The Storm by Rachel Hawkins

Title: The Storm 

Author: Rachel Hawkins<

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Release Date: January 6, 2026

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…

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The Rosalie Inn is located in St. Medard’s Bay, a place famous for still standing after several hurricanes. The bay is also known for the death of the governor’s son, Landon Fitzroy, who had a promising political career and died during Hurricane Marie in 1984. After his death, his mistress, Lo Bailey, was accused of killing him, but the jury did not convict her.

Now, sixty years later, August Fletcher is interested in writing a book about what really happened during the hurricane and how Landon died. He has asked Lo to meet him at the Rosalie Inn for a series of interviews.

Geneva Corliss is the current owner of the inn. Her parents used to run it, but her father passed away, and her mother was later diagnosed with early-onset dementia. Geneva is feeling stressed about keeping the hotel afloat, but having two guests stay for several weeks is a welcome financial boost. Then, when she meets Lo, she realizes Lo once knew her mother—and there might be much more to the story of what happened in 1984.

The Storm had a strong premise, yet it wasn’t my favorite. Despite not being perfect for me, I loved the coastal atmosphere and the constant sense that danger was lurking nearby. I really liked Geneva as a character—I just knew she was going to get deeply involved in whatever was coming

The audiobook had a great cast of characters performed by Alex Knox, Cathi Colas, Dan Bittner, Jane Oppenheimer, Patti Murin, Petrea Burchard, and Stephanie Németh-Parker.

I'll be looking out for Rachel Hawkins' next book.

Cliffhanger: No

3.5/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gone Missing by Linda CastilloKate Burkholder #4

Title: Gone Missing

Series: Kate Burkholder

Author: Linda Castillo 

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Release Date: June 19, 2012

Rumspringa is the time when Amish teens are allowed to experience life without the rules. It’s an exciting time of personal discovery and growth before committing to the church. But when a young teen disappears without a trace, the carefree fun comes to an abrupt and sinister end, and fear spreads through the community like a contagion.

A missing child is a nightmare to all parents, and never more so than in the Amish community, where family ties run deep. When the search for the presumed runaway turns up a dead body, the case quickly becomes a murder investigation. And chief of Police Kate Burkholder knows that in order to solve this case she will have to call upon everything she has to give not only as a cop, but as a woman whose own Amish roots run deep.

Kate and state agent, John Tomasetti, delve into the lives of the missing teen and discover links to cold cases that may go back years. But will Kate piece together all the parts of this sinister puzzle in time to save the missing teen and the Amish community from a devastating fate? Or will she find herself locked in a fight to the death with a merciless killer?

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This series is only getting better!

A young Amish teenager has gone missing, and Kate is called in to consult with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. When a pattern emerges, it becomes clear there are more victims out there. Someone has been abducting young women for nefarious reasons. The clock is ticking, and Kate must do everything in her power to find them.

Linda Castillo knows how to write suspense. I’ve enjoyed every single book in this series. Kate is a great character—she’s smart and dedicated, but also deeply flawed, which makes her so relatable. John Tomasetti is the same. Together, they make a perfect match.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

 

Title: Don't Let Him

Author: Lisa Jewell

Publisher: Atria Books

Release Date: June 24, 2025

He’s the perfect man. It’s a perfect lie.

Nina Swann is intrigued when she received a condolence card from Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of her late husband, who is looking to connect after her husband’s unexpected death. Nick is a man of substance and good taste. He has a smile that could melt the coldest heart and a knack for putting others at ease. But to Nina’s adult daughter, Ash, Nick seems too slick, too polished, too good to be true. Without telling her mother, Ash begins digging into Nick’s past. What she finds is more than unsettling…

Martha is a florist living in a neighboring town with her infant daughter and her devoted husband, Alistair. But lately, Alistair has been traveling more and more frequently for work, disappearing for days at a time. When Martha questions him about his frequent absences, he always has a legitimate explanation, but Martha can’t share the feeling that something isn’t right.

Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever.

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Hands down, my favorite book by this author!

Nina Swann has lost her husband, Paddy Swann, after he was pushed onto the railroad tracks—a devastating event for the family and for his restaurants.

Nina and her grown daughter, Ash, are grieving when an unexpected package arrives. Nick Radcliffe, an old friend of Paddy’s, has sent them a lighter that once belonged to Paddy, along with a heartfelt note. Not long after, Nina begins dating Nick, who quickly immerses himself in their lives. Ash is uneasy about this man and starts her own investigation into who Nick really is.

In another town, Martha, the owner of a local florist shop, is worried about her husband, Alistair, who keeps disappearing on her and the family. What is he hiding?

Don’t Let Him In was perfectly unfolded. Every character had a clear reason to exist and a purpose. I was engaged until the very last word.

Cliffhanger: No

5/5 Fangs

The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson

Title: The Lost Ticket 

Author: Freya Sampson

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: August 30, 2022

Strangers aboard a London bus unite to help an elderly man find his missed love connection in the heartwarming new novel from the author of The Last Chance Library.

When Libby Nicholls arrives in London, brokenhearted and with her life in tatters, the first person she meets on the bus is elderly Frank. He tells her about the time in 1962 that he met a girl on the number 88 bus with beautiful red hair just like hers. They made plans for a date at the National Gallery art museum, but Frank lost the bus ticket with her number on it. For the past sixty years, he’s ridden the same bus trying to find her, but with no luck.

Libby is inspired to action and, with the help of an unlikely companion, she papers the bus route with posters advertising their search. Libby begins to open her guarded heart to new friendships and a budding romance, as her tightly controlled world expands. But with Frank’s dementia progressing quickly, their chance of finding the girl on the 88 bus is slipping away.

More than anything, Libby wants Frank to see his lost love one more time. But their quest also shows Libby just how important it is to embrace her own chances for happiness—before it’s too late—in a beautifully uplifting novel about how a shared common experience among strangers can transform lives in the most marvelous ways.

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Heartwarming!

Libby Nicholls has recently moved to London. At twenty-nine, she is currently living with her sister, her sister’s husband, and their young son, Hector. Libby’s boyfriend of eight years has ended their relationship. Worse still, she was living with him and working for him, so now she has lost both her home and her job.

One day, she takes the 88 bus—and that’s where she meets Frank. Frank is an eighty-two-year-old retired actor who had a highly successful career. He tells Libby he has been riding the 88 bus for the last fifty years, searching for the girl he met on the same bus long ago. She had given him her phone number on a ticket stub, but he lost it. They had planned to meet at the National Gallery, but the meeting never happened. Frank wants to find her again. He believes he owes her a debt of gratitude: she inspired him to follow his heart and pursue the acting career that gave him a fulfilled life.

After meeting Frank, Libby is determined to help him find this mysterious woman. Serendipitously, she also meets Dylan, a young man who works as Frank’s caregiver.

The Lost Ticket is utterly charming, filled with endearing and unforgettable characters. The novel offers many quiet life lessons and ends on a beautifully bittersweet note.

A journey well worth taking!

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

Breaking Silence by Linda CastilloKate Burkholder #3

  

Title: Breaking Silence

Series: Kate Burkholder #3

Author: Linda Castillo

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Release Date: June 21, 2011

Police Chief Kate Burkholder is called to the scene of a horrific tragedy on a peaceful Amish farm.

The Slabaugh family are model Amish farmers, prosperous and hardworking, with four children and a happy extended family. When the parents and an uncle are found dead in their barn, it appears to be a gruesome accident: methane gas asphyxiation caused by a poorly ventilated cesspit. But in the course of a routine autopsy, the coroner discovers that one of the victims suffered a head wound before death—clearly, foul play was involved. But who would want to make orphans of the Slabaughs’ children? And is this murder somehow related to a recent string of shocking hate crimes against the Amish?

Having grown up Amish, Kate is determined to bring the killer to justice. Because the other series of attacks are designated hate crimes, the state sends in agent John Tomasetti, with whom Kate has a long and complex relationship. Together, they search for the link between the crimes—and uncover a dark secret at work beneath the placid surface of this idyllic Amish community.

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I'm loving this series!

Kate Burkholder is the Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio. She grew up Amish and speaks fluent Pennsylvania Dutch, an invaluable skill in a town with a large Amish population.

Her latest case involves the deaths of three members of the Slabaugh family: the father, mother, and uncle, all apparently killed by methane gas asphyxiation in a manure pit. Their four young children are now orphans.

While investigating this tragedy, Kate is also handling a string of hate crimes against the Amish community. Then the autopsy on Mr. Slabaugh reveals head trauma that occurred before death. These weren’t accidents; someone murdered them. Kate begins to suspect the hate crimes and the Slabaugh killings are connected.

Once again, State Agent John Tomasetti is brought in to assist, and the sparks between him and Kate continue to fly.

I’m loving this series! I’ve read the first three books so far and can’t wait to keep going. Kate and Tomasetti are such compelling, deeply flawed characters; maybe that’s exactly why their connection feels so real.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

She Didn't See It Coming by Shari Lapena

 

Title: She Didn't See It Coming

Author: Shari Lapena

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Release Date: July 29, 2025

When a beloved wife and mother disappears, a luxurious condo building transforms into a potential crime scene, and the investigation begins: can the detectives find her before it's too late?

Bryden and Sam have it all: thriving careers, a smart apartment in a luxury condominium, supportive friends and a cherished daughter. The perfect life for the perfect couple.

Then Sam receives a call at his office. Bryden—working from home that day—has failed to collect their daughter from daycare. Arriving home with their little girl, he finds his wife’s car in the underground garage. Upstairs in their apartment her laptop is open on the table, her cell phone nearby, her keys in their usual place in the hall.

Except Bryden is nowhere to be seen. It’s as if she just walked out.

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A gripping suspense novel!

When the book begins, Bryce is running late to pick up her daughter from daycare when she is involved in a fender bender. Derek, the owner of the Tesla, is a handsome guy—and luckily, he doesn’t seem mad about the accident.

Six weeks later, Bryce’s husband, Sam, gets a call from daycare: Bryce has failed to pick up Clara from school. Sam is upset, but when he arrives home, he finds Bryce’s car in the garage, her laptop open, and her phone on the table as well. Sam immediately calls the police to report his wife missing.

Detective Jayne Salter is assigned to the case. She immediately suspects Sam—after all, isn’t the husband always the first suspect?

Several characters emerge as possible suspects in Bryce’s disappearance, but what really happened to her? Is she alive? Why would someone want her gone?

She Didn’t See It Coming had me flipping between two suspects. Almost until the very end, I kept changing my mind about who was involved.

I feel it would be a waste if Shari Lapena doesn’t write a second book in this universe. Several characters still have more story to tell.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena

 

Title: Not a Happy Family

Author: Shari Lapena

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books

Release Date: July 27, 2021 

In this family, everyone is keeping secrets--especially the dead. Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. You have to be rich to have a house there. And they don't come much richer than Fred and Sheila Merton. But even all their money can't protect them when a killer comes to call. The Mertons are brutally murdered the night after an Easter Dinner with their three adult kids. Who, of course, are devastated.

Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their capricious father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of them is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did one of them snap after that dreadful evening? Or was it someone else that night who crept in with the worst of intentions? It must be. After all, if one of your siblings was a psychopath, you'd know.

Wouldn't you?

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A terrible Easter!

Fred and Sheila Merton are found murdered in their expensive home in Brecken Hill, upstate New York.

Their adult children had been with them for Easter dinner, but they all left abruptly after a heated argument with their father.

Their aunt—Fred’s sister—claims he was changing his will to benefit her. Is she telling the truth, or is she lying?

Who killed them? Was it one of the children? The nanny? Or one of the spouses/boyfriend?

You have to read it to find out.

I’m new to this author, but now I’ve read several of her books. I didn’t like any of the characters—they were all so entitled. Yet that took nothing away from the entertainment. I was desperate to know if I was right about the murderer.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs