The Storm

The Storm by Rachel Hawkins is a gothic murder mystery thriller and a perfect escapist read. Populated with strong and snarky female characters, the fictional St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama has stories to tell. 

Geneva Corliss has returned home to St. Medard’s Bay to run the inn she grew up in, the Rosalie, which has survived several large hurricanes in its lifetime, and The Storm of the title could refer to either of two key storms - Hurricane Marie in 1984 and Lizzie in 2025 - which anchor the dual narratives of the novel. 

A true crime fan, Geneva is excited when she gets a call from journalist August Fletcher telling her he is writing a book with and about Lo Bailey, a local woman who was accused of murdering her married lover and the governor’s son, Landon Fitzroy, 40 years before. He wants a long term stay at the inn while he’s researching, and, besides her interest in the case itself - basically local folklore at this point - Geneva can definitely use the money, and it’s made even better when it turns out Lo herself will be staying as well. 

From here, the current narrative is joined by several other voices as August’s research and interviews are translated as first-person narratives of their connection to Lo and/or Landon and what they know about the night of Hurricane Marie when Landon was killed - but by Lo or by the storm, as it was eventually ruled?  

Parts of the story are also told as portions read from August’s draft of the book, “found among possessions of August Fletcher, 8/3/2025” and combined with the headers of the current timeline counting down, e.g., “July 7, 2025, 27 days left”, there’s an added layer of anticipatory dread as we know something bad is coming again. 

The Storm had me engaged the entire time, even knowing the inevitability of some things due to the structure, there were still surprises almost to the last page. 

I listened to the audiobook along with the ebook which I recommend; it was excellently produced by Macmillan Audio and the performances by Stephanie Németh-Parker, Alex Knox; Cathi Colas; Dan Bittner; Jane Oppenheimer; Patti Murin; and Petrea Burchard brought life to the cast of characters. 

Thank you to NetGalley, St.Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advance copies for my unbiased review. Pub. date: 1/6/26

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