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Storm Crashers
Winner of Best Popular Fiction in the Florida Book Awards. Nature's most deadly force just got more terrifying. A category-four hurricane. Dark figures enter -they are the Storm Crashers: high-tech thieves who prey on storm evacuations. They must race the clock and are fearless -until they come across a mysterious young witness who fights back. Dan Holms, a disparaged investigator, and a rookie female detective are disciplined for believing the young witness's story about "mystery soldiers." The Crashers want to silence the woman who has seen them, and a new Cat-5 is on the way. Holms and the detective unravel their origin with action and twists that could inevitably impact our national security. A story inspired by real crimes, and so unique and action-packed, it was optioned by a big-six Hollywood studio.
374 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2016
About the author
Richard Wickliffe
15 books4 followersRichard's writing borrows from the unique (scandalous, criminal or satirical) environments of South Florida. He is the recent recipient of Best Popular Fiction for "Storm Crashers" with the Florida Book Awards. That book was also optioned by 20th Century Fox.
On his investigative side, Rich enjoys lecturing about creative crimes, attended by law enforcement, and has presented twice at the FBI's InfraGard Counterterrorism seminars.
From the other side of his brain, Rich's art and photography have been seen in print, used in Forbes Travel magazine and exhibited in Ft. Lauderdale's Art Guild. He has performed stand-up comedy which explains his odd mix of suspence and laughs.
He and his family are regular visitors to any coast with sufficient hammocks and blenders.
On his investigative side, Rich enjoys lecturing about creative crimes, attended by law enforcement, and has presented twice at the FBI's InfraGard Counterterrorism seminars.
From the other side of his brain, Rich's art and photography have been seen in print, used in Forbes Travel magazine and exhibited in Ft. Lauderdale's Art Guild. He has performed stand-up comedy which explains his odd mix of suspence and laughs.
He and his family are regular visitors to any coast with sufficient hammocks and blenders.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 27, 2022
I don't have words bad enough to describe this book. I wish there were negative star ratings.
From the typos and grammatical errors to the clunky and male-centric storyline, this novel made me sad (for the first time in my life) that I know how to read. I can't even point out what was most offensive, because there was something on almost every page that made me physically grimace or cringe.
I imagine there are some people out there who liked this novel - I am just relieved that I don't know any of them.
On a side note: italics should not ever be used in such a haphazard fashion, or with such ridiculous frequency. I spent so much of the book puzzling over why the author chose to italicize a certain word or phrase, only to realize time and again that he had no idea why the italics were there, either.
I admire this author for writing a book - I have never had the self-discipline necessary to accomplish that task. I wish I had kinder things to say, but if you are waffling on reading this and you don't have a real affinity for hurricanes, home invasions, or man-splanations of military weapons and maneuvers ... perhaps give this one a pass.
From the typos and grammatical errors to the clunky and male-centric storyline, this novel made me sad (for the first time in my life) that I know how to read. I can't even point out what was most offensive, because there was something on almost every page that made me physically grimace or cringe.
I imagine there are some people out there who liked this novel - I am just relieved that I don't know any of them.
On a side note: italics should not ever be used in such a haphazard fashion, or with such ridiculous frequency. I spent so much of the book puzzling over why the author chose to italicize a certain word or phrase, only to realize time and again that he had no idea why the italics were there, either.
I admire this author for writing a book - I have never had the self-discipline necessary to accomplish that task. I wish I had kinder things to say, but if you are waffling on reading this and you don't have a real affinity for hurricanes, home invasions, or man-splanations of military weapons and maneuvers ... perhaps give this one a pass.
August 29, 2022
I gave the book one star because I had to. Realistically .5 stars would be better because he DID write a book, or at least a first draft of one. There's a lot to unpack with this book.
First and foremost I have HUGE issues with the age recommendation. This is NOT appropriate for 10-18 year olds. Language, sexual content, gore, and some pretty adult themes are ALL present, I would say this is at least PG-13. It bothers me that a 10 year old might see this and pick it up with some of the content.
Second, typos and formatting. I think this was a first draft or an ARC because the typos and formatting were AWFUL. If an editor took even a pass it would have helped, but I don't see any indication that an editor did. The use of italics is off the wall, makes no sense, and just confuses, there's - everywhere, and typos. Upholstered vs unholstered their gun is on page 5!
The story had an interesting premise and COULD have been fun, but it was so poorly executed. The writer overwhelms with unnecessary descriptions and lengthy explanations of stuff that is completely unneeded. Not to mention all the men are "macho" and all the women are sexy or exotic (which exotic and attractive are used far too often for a book about burglars in hurricanes). There's not-so-subtle racism sprinkled throughout that also detracted from the story. He describes the women erotically and sexually EVERY time he mentions them, as if that is their only trait, while the men that aren't over the top macho, words are used like feminine to describe as if they're bad. It's disgusting and it made me roll my eyes and cringe.
I pushed through, hoping the end would pay off and the "twists" would make it worth it, but the twists were very predictable and foreseeable or just confusing and made no sense. Either the foreshadowing was too heavy handed or non-existent.
First and foremost I have HUGE issues with the age recommendation. This is NOT appropriate for 10-18 year olds. Language, sexual content, gore, and some pretty adult themes are ALL present, I would say this is at least PG-13. It bothers me that a 10 year old might see this and pick it up with some of the content.
Second, typos and formatting. I think this was a first draft or an ARC because the typos and formatting were AWFUL. If an editor took even a pass it would have helped, but I don't see any indication that an editor did. The use of italics is off the wall, makes no sense, and just confuses, there's - everywhere, and typos. Upholstered vs unholstered their gun is on page 5!
The story had an interesting premise and COULD have been fun, but it was so poorly executed. The writer overwhelms with unnecessary descriptions and lengthy explanations of stuff that is completely unneeded. Not to mention all the men are "macho" and all the women are sexy or exotic (which exotic and attractive are used far too often for a book about burglars in hurricanes). There's not-so-subtle racism sprinkled throughout that also detracted from the story. He describes the women erotically and sexually EVERY time he mentions them, as if that is their only trait, while the men that aren't over the top macho, words are used like feminine to describe as if they're bad. It's disgusting and it made me roll my eyes and cringe.
I pushed through, hoping the end would pay off and the "twists" would make it worth it, but the twists were very predictable and foreseeable or just confusing and made no sense. Either the foreshadowing was too heavy handed or non-existent.
August 26, 2022
If I could give this book zero stars, I would.
Storm Crashers feels more like an uncorrected proof than a complete novel. The text is littered with punctuation and formatting errors, especially where dashes are concerned. And it contains multiple incidents of incorrect word usage, such as "upholstered" instead of "unholstered" and "fowl" instead of "foul." Did this book even have an editor? How did such obvious errors go unnoticed?
Putting technical issues aside, let's address the book's content. The story is typical dude-bro escapism. High-tech military gadgets and souped-up vehicles greet the reader on every page. The female main characters are, of course, all stunningly beautiful, walking embodiments of male fantasies. They can't go up the stairs or drink a beverage without other characters ogling them. The author CONSTANTLY reminds us of how alluring they are. The word "exotic" is grossly overused. It's all very icky.
Storm Crashers feels more like an uncorrected proof than a complete novel. The text is littered with punctuation and formatting errors, especially where dashes are concerned. And it contains multiple incidents of incorrect word usage, such as "upholstered" instead of "unholstered" and "fowl" instead of "foul." Did this book even have an editor? How did such obvious errors go unnoticed?
Putting technical issues aside, let's address the book's content. The story is typical dude-bro escapism. High-tech military gadgets and souped-up vehicles greet the reader on every page. The female main characters are, of course, all stunningly beautiful, walking embodiments of male fantasies. They can't go up the stairs or drink a beverage without other characters ogling them. The author CONSTANTLY reminds us of how alluring they are. The word "exotic" is grossly overused. It's all very icky.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews