A fast paced and twisty mystery. Eve Roth, a physicist who studies, among other things, tornado activity (simplifying here), is shocked when she comes through a storm on her weather plane and sees a car burning in the middle of a rain storm. And she's even more upset when it's revealed to be her husband Matthew's Tesla. Matthew, a professor of chemistry at the University, has disappeared, leaving Eve and her father in law Earl, who lives with them because he's had a stroke, mystified. Jonah Kendrick is a private investigator and a psychic who has just been banned from working with his BFF at the Iowa City police- but he's convinced Matthew is in a barn with Celina, the woman he is searching for. This unlikely pair (and Earl) combine to hunt for answers, answers which will come as a surprise even to veteran thriller readers. This is wonderfully atmospheric and the characters stand out - not just Eve and Jonah but also Earl. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, The writing and the plot make it a page turner that's hard to review without spoilers- but it's terrific.

Her mind is always working, calculating.. So when her husband disappears she needs answers. Jonah Kendrick is a psychic detective. For four months he's been searching for a missing young girl. Now he's seen Eve's missing husband. His visions tell him the missing man is in the same place as that young girl. The only way to find the answers they both seek is for the logical physicist to team up with the psychic in a race against time.

Completely unpredictable, this is a roller coaster of action and heart pounding suspense. Eve has to let go of so much that is the backbone of everything she believes. Yet, grows to understand Jonah and learns to accept him and his visions. Though Eve is hardly a warm,, fuzzy character, at times she almost appears motherly in her interactions with Jonah. Together, along with Eve's invalid father in law, Eve and Jonah crisscross the icy roads of the state in an effort to beat the clock. It all culminates in a shocking reveal no one saw coming. With questions left unanswered, I have to assume there is more to come from the physicist and the psychic.

This was a good story which kept me turning the pages throughout the night. Great mystery, writing and plotting will recommend to all my friends who love this genre.

📱 NetGalley Review 📱

To Catch a Storm
By Mindy Mejia
Pub date: August 1, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance copy of TO CATCH A STORM in return for my honest review.

While flying her plane, Eve (a storm chasing physicist) sees a fire in the woods in the middle of a rainstorm. Her life will never be the same when she finds out that the burning car belongs to her husband… who has gone missing.

A psychic, a physicist, and an old man in a wheelchair go out into an ice storm.
It sounds like the beginning of a ridiculous joke, it it’s actually the plot of this new edge of your seat mystery/thriller.

💭 This book was a wild ride! It was so fast paced that I felt out of breath when I finished it.
Was it a bit far fetched? Yes
But I loved the bond between the VERY unlikely trio who set out to find their missing loved ones.

If you enjoy an action packed, dark and gritty, missing persons, unwittingly-overthrow-a-drug-cartel mystery/thriller, you’ll love this book!

Read this book if you like…
⛈️ Storm chasers
🧪 Science
🔮 Psychic detectives
🔎 Solving mysterious crimes
👫🧑‍🦽Unlikely trios
💊 Bringing down drug cartels

I was asked to review “To Catch a Storm,” and, hence, went into this novel without knowing what to expect.

Dr. Eve Roth is trying to determine what happened to her husband, Matthew, a chemistry professor who was suspended from his job due to an inappropriate relationship with a student. His car was found on fire in the middle of the storm, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Eve teams with Jonah, a psychic, who “sees” Matthew while looking for a missing girl. Thrown into the mix is Matthew’s dad, Earl, who had been living with his son and daughter-in-law.

The writer, Mindy Mejia, creates a juxtaposition of science against the supernatural. Apparently, “To Catch a Storm” is the start of a series. The novel is told in the alternating point of views of Eve, Jonah, and Max, a cop investigating the case. I think I would have preferred the point of view of Earl as Max’s voice did not add anything to the novel. While the novel has a slow start, if you are willing to be patience, things begin moving at a fast pace in the latter two-thirds. I would recommend this novel if you’re looking for something different from the same old thriller.

Three and a half stars.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. My thanks also to the publisher and the author.

This was an absolute firecracker of a book and I barely took a breath whilst I read it.

Eve Roth is a scientist. She deals in logic. When her husband goes missing and his car goes up in flames, in the middle of a rainstorm, she doesn't know what to think, but she knows there is something serious amiss.

Jonah Kendrick is a psychic and he knows there is more to the world than just facts. Unfortunately, Jonah comes across as flakey, to say the least, and he is dismissed by most people.

Max is a cop. He is also Jonah's closest friend and he has been tasked with trying to unravel the whole mess of where Eve's husband is as well as attempting to keep Jonah at a distance whilst keeping his job and his marriage intact. It is a big ask.

This story was a masterfully woven web and there were so many little threads that I wasn't sure were going to be incorporated but somehow they all were.

It started off so beautifully, and bit by bit, I got completely sucked into the plot. Of course the author threw in quite a number of red herrings as well. The final result is a tense, well crafted book.

I cannot WAIT to read the next book in the series! I am very excited to discover this new (to me) author, indeed.

5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Monthly Press.

Holy action-packed…what did I just read?! This is another example of sitting down to start a book, and not being able to finish it until it’s over. It’s definitely a page-turner, and it’s because of the plot and the great characters:

Dr. Eve Roth, a physicist who studies weather and atmospheric phenomena. She’s like Helen Hunt in “Twister”; her father died in a tornado and now she’s been chasing storms since. Her husband,

Matthew, is a professor at the University of Iowa, but has recently been suspended following allegations of sexual misconduct with a student. It’s his car that is on fire in the rain at the beginning of the book, and his disappearance is the catalyst for the story.

Earl is Matthew’s father, who lives with his son and Eve after suffering a stroke. Don’t count this feeble old man out, though - his mind is still sharp as a tack!

Jonah Kendrick is the psychic in the story - the one who teams with Eve to create a very unlikely duo. He’s been having dreams that may lead to Matthew…if only someone would listen, like his best friend,

Max, a member of the Iowa City Police Department and Jonah’s (former) best friend. Kendrick worked with the ICPD on many cases, but almost getting Max killed lost him his role of lead psychic investigator there.

When Eve and Jonah connect over finding Matthew, you get quite the odd couple - she believes in science, data, logic. He believes in his dreams and abilities. Their friendship, and their friendship with Earl, was so heartwarming. The characters in this really were flawless.

This was fresh and original, and I rarely say that about this kind of mystery book. The characters made the book, but you get lots of surprises and twists within this plot. The ending didn’t blow me away, but it was definitely surprising. The ending was also a little wild, but that’s my only complaint. 4.5 stars.

(Thank you to Atlantic Monthly Press, Mindy Mejia and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on August 1, 2023.)

If I'm honest, I have to say I enjoyed this book more than I should have; it lacks flow, is more than a little disjointed, making reading somewhat of a slog. Still, the plot is clever - despite some shredding of the credibility line - and two of the main characters were quirky enough to make me want to read about them again (which it seems may be possible since I've read this is the first of a series).

University of Iowa physics professor Eve Roth is knocked for a loop when she learns her husband's car has been found abandoned and consumed by fire - in the middle of a snow and ice storm, yet - but her husband (a currently suspended chemistry prof at the same university) is nowhere to be found. Not long afterward, a desheveled man named Jonah Kendrick shows up, claiming he's "seen" her husband Matthew - he claims to be a psychic detective. Eve's "prove it" mentality, though, won't allow her to believe a thing Jonah says.

Acting as a sort of middleman is local police detective Max Sanderlin, who's back on the job after being injured during a confrontation that involved a rather freaked-out Jonah, who's now persona non grata with the department and, for the most part, Max. For her part, Eve reminded me a bit of a combination of Patricia Cornwell's Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her helicopter-flying niece, Lucy). Jonah is pretty much odd man out; his behavior is erratic and sometimes annoying, but his visions - while freaky - usually are spot on. He's not so much consumed with helping Eve as finding his missing niece - and he's pretty sure the two cases are somehow connected.

As the story progresses, it comes as no surprise that Eve begins to see things through Jonah's visions and begins to apply her more rational thinking to the whole situation. That, in turn, leads to more trouble - and an exciting, and surprising, wrap-up (with a few loose ends left for the next adventure). All in all, a good effort, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get in at the ground level by way of a pre-release copy.

I have read all of Mindy's other books, and I felt this one was missing something in the begining. It started off a little slow for me and there was a lot more science invloved in the book than I would have thought. Since I hated science in high school and didn't pay a ton of attention, it kind of went over my head.

To Catch A Storm by Mindy Mejia
Publisher: Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press
Release Date August 1, 2023

Dr Eve Roth is desperately searching for her husband, Matthew, after his Tesla was found on fire during a winter rainstorm. But what did she really know about her husband? He was a Chemistry Professor for a university and had been suspended because of an inappropriate relationship with a student. His father Earl lives with them because of a stroke that happened after the loss of his wife. Dr Roth and Earl begin their search for Matthew by starting with the police. There they meet an investigator named Max. Max is employed with the Iowa city police Department and after being shot, has returned to work. Max has a friend who is a psychic and just happened to be at the station when Dr Roth and her father in law came in to inquire about a missing person filing. The officer and Jonah are searching for a young girl at the time. However, Jonah believes that Matthew has been killed. Can they find Matthew alive or is there something more sinister afoot?

This is a well written novel with characters that are developed and flawed. The story starts out slow at first but picks up after about 30%.. The blurb is what drew my attention but it was the plot that kept it.

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

Odd premise

“There are two truths in every story.”

To Catch a Storm is a dark thriller about a physicist whose husband goes missing and the psychic she partners with to find him.

Physicist Eve Roth studies storms and specializes in tornadoes. When her husband Matthew’s car is found on fire in the woods during a rainstorm, with no trace of Matthew, the police suspect foul play. Jonah Kendrick, a psychic private detective, might have the answers Eve is seeking.

This is a fast-paced read narrated by three: Eve, Jonah, and Max Summerlin, the police officer investigating the case. Eve was likable enough, Jonah didn’t feel fully formed, and Max’s chapters didn’t offer much. There was little distinction between voices and too much telling from the narrators.

The premise is a little strange and doesn’t fully work due to characterization. There is some time spent on scientific theories and weather data, but I was able to follow along with most of it.

Despite all of my complaints, this was a page-turner. The mystery behind Matthew’s disappearance kept me guessing. What seems to be a standard mystery/thriller takes a violent turn towards the end, and there are some gruesome scenes to contend with.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Grove Atlantic in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atlantic Monthly Press for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
3.5 stars
An interesting mystery, slow moving at first, picked up between 25-30%. The science went right over my head and ultimately distracted me from the story. I found myself skimming through the more science-y parts and since I didn't understand it to begin with, I don't feel like I missed anything. The ending wasn't very satisfying to me, not a cliffhanger but kind of left you there. I suspect this might be the start of a series, not sure I would continue on with it but I do enjoy this author so maybe I'll change my mind. I did like all of the main characters.

I loved this storm chaser book based in my home state of Iowa. This captivating, unusual read by Mindy Mejia will have me returning to her for future offerings, dear readers, please give this novel a try, especially if you are becoming bored by the "same old thing"!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this fascinating thriller!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: August 1, 2023
One of the first things that came to my mind when I started to read Mindy Mejia’s new novel “To Catch a Storm” was- this must be a series. I was worried I had started the series right in the middle and had missed previous installments and as it turns out I was right about one of these. “Storm” is indeed the beginning of a series, focused on psychic Jonah Kendrick and physicist Eve Roth.
After losing her father in a tornado, Eve Roth has spent much of her adult life researching weather patterns and trying to understand the worst storms Mother Nature can offer. When her husband’s car is found at the side of the road, in flames, during a rainstorm, Eve immediately knows something isn’t right. Then Jonah Kendrick approaches her, telling her he has had visions of her husband, alive but being held captive, and offers to help. What Jonah believes goes against everything Eve has ever known but she is desperate to find her husband and discover the truth about the man she married so she agrees to team up. Jonah and Eve set out on a race against time to rescue Matthew and hopefully find clues that will uncover the secrets Matthew has been hiding.
Do I believe in psychics? Absolutely not. Will I devour movies and novels and any other media with psychics at the helm? Absolutely. Maybe it’s their introverted, socially anxious personalities that I relate to, but I haven’t yet come across a “psychic” (in a fictional world, anyway) that I haven’t loved, and Jonah is no exception. Mejia gives a little bit of Jonah’s backstory as it relates to Eve’s missing husband and his partnership with the police detective on Matthew’s case, but I wanted to know more, especially about Jonah’s childhood and the development of his “abilities”. Mejia manages to create in Jonah a character that the reader feels sympathy for and yet Kendrick is not pitiable or pathetic in any way. Eve, a brilliant female physicist, also manages to remain human and relatable, and I was invested in their outcomes from page one.
The story is narrated by Eve, Jonah and by Max (the detective on Matthew’s case and Jonah’s best friend), and in this case the alternating story lines are vital to character development, as Max provides his own experiences with Jonah. Max, too, has his own flaws but is the prototypical “jaded police detective with a tender heart”. Although his perspective seems to be strictly to help add some bulk to Jonah’s character, I still liked Max and wanted him to succeed.
“Storm” is a police procedural with Twister vibes, and it was engaging and thoroughly entertaining. The ending delivered a sucker punch of a twist, and I will definitely be on the lookout for more Jonah Kendrick!

I received a free copy of, To Catch a Storm, by Mindy Mejia, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Eve is in trouble, after her husband is suspended from his job, he goes missing, and she is the number one suspect. A juicy read. This book kept me guessing until the end. I did not know who to trust.

I obviously didn't thoroughly read the blurb when I requested To Catch a Storm. If I had, I never would have requested a book about a psychic. But I read and enjoyed Everything You Want Me to Be, so I had made the request.
Dr. Eve Roth thought she knew her husband, Matthew. She knew him as a chemistry professor at University of Iowa, albeit suspended for an inappropriate relationship with a student. But then his Tesla is found on fire in the middle of a winter rainstorm. And everything she thought she knew is now in question.
Into this mix comes Jonah. A psychic looking for a missing girl. And he’s seen Matthew Moore in a barn. The same barn this young woman, Celina, was in. Of course, it was in a dream. There’s also a police detective assigned to Matthew’s case who is a friend of Jonah’s.
Mejia has created a dynamic setting. Eve and Jonah realize the connection just as a massive ice storm hits Iowa. These two are definitely an odd pair - a scientist and a psychic. But I just couldn’t buy into Jonah’s abilities. I was most drawn to Eve’s father-in-law, who has had a stroke.
The book moves at a fast pace, due in part to alternating between the three POVs. Scenes were disjointed. If a good book allows the reader to easily envision a scene, this was the opposite. The plot required me to suspend belief more than I was willing to do.
My thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance copy of this book.

I am big Mindy Mejia fan and was thrilled to have received this ARC. I had trouble getting into this at the beginning. I am not a science-oriented person and I felt bogged down with all the scientific details which went right over my head. About 1/3 of the way through, though, everything fell into place and I was engrossed. I liked the main characters with all their disabilities/quirks. Some of their actions were incredibly stupid but it definitely succeeded in propelling the plot forward. There was a lot more action than psychology in this particular thriller. I did figure out one of the main twists at the end but it was satisfying nonetheless. I will recommend this to fans of Shari Lapena and B. A. Paris.

Fun start to a new series! This is definitely something different than anything else out there. Interesting blend of science and urban fantasy! Looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

Winter ice storm in Iowa. An atmospheric physicist. A psychic. A missing husband.

Dr. Eve Roth is desperate to find her husband, Matthew Moore, whose car was found burning in the parking lot next to the woods. His disappearance is just the beginning of an action-packed search for the missing and answers to many questions. She's assisted by Jonah Kendrick, a psychic, who claims he has the ability to dream of the lost. He's on a mission of his own, looking for a young woman he says is trapped in a barn -- the same one that now holds Matthew.

This is fast and enjoyable especially if you are able to suspend disbelief. The narrative shifts between points of view as the story unfolds with some twists here and there. I see that this may be the first in a new series, so I may have to check out the next installment though I typically don't care for mysteries to have any paranormal elements. I love science and facts and those details in this book were quite interesting. I was surprised at the direction it took with the reveal of the "why" and also of who was responsible.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for this ARC to read and review.

Yes!!!!! Thank you Netgalley this was a fantastic read!! I wasn't sure about mixing supernatural and science but the author nailed it!! What an interesting read. I simply can not say enough good things about this book. Go grab a copy and settle in for a ride!