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…
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…
Title: The Storm
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: St. Martin's Press/Macmillan Audio
Expected Publication Date: January 6, 2026
Review:
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and Net Galley for providing me with an eARC and audio version of this title to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I really enjoy Hawkins's mysteries. They are always a good mix of fast paced plot with some great twists and turns. I was really looking forward to this story.
While I enjoyed the audio, I will say it was a little hard to follow with all the narrators when I first started listening. I do love having a bunch of dfferent points of view and Patti Murin is one of my favorites so I was mostly excited to hear her. All the other narrators were new to me and I did enjoy their voices. Overall, I really enjoyed the different points of view. It was easier to understand once I followed along a bit with the print version of the book. Once I got into the grove, I was totally invested in the story and the narrators and didn't want to stop listening!
The narrative structure was interesting. There were flashbacks, plus news articles and journal entries. Not to mention the points of view telling the story from the present. I thought it would be a lot going on and, while it was, it made the story so much more interesting and fun to follow.
I will say I did figure out a few things early on in the story. But that didn't make it any less enjoyable for me. Hawkins truly known how to write a story that pulls you in and keeps you interested from start to finish. And the idea of the back setting being a storm! So much can happen during a storm. So many unplanned things. And Hawkins used that to her advantage to keep the reader engaged.
The past truly collides with the present in this story. So much of the back story leads to who the current characters are and how they were involved.
While there are some romantic elements involved with the story, that certainly is not the center of the story. It's really about who committed the murderous act and how it played out to shape the future.
I loved the setting of this story. I don't know much about Alabama, but I've researched the Alabama/Florida border a bit as a place to potentially move and I could really picture the area in my mind.
It's so hard to review a mystery because I don't want to spoil anything for those who want to read this in the future. Sufice it to say, this mystery will keep you guessing and surprise you at ever turn.
Author:
Rachel Hawkins is the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs, Reckless Girls, The Villa, and The Heiress, as well as multiple books for young readers. Her work has been translated into over two dozen languages. She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University and currently lives in Alabama.
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