
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The hero and heroine are an established couple in love who have been through a lot (this is not the first book in the series). The heroine receives a distressing call when her sister leaves her phone and disappears without a trace. She has a whole family and life- where has she gone, what’s happened to her?
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Ok first- character overload! Within the first chapter we were introduced to at least 10 characters and honestly couldn’t tell you who the main characters were until chapter 2. Second- the scenes didn’t flow that well- lots of chopping and changing and that did not create suspense but mainly just had me scratching my head trying to figure out what the heck was happening 🤷🏻‍♀️. So in the end: this book wasn’t for me and was a DNF about a quarter of the way in.

Claire and her best friend Kris watched Claire’s seven year old daughter Lexi and nIece Jilly pulling weeds in the garden. Claire was married to Nick and they had a sixteen month old son Trey. Claire got a call from her sister Darcy’s phone but it was Ms Gerald her boss. She said she had went to the post office and when she got back Darcy and her car were gone. But she found Darcy’s phone on the floor of the first butterfly house, The door was left open and it housed exotic butterflies and some were now gone. But Darcy would not have left the door open . Claire said she would be there as soon as she could. Darcy worked part time at the butterfly farm. Claire asked Kris if she would watch the kids until she got a hold of her nanny. Claire felt something was very wrong. Jaci was Claire’s ex and Lexi’s dad. He was Mitch’s best friend and Mitch was engaged to Kris. Mitch and jace were pilots who went into storms to gather helpful information. Darcy had been Claire’s mainstay when their salesman father deserted them and their mother had retreated into her books and never left the house. Both Claire and Nick had called a contact they had in the PD-Ken Jensen - he came out to the butterfly farm. He had worked with missing people before. Nick knew he was going to have to call Darcy’s husband Steve. Claire was frightened for Darcy no woman’s intuition or forensic psychologist training, it was just a sisterly bond that had withstood so much over the years. At one time Lexi had been abducted and held captive. It had been terribly traumatic . Since than Lexi had slogged through mental and emotional turmoil. Could this loss and shock set her back? The nightmares had finally stopped . After being told about Darcy lexi ran back to hre room clearly distressed . Claire had the two girls together and she saw instantly Lexi was upset by how she reacted. Claire had made a mess of this. Now she had to help her daughter as well as her niece. Where is Darcy? Claire was laying in Lexi’s room with Jilly. She hoped to be able to ease off the bed if Jilly stopped crying and clinging. Darcy’s disappearance was the worst but Jilly’s fragile state and lexi slipping back into her unhealthy reliance on a imaginary friend going through an old doll was very painful. Claire had been taken also and held against her will. Steve arrived and he was a mess he wanted to find darcy and NOW! He was scared to death.
I really enjoyed this book. It had mystery, murder, manslaughter, sisters, am abduction, kidnapping, experimentation, butterflies, dolphins, intrigue, a hurricane, storm chasers, pilots, and so much more. I liked the plot as well as the subplots. It did drag a little at times. I loved how loyal Claire was to darcy. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend it.

Dark Storm is the 6th book in the South Shores series by Karen Harper and it's based around Forensic psychologist Claire Markwood and her family. Now, this is my first Karen Harper and South Shores book, and while I was very confused and disturbed in places (that flipping doll for one!), I quickly carried on and realized that Claire Markwood is to Naples, as Jessica Fletcher is to Cabot Cove!

Overall I found Dark Storm quite a startling read, that is well written and is something you would expect to see on Criminal Minds! When it came to the characters I wouldn't really figure out who the bad guy and good guys were straight off the bat, the storyline kept me guessing and I could have never have predicted the conclusion! But I feel that it’s a series I would like to read from the beginning.

I really have enjoyed this series and I hate to say goodbye, but there are six books, and they are all great reads.
If you have not read any of the past books, you might want to go back and read them too, that being said, this author is great at keeping you up to date with the previous reads.
Again, you will be on the edge of your seat, but as the answers unfold, I can only say “wow”, never saw some of this coming, great conclusion to this series, and I will miss the setting and looking forward to the next story!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Harlequin, and was not required to give a positive review.

Dark Storm
(South Shores #6)
by Karen Harper

Paperback, 384 pages
Expected publication: May 28th 2019 by Mira Books


Goodreads synopsis:
There are some forces you can't outrun... Forensic psychologist Claire Markwood has experienced her share of disaster. But nothing could prepare her for her sister, Darcy, going missing. Claire rushes to the butterfly sanctuary where Darcy has been working, prepared to do what she does best--work the clues. But her sister, along with her car and some of the sanctuary's rarest species of butterflies, has seemingly vanished without a trace.Amid a flurry of mysterious leads and dead ends, Claire and her criminal lawyer husband, Nick, tap every resource at their disposal. But the deeper they dig, the more unsettling the case becomes, dredging up old family secrets that shake the foundation of everything Claire thought to be true. Because some secrets aren't just threatening--they're deadly.

***

4.25 Stars

This is the sixth book and finale of the South Shores series. And unfortunately for me the first book I have read in the series. Nothing like coming in on the series finale.

Claire has quite a lot going on in this book. Her sister has mysteriously disappeared and left her phone in an unusual location. Her daughter has started her unusual obsession with her doll again… the obsession where the doll talks for her. And then a new doll shows up, one that is eerie and filled with what I can only imagine is artificial intelligence technology. Imagine Alexa or Siri in a baby doll. Right off the bat I contemplated if the small daughter had something to do with her aunt’s disappearance. Now that would have been a strange twist. There is also a threat of a big storm coming on the horizon. Think Hurricane Katrina. Lots of story potential here.

Some of the revelations seemed forced and where the author lead us is exactly where the plot went. Not a lot of red herrings here, I felt a little disappointed in that. With so much potential in the setting I was surprised that the author didn’t surprise me with where the plot was going.

There weren’t as many gasping bombshells as I thought there should be in a book of this genre. I anticipated the whole cryogenic plotline the moment the man said he wanted his brother’s head. I mean, why else would you want such a thing?

Even though the book was entertaining and well written, I wanted more. I have pushed off many of Harper’s books assuming them to be more scary than this. I will indeed dive into other books in her list and see how they fare against this one.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is one of the most intriguing, captivating series I've read. Karen Harper takes you right into the book with every page. The plot is exciting and exceptionally well written. I would recommend this entire series to everyone no matter the genre you like. Enjoy! 📚

Who knew there are butterfly farms much less that someone would steal butterflies? I didn't and that made this an intriguing read which I was swept into despite not having read the earlier books. Claire's sister Darcy has gone missing and Claire's determined to find her. This quest leads Claire and her husband Nick into a mess of things- and there's secrets, dangerous secrets, about what's actually going on. This folds in animal rights and a mystery (no spoilers!) business. The hurricane adds more drama but I didn't need to keep turning the pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Great book. I haven't read any of the other books in this series but I do have them on my kindle and will be reading them soon. The characters are relatable and easy to bond with. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc of this wonderful book.

I will review this on Amazon on May 28, 2019

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Dark Storm is the final book in the South Shores series. I had read most of the previous books from this series, and I will have to say this was my least favorite of the books. Although I found this to be a overall decent read, for me it was overloaded with characters, some I just didnt care for at all and found them to be unbelievable. For me that detracts from the storyline.

I just couldn’t get going with this book. None of the characters are very interesting despite having gone through what most people wouldn’t dream of. Just about all have been kidnapped, almost killed and this is just in one extended family. The kid with the doll is creepy and annoying. This is book 6 in a series and maybe I would have liked it more if I had read the previous five. I made it to the halfway point before calling it quits. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Dark Storm is the sixth and possibly final book in the South Shores series.

Claire's sister Darcy disappears along with some rare butterflies. There is a possible hurricane headed in their direction and Lexie is struggling with her Aunt Darcy disappearing. Claire tries to take care of her family and friends while she also searches for her sister.

A must read for Karen Harper fans especially if you have read the earlier books in the series.

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Mystery & Thrillers
Romance
Release Date: May 28, 2019

From the blurb:
Forensic psychologist Claire Markwood has experienced her share of disaster. But nothing could prepare her for her sister, Darcy, going missing. Claire rushes to the butterfly sanctuary where Darcy has been working, prepared to do what she does best—work the clues. But her sister, along with her car and some of the sanctuary’s rarest species of butterflies, has seemingly vanished without a trace.

Thoughts;
What a interesting story, Its book 6 in Karen Harpers world. i did not realise that until i was finished. I found the story intriguing and i found myself enjoying it. i liked how it was paced and liked the plot. I found it very hard to write reviews for books so far into a series. but overall 3 stars.

A very good mystery that will keep you hooked till the last page.
This is a well written page turner, with well written characters and a great setting.
The mystery was very good and it kept me guessing till the end.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

A Fantastic an Intense story .
I volunteered to read and review an advanced readers copy thru Netgallery of Dark Storm . I will start by saying this is a hundred percent an outstanding novel . It pulled me in from the start and kept me captivated all the way to the fabulous ending . It definitely keeps you reading . It is so suspenseful you cannot put it down , at least I couldn't . It is one heck of a rollercoaster ride for all the characters especially Claire and Nick and Darcy and Steve . The story is unpredictable and intense . I really enjoyed reading it . The story has so much action I was on the edge of my seat and turning the pages waiting for the next shoe to drop .Claire seems to attract trouble and danger and it finds her . The characters are such a unique collection of friends and family .This is a very interesting story . I highly recommend taking the time to read .

I didn't like this one as much as the others in the series. It didn't grab my attention. The story was good but the abundance of characters muddied things at times. The plot was different but it was easy to determine what was going to happen. Overall it's an okay read.

Although I haven't read the previous books in this series it didn't make it a confusing experience. There is a camaraderie between the characters and a familiarity which makes you almost a part of everything.

There are many facets to this story; a disappearance, a traumatised child, and all sorts of other happenings involving friends and family to keep Claire and her husband Nick on the edge of exhaustion and panic most of the time.

The detailed research undertaken by Karen Harper is obvious and I found the information about all the areas where the investigation took Claire and Nick fascinating and it made for a fast moving, intelligent book which was a pleasure to discover.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a well written and researched novel with an involved and satisfying storyline.