Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel Hawkins, and St. Martin's Press for an eARC of this book.

I really liked this book! I thought the way the author used news articles, publications, and multiple POVs to let the plot unfold. The tension and mystery built up like a summer storm and peaked at the most dramatic point of the storm. Even the hurricanes themselves seemed to be their own characters. The answer behind the mystery is hidden in plain sight but also keeps you questioning throughout the story.

Anything Rachel Hawkins writes … I will buy and read! I was so excited I was able to get this as an ARC and I dropped the book I was reading, to start this one!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.
Rachel Hawkins is one of my go-to authors and this book might just be my favorite of hers. It's SO good: the writing and format of the story, plus the different viewpoints of the characters, are brilliant and you can practically feel the cloying damp heat and hear the sound of the hurricanes.
The murder mystery is gripping till the very end (which I didn't see coming!), I really didn't want to finish the book...

I don't think I've ever read a book with so much atmosphere before and I loved it. The tension between the characters and the spooky feeling you got while reading about the storms was top-notch. You think it's just about a murder that happened years ago, but as the story goes on you realize it's so much more than that; it's also about friendship and family and the ways relationships can be destroyed. I did figure out some of the mysteries in the book before they were revealed, but the journey getting there was so much fun. I loved the main character, Geneva, also- she was over forty and still trying to figure things out in her life, which is so realistic to me. And Lo! She was such a well-written character and I adored her attitude and spunk.

I flew through this book in less than two days and think it's the perfect summer read!

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

A dramatic sweeping story set in a Southern beachside town at a motel that has withstood multiple storms and hurricanes. I enjoyed the mystery and twists along the way, revealing past secrets. The early pages of the book are a bit disjointed, but hang in there for a great read, because it will be worth it!

just an average thriller to me- nothing mind blowing and felt a-bit repetitive, twists and turns were predictable etc

i do think it could be a fun summer beach read thriller if you want a quick fun time! I find thrillers so hard to rate because what I find to be predictable, someone else might be blown away by and vice versa so obviously take this review with the grain of salt.

I really liked the premise/plot and I haven't read too many coastal thrillers and it did make for the perfect end of summer read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's press for the ARC!

A mistress is accused of a murder many years ago. Now a man reaches out wanting to write her story.

This was just so-so. Nothing mind blowing. There were parts that seemed really repetitive especially in the beginning and things that seemed out of place. Some of the twists and turns were predictable. The beginning also seemed sooo long winded as nothing exciting happens until later in my opinion.

Overall, I personally was disappointed but I could see others enjoying this.

Thank you to netgalley for this free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This may be Rachel Hawkin's best book yet. This one will be raved about and a big hit for the year because it was that good. It has a little bit of every genre within its pages. It's a classic whodunnit with lots of twists and turns and a little bit of historical fiction as the book centers around the town of St. Menard's Bay which has been hit by hurricanes over the span of several decades.

Geneva is an inn keeper at the famed "The Rosalie Inn". The inn has been in the family for several generations and despite the many hurricanes that have ravaged the coastline; The Rosalie stands strong. The story centers around a woman named Gloria 'Lo' Bailey who was accused at the age of 19 of murdering her much older lover Landon Fitzroy. Fitzroy is found dead after hurricane Marie sweeps through St. Menard's Bay in 1984. What seems like a death caused by nature soon turns into a murder investigation after it is discovered that Landon had been bashed in the head several times and could not have died in the hurricane because there wasn't water in his lungs. The obvious suspect is Lo, but because the jury was deadlocked her trial resulted in a mistrial and was never tried again. Despite the mistrial, the public opinion paints her as a guilty, jilted lover and Lo moves away and struggles to make ends meet through the next several decades.

A writer named August Fletcher takes interest in Lo's story and convinces her to write a book as sort of a tell all about her life and what really happened with Landon Fitzroy. Together they go back to St. Menard's bay and stay at the renowned Rosalie Inn where Geneva agrees to host them for a long term stay at the inn while they work on the book. Once they arrive at the inn the secrets surrounding the death of Landon Fitzroy begin to unfold. Page by page the reader is taken on a roller coaster ride as nothing is at it seems and everyone involved has secrets.

This is hand down one of my best reads of the year. I really enjoyed Rachel Hawkin's book, "The Heiress", but this one tips the scales as being one of the best books she has ever written and I will absolutely recommend this one to everyone I know. 5 stars!

I really enjoyed reading The Heiress (still need to get to The Villa!) and was excited to see a new story from Rachel Hawkins.

I was not disappointed!

The Storm is set in a fictional coastal town in Alabama plagued by disastrous hurricanes over the decades. We see several mysterious unfold that surround Geneva, a local who is trying to run the beachfront inn that has been in her family for generations. This book had mystery, heartbreak, and the setting was just so perfect. The eeriness and history that the author created for the town fit in line with the feel of the book.

Rachel did such a great job leading you to feel one way about a character, and then the next chapter you are totally unsure. The ending was *chef's kiss*.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and Rachel Hawkins for the advanced copy!

Rachel Hawkins made it near the top of my auto-download list in record time, and this book is a terrific example of why. Taut but dripping with honey...or is that blood?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance read. Atmospheric, taut, and gripping, I found this novel to be un-putdown-able. The setting is an old inn on Alabama's Gulf Coast as owner Geneva struggles to keep her legacy sustainable amid hurricanes and a decades-old murder. The story unravels via different characters' voices which lends the novel a unique and compelling way of revealing the plot.

Rachel Hawkins’ latest thriller, “The Storm,” takes place in “The Rosalie,” a beach front hotel in a town called St. Medard’s Bay, on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. The hotel has withstood multiple hurricanes in its 100 year history, including Hurricane Marie, which took place 40 years ago and still resonates in the town. It was during that hurricane that Langston Fitzroy, the playboy son and political heir to the State’s Governor, died, allegedly murdered by Gloria “Lo” Bailey, his teenage girlfriend, who was acquitted of the crime, but never completely exonerated in the public’s eyes.

Forty years later, Lo returns to St. Medard’s Bay with August Fletcher, a journalist. Fletcher plans to interview Lo for a book which details the events surrounding that fateful night in 1984. Lo and Fletcher stay at “the Rosalie,” where the proprietor, Geneva (“Gen”) Corliss is drawn unwittingly into their orbit, not knowing which, if either of them, can be trusted.

The narrative of the current time period is interspersed with events from the past, including excerpts from books and journals. As the chapters count down the days to the next big hurricane, everything begins to come to a head in unexpected ways and long buried secrets come to light.

This latest novel had all of Rachel Hawkins’ trademark features, including well-drawn if flawed characters, a compelling storyline and a beautiful, fully-realized setting. My only quibble with the book was that I sometimes got confused about who was narrating, due to the sudden, unexpected shifts in perspective and excerpts from written accounts from the events of 40 years ago. Perhaps the confusion will be cleared up in the final version of the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Hurricanes, secrets, and a small-town scandal… “The Storm” by Rachel Hawkins gives you a super twisty and bingeable atmospheric thriller that is sure to keep you on edge! Geneva is running an inn at St. Medard’s Bay that has been in her family for decades, where an infamous murder involving a politician’s son took place years prior. Lo Bailey, the accused, has maintained her innocence and returns to tell her side of the story in hopes of clearing her name once and for all. This story has alternating timelines and multiple POV’s that’ll keep you guessing til the very end!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I am a big fan of Rachel Hawkins and was thrilled to receive an e-arc of her latest release. The Storm kept me reading until I finished without wanting to put it down. I will say that I was slightly confused as to the POV that I was reading because there were a lot of changes and it wasn't until the end of the paragraph that I knew whose part that was. That may have been the way the the arc was formatted, so that may change. Making the storms there own characters was unique and fitting to the plot.

The Storm
by Rachel Hawkins
⭐ 3.75 stars

Big thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for letting me read the eARC. My last couple of reads were a bit forgettable, so I was banking on Rachel Hawkins—queen of tangled secrets and unlikeable-yet-irresistible characters—to hook me. And she did. Mostly.

St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama: home to deadly hurricanes, the century-old Rosalie Inn, and one of its most infamous residents—Lo Bailey. Back in 1984, during Hurricane Marie, Lo was accused of killing her married politician boyfriend, Landon Fitzroy. She was never convicted, but the scandal stuck like salt spray on a window.

Now the Rosalie belongs to Geneva “Gen” Corliss, who’s more interested in keeping the inn afloat than solving thirty-year-old mysteries—until writer August Fletcher shows up. But August isn’t alone. He’s brought Lo Bailey herself, who claims she’s finally ready to set the record straight. The problem? Every time Lo opens her mouth, you can’t tell if she’s peeling back layers or just laying down new ones. And as another storm creeps toward the coast, it’s clear the weather isn’t the only dangerous thing rolling in.

The alternating POVs are smooth, the pacing is a slow simmer (in a good way), and the “wait, are they? could they? no way… maybe?” moments kept me on the hook. Hawkins nails the Southern coastal mood—you can practically feel the humidity frizzing your hair and taste the impending storm.

My hang-up? Lo never fully sold me. She’s magnetic, but her charm feels like a lure, and you’re not sure if she’s pulling you closer or into deeper water.

Overall: moody, twisty, and hard to put down. A solid Hawkins read, even if I’m still side-eyeing Lo from the safety of dry land.

A moody coastal mystery set in St. Medard’s Bay. Decades of secrets, four deadly hurricanes and fractured friendships collide. At its heart is Lo Bailey, once the small town girl accused of murdering the governor’s son, Landon Fitzroy and Geneva, the Rosalie Inn’s owner. When Lo and August Fletcher arrive at the inn to work on her memoir, a looming hurricane stirs up long-buried truths. The shifting timelines kept me engaged, even if I guessed the killer before the final reveal.

This was phenomenal! It kept my interest to the point I could not put it down. I thoroughly enjoyed this entire ride and the fun fear level the storms added!

The Storm was such a fun, intense read! Rachel Hawkins hooked me right from the start with her sharp writing and fast-paced story. I loved the mix of mystery, suspense, and just the right amount of drama to keep things interesting without ever feeling over the top.

Very fun mystery. Living in the south means you have a healthy respect for hurricanes. Maybe you don't always evacuate but you know how to prepare for damage. The Storm weaves a multigenerational mystery with the impact of multigenerational hurricanes in an Alabama beach side town. The main character, Geneva, isn't well developed but Lo and her best friends, Ellen and Frieda, have a strong presence. As does the skirt-chaser Landon. I really enjoyed this. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

This one really wasn't for me despite enjoying this author's other books. I had a hard time getting into the mystery at hand, and when I'm reading a thriller, I don't want to be bored, which I was.