Thunderstorms and .45s: Avia, Book 1

by Stacey Carroll

Avia might be able to con a rich woman out of 50 million dollars before her vacation to Hawaii, but she's going to need some help to do it. She has to call in people she terms her "cousins" and she has to deal with the fact that she is still an alcoholic and heroin addict. With the help of Benton, can Avia actually pull off this heist and get out of town before it is too late?

Audible Audio

First published November 5, 2009

About the author

Stacey Carroll is the author of the new fiction thriller series - Avia, featuring drug running, heroin addicted, pilot, Avia Conn, and the paranormal erotic series, The Blooddoll Factory.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Stacey Carroll has released three full length novels this year, including AVIA I, AVIA II and The Blooddoll Factory.

Reviews

[Heather Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can honestly say I had never met characters like these before.
They are on a mission, they understand their relationships and they love to indulge in carnal things.
The plot kept me wondering what would happen next.
I will definitely read the next book in the series.

[Phoenix Desertsong · Rating 4 out of 5]

In “AVIA I: Thunderstorms & 45’s,” we meet the title character, Avia Conn. We learn pretty much right away that she has a chance to con a rich woman out of fifty million dollars before her vacation to Hawaii. She’s going to need help to do it, though. To do this, she calls in people she calls her “cousins.” Meanwhile, she is still dealing with serious heroin addiction and alcoholism that she’s been battling for many years. Can her protector and love of her life, Benton Docks, help Avia pull of this heist and get the hell out of town before it’s too late?

This heist thriller is a page-turner. It’s fast-paced with many twists and turns. As is the case with many best-laid plans, things don’t go according to plan. You really don’t know where the plot is going next. The unpredictability of AVIA I is a major part of this book’s appeal.

For me, the best part of this book is the two main characters, Avia Conn and Benton Docks. While they definitely have a steamy romance, it’s an extremely complex relationship. Benton has to put up with a lot of nonsense with Avia with alcohol and drug addictions, but he loves her as she is, which isn’t easy.

There’s a lot going on in AVIA I, but it’s deftly handled by the author. It isn’t what you might call a “high-octane” thriller, but it gets you hooked pretty much from the first page. Avia and Benton are very likeable characters, and while there are others, they are certainly the most likeable. This is good, because they are the main characters in AVIA II, as well.

Be forewarned that it does contain a fair amount of sex scenes, but all are important in the development of both the plot and characters. It’s not an erotic romance, but this book definitely has plenty of adult scenes. Then again, in Avia and Benton’s line of work, especially Benton’s as a con man, sex is often a major part of the job. Avia does her fair share of conning, too, of course.

All in all, AVIA I is a solid 4-star debut novel. It has realistic, likeable main characters and an unpredictable ending. All you need to know is that we will be seeing Avia, Benton, and many other of the characters in this book again in AVIA II. I highly recommend this book for anyone who’s tired of the formulaic heist thrillers and is looking for something more original to read.

[Jacques · Rating 4 out of 5]

All right. So first up, I need to say this is my usually my thing. I'm more into science fiction and fantasy, but after seeing this all over facebook and twitter and reading the first few chapters, I gotta say, it's pretty good. I was hoping for more of a paranormal bent. Spoiler: There's no paranormal. However, there IS a lot of dirty world. OMG. This author has filthy down to a fine art, and I'm only about halfway through this book. I got it last friday, and I'm seriously considering preordering book 2.

[Josephine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Avia and Benton. Not only is it kind of trippy, I also think it should be made into a movie. when you get done reading it, you're like OMFG . . I dunno what that was, but I seriously hope there's a book 2.