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…Barnes & Noble
On August 4, 1983 I would've been celebrating my third birthday and Hurricane Marie was barreling into St. Medard's Bay, AL. Therein igniting the traumatic events that make up the crux of this story - Hurricane Marie that is, not me or my birthday, LOL.
While the mystery beats of this book were predictable, that didn't not take away from my enjoyment of the novel at all. Hawkins does a fantastic job of creating compelling believable characters like Geneva and Lo and she does a fantastic job of fully immersing the reader into the gulf town of St. Medard's Bay and the Rosalie Inn. I also loved that this story was told both in the present tense as well as through flashbacks to the past from August Fletcher's true crime book within in the story along with various news clippings and correspondence.
One of my favorite descriptors came from August's correspondence to Lo Bailey "...if things had turned out differently, who's to say you wouldn't have been our First Lady at some point? Instead you were vilified and slandered, a 20th-century Hester Prynne in a Duran Duran T-shirt" As Duranie, I really got a kick out of that.
If you're looking for a mystery thriller with great characters and setting, definitely pick up The Storm by Rachel Hawkins.
I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced reader copy of The Storm by Rachel Hawkins from the publisher, St. Martin's Press, via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. You can pick up yours at your local bookstore, library or online retailer.
