Book: The Storm by Rachel Hawkins
Reviewed by Deb.Reads.Books
Rating: 4/5
Geneva, owner of the struggling Rosalie Inn in St. Medard’s Bay, gets the booking of a lifetime when a journalist, August Fletcher, books an open-ended stay, offering double her normal rate. It becomes an even better booking when August brings Lo (the subject of his latest book) along & requests a room for her, offering to pay the same for her room as well. Lo is a disgraced former resident, accused of murdering her ex-lover, Landon, a prominent political figure, 40 years ago. Geneva plans to stay out of the way and focus on saving her business. St. Medard’s Bay is cursed with secrets, scandal and the wrath of Mother Nature, & Geneva is closer to all of it than she realizes.
The Storm was a quick read for me. It had a good blend of chaos, both the looming hurricane and the secrets that threaten to emerge from the flood waters. Rachel Hawkins did a seamless job incorporating multi POV and timelines, in a way that added to the story, rather than causing confusion. The back and forth was really, really well done, which is a feat considering that it’s usually one of my bookish pet peeves. The hurricanes are part of the plot, but they’re also symbolic to the tumultuous events surrounding the characters in that moment in time. Water is a powerful metaphor as it represents both destructive and cleansing natures, and its power is evident in this story.