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Storm #2
The Splitting Storm
Unsatisfied with the police investigation of his brother's murder, FBI agent Mick Kline embarks on a journey to discover the truth. A young blind woman holds the key, but her fear for her own life keeps her silent. Readers will be gripped by the suspense and moved by the underlying themes of faith and spiritual blindness in this novel by up-and-coming author Rene Gutteridge.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
19 people are currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
Rene Gutteridge
44 books270 followersRene Gutteridge is the award-winning and best-selling author of more than eighteen novels, including the beloved Boo Series and Heart of the Country, her novelization release with director John Ward and Tyndale House Publishers. Her recent suspense titles include Listen, Possession and the award-winning Seven Hours project Escapement. She's been published by Bethany House, Tyndale House, WaterBrook Press, Thomas Nelson and B&H and novelized the successful motion picture The Ultimate Gift. She is teaming again with screenwriter Cheryl McKay for the romantic comedy Greetings from the Flipside from B&H and releasing her new suspense title, Misery Loves Company from Tyndale in 2013. Her romantic comedy Never the Bride won the 2010 Carol Award for Best Women’s Fiction. Her upcoming literary projects include the novelization of the motion picture Old Fashioned with Tyndale House Publishers and filmmaker Rik Swartzwelder.
Her adaptation of her novel My Life as a Doormat is in development with Kingdom Pictures and she is also a creative consultant for Boo, a film based on her best-selling novel, in development at Sodium Entertainment with Cory Edwards attached as director and Andrea Nasfell as screenwriter. She is also co-writer in a collaborative comedy project called Last Resort with screenwriters Torry Martin and Marshal Younger. Her screenplay Skid is currently in production and scheduled to begin filming in April of 2013. Find her on Facebook and Twitter or at her website, www.renegutteridge.com
Her adaptation of her novel My Life as a Doormat is in development with Kingdom Pictures and she is also a creative consultant for Boo, a film based on her best-selling novel, in development at Sodium Entertainment with Cory Edwards attached as director and Andrea Nasfell as screenwriter. She is also co-writer in a collaborative comedy project called Last Resort with screenwriters Torry Martin and Marshal Younger. Her screenplay Skid is currently in production and scheduled to begin filming in April of 2013. Find her on Facebook and Twitter or at her website, www.renegutteridge.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
August 4, 2015
Wow! If ever there was a page-turner, this one is it. Of all the books that Rene Gutteridge has written, that I've read thus far, this one seemed to be the best researched. She did her homework and it shows. The topic, of mystery and murder, written from a faith-filled standpoint, is done with insight.
June 23, 2009
The characters are probably the highlight of the book. They're what makes it interesting a lot of the time. The plot isn't too intense, but it's still a good book! It's well written and even has a dash of humor.
December 31, 2015
Couldn't put it down!
This was my first time reading Rene Gutteridge and I loved it! The character and story development were right on, you were right there in the midst of the action. This book never gave the ending away and kept you intrigued by the possibilities.
This was my first time reading Rene Gutteridge and I loved it! The character and story development were right on, you were right there in the midst of the action. This book never gave the ending away and kept you intrigued by the possibilities.
February 23, 2008
Engrossing suspense/mystery, with just a hint of romance. Both characters' struggles with their faith and their consciences seems real.
July 17, 2008
Storm chasing, serial killers and FBI theories, how can you go wrong?
July 28, 2008
This book was good. It was a murder-mystery with a Christian values and a great story.
January 30, 2024
A wild ride! Truly insightful glimpse into the use of profilers of the FBI
February 2, 2018
Leuk boek, leest makkelijk weg. Het geloof zit er mooi in verweven, gelukkig kwam het niet té veel naar de voorgrond. Wel ergerde ik me soms aan de vele eigenaardigheidjes die de hoofdpersoon had. Waarom had hij zulke bijzondere eetgewoontes? Deed het er iets toe, of diende het enkel als manier om Mick 'interessanter' te maken? Er werd mij iets te veel de nadruk opgelegd om alleen maar willekeurig bedoeld te zijn.
Begrijp me niet verkeerd. Er zaten ook vele spannende en sterke stukjes in. Bij sommige zinnen viel me de mooie beeldspraak op, bij weer andere zinnen kwam emotie naar boven drijven. Toch had ik naar mijn idee nog iets te veel losse (detail)eindjes die, wanneer afgesloten, het verhaal nog sterker had kunnen maken. Zo werd er bijvoorbeeld niet echt uitgelegd waarom Mick graag het gevaar van stormen opzoekt. Het moet wel van belang zijn, want het boek is ernaar vernoemd...
Begrijp me niet verkeerd. Er zaten ook vele spannende en sterke stukjes in. Bij sommige zinnen viel me de mooie beeldspraak op, bij weer andere zinnen kwam emotie naar boven drijven. Toch had ik naar mijn idee nog iets te veel losse (detail)eindjes die, wanneer afgesloten, het verhaal nog sterker had kunnen maken. Zo werd er bijvoorbeeld niet echt uitgelegd waarom Mick graag het gevaar van stormen opzoekt. Het moet wel van belang zijn, want het boek is ernaar vernoemd...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2017
A great actual first book for the series, chronologically it is the second book in the series. It is a great way to show how Mick has matured and become a devout Christian fully committed to god. He has become an FBI agent searching for his brother Aaron's killer. Another great installment to the series that will leave many fans of the series satisfied. This book once again packs a punch, in the way that it is very well written.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2018
Interesting, captivating, how no one believed him, till he was told to see the company Dr. They thought he was obsessed with finding the killer of his brother. He was putting pieces together that pointed to a serial killer.
He goes on a requested vacation, to help find the pieces, with meeting the widow who survived an attacked but lost her husband. Feeling she held the missing piece. The plot flowed, as you follow his way of reasoning, will it end with finding the killer for one or for all,
He goes on a requested vacation, to help find the pieces, with meeting the widow who survived an attacked but lost her husband. Feeling she held the missing piece. The plot flowed, as you follow his way of reasoning, will it end with finding the killer for one or for all,
May 4, 2018
The book started slow, but then started picking up. I had a lot of questions which wasn't answered at the end.
August 6, 2020
Love the crime and investigation part, the romance side of it was just disappointing
May 24, 2025
Dragged on too long at the end, but I liked the main guy thinking it was a serial killer. It was just losing my interest at the end.
June 27, 2020
Great writing, but has an anti gun agenda
The writing is great, dialogue crisp, and all elements are there. I was disappointed, though, when on page 81, there was a discussion between a female character whose husband was murdered and her brother-in-law, an FBI agent. The widow was concerned about her safety. The story reads:
“I don’t have a gun.” She walked to the front door where he was standing. “Aaron never wanted me to have my own gun. Wouldn’t even take me to the firing range. You know why, of course.” She shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. “Should I get one?”
“No. You’re safe.” Mick knew Aaron had always refused to let Jenny keep a gun, and he agreed with the decision. They’d seen too many cases where a gun bought for “safety” ended up killing a kid or some other innocent victim."
That anti-gun rhetoric was not only disappointing but false. There are many instances where women chose to own a gun for self protection and no kid or innocent is killed. This author makes it seem as though a woman is not smart or capable enough to know how to properly use a gun, and that is just not true.
While I finished the story, I won't be reading anything more from Rene Gutteridge because I will not support and author who is a gun control advocate.
The writing is great, dialogue crisp, and all elements are there. I was disappointed, though, when on page 81, there was a discussion between a female character whose husband was murdered and her brother-in-law, an FBI agent. The widow was concerned about her safety. The story reads:
“I don’t have a gun.” She walked to the front door where he was standing. “Aaron never wanted me to have my own gun. Wouldn’t even take me to the firing range. You know why, of course.” She shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. “Should I get one?”
“No. You’re safe.” Mick knew Aaron had always refused to let Jenny keep a gun, and he agreed with the decision. They’d seen too many cases where a gun bought for “safety” ended up killing a kid or some other innocent victim."
That anti-gun rhetoric was not only disappointing but false. There are many instances where women chose to own a gun for self protection and no kid or innocent is killed. This author makes it seem as though a woman is not smart or capable enough to know how to properly use a gun, and that is just not true.
While I finished the story, I won't be reading anything more from Rene Gutteridge because I will not support and author who is a gun control advocate.
March 2, 2019
A massive storm that splits in two...
A splitting storm.
The other dies out.
The other grows stronger.
Begining growing up in an abusive home, one man takes the burning rage in him on another, many times over.
Ending with gut instincts of High School Football Coach turned FBI Investigator Mick Kline in the home of A Widow in a Small Texas Town in the ultimate act for that man to remain hidden and anonymous.
A compelling novel about thinking outside of everyone else's comfort zone, to catch who was the offender in a stranger's husband's death. FBI Agent Mick Kline turned storm chaser and photographor is unsatisfied and unable to come to terms with how the Police handled his brother's Aron's execution styled death, a single gunshot he never saw coming in the back of his head while he slept. His widow, Jenny, slowly comes to grip with the death, but Mick stirs everything up when he suspects his brother's death is linked to three other murders of law enforcemtns over the past 3 years, excpt nopbody, except Dr, Abigal Grenard, the physolcologist of the Department, the only one who gathers clues to his theory, only because she studied serial killers before moving to her current job occupation. Traveling to Bakersville, he meets with Paul Kemper's widow, blind since the attack that took her husband's life at a party two years prior, Faith. Faith, still lives with hope of her husband's killer being caught, but can't except that a serial killer would take him away from her. While living there Faith meets Dixie Abernathy, her spunky and fiercly loyal landlord, who takes it on as her mission to protect her, while her guard dog Sissy sits oin the sidelines. Eating nearly everyday at Nic's, a diner in the small down, she meets Wallace Bledsoe, a busboy with a shocking past, of watching his mother abused by his father for years, before he finally killed her before Wallace's eyes when he was 12. Close to being diagnosed after killing a cop, the doctor's are skeptical and diagnose him with Skitaphrenia.
"Don't look at her!"
As Faith makes plans to leave, she sends Agent Kline away, and Dixie leaves foer the evening, he emerges, and takes her at gunpoint, tying up Mick with Sissy's harnless, the entire time mumbling incohertley to his deceased mother and blaming her weakness on the monster, his father. As help arrives and he connects the dots, he screasm attack and Sissy lunges, buying them precious time. After the ordeal is over, he opens up and admits to Faith that Jenny, was his long lost love he couldn't have, and now they step forward, Faith admitting to =being able to see after two months of the attack, deciding once and for all enough to hiding, and comes out no longer blind, but a fully seeing individual, something Wallace never saw coming.
A splitting storm.
The other dies out.
The other grows stronger.
Begining growing up in an abusive home, one man takes the burning rage in him on another, many times over.
Ending with gut instincts of High School Football Coach turned FBI Investigator Mick Kline in the home of A Widow in a Small Texas Town in the ultimate act for that man to remain hidden and anonymous.
A compelling novel about thinking outside of everyone else's comfort zone, to catch who was the offender in a stranger's husband's death. FBI Agent Mick Kline turned storm chaser and photographor is unsatisfied and unable to come to terms with how the Police handled his brother's Aron's execution styled death, a single gunshot he never saw coming in the back of his head while he slept. His widow, Jenny, slowly comes to grip with the death, but Mick stirs everything up when he suspects his brother's death is linked to three other murders of law enforcemtns over the past 3 years, excpt nopbody, except Dr, Abigal Grenard, the physolcologist of the Department, the only one who gathers clues to his theory, only because she studied serial killers before moving to her current job occupation. Traveling to Bakersville, he meets with Paul Kemper's widow, blind since the attack that took her husband's life at a party two years prior, Faith. Faith, still lives with hope of her husband's killer being caught, but can't except that a serial killer would take him away from her. While living there Faith meets Dixie Abernathy, her spunky and fiercly loyal landlord, who takes it on as her mission to protect her, while her guard dog Sissy sits oin the sidelines. Eating nearly everyday at Nic's, a diner in the small down, she meets Wallace Bledsoe, a busboy with a shocking past, of watching his mother abused by his father for years, before he finally killed her before Wallace's eyes when he was 12. Close to being diagnosed after killing a cop, the doctor's are skeptical and diagnose him with Skitaphrenia.
"Don't look at her!"
As Faith makes plans to leave, she sends Agent Kline away, and Dixie leaves foer the evening, he emerges, and takes her at gunpoint, tying up Mick with Sissy's harnless, the entire time mumbling incohertley to his deceased mother and blaming her weakness on the monster, his father. As help arrives and he connects the dots, he screasm attack and Sissy lunges, buying them precious time. After the ordeal is over, he opens up and admits to Faith that Jenny, was his long lost love he couldn't have, and now they step forward, Faith admitting to =being able to see after two months of the attack, deciding once and for all enough to hiding, and comes out no longer blind, but a fully seeing individual, something Wallace never saw coming.
September 4, 2007
Plot Summary: What happens, When & Where, Central Characters, Major Conflicts[return]Unsatisfied with the police investigation of his brother's murder, FBI agent Mick Kline embarks on a journey to discover the truth. A young blind woman holds the key, but her fear for her own life keeps her silent. Mick is in trouble because of his obsession with the case, but even a lead of absence won't keep him from trying to find out the truth. He believes his brother's killing is the result of a serial murderer, and he doesn't want him to strike again. He also wants vengeance, but struggles to reconcile his Christian faith with this desire. [return][return][return][return][return][return][return]Style Characterisics: Pacing, clarity, structure, narrative devices, etc.[return]Gutteridge builds some solid suspense, but not much about this story stood out to me. That the blind character wasn't really blind I suspected before it was revealed. And you could see the romance coming from a mile away. I did second guess who I thought the murderer was, but it was predictable. The characters are about average on the characterization level--not shallow but not overly deep either. And they have been through a lot. [return][return][return][return][return][return][return]How Good is it?[return]An average read, good for a suspenseful break from reality.
November 20, 2023
One of my favorites of hers... even though I know the twists and turns, I still enjoy rereading it.
The above remains true as I reread it again, but my preferences or discernment is maybe changing, because I am a little more critical of it than before. If you're a true crime or mystery fan, you will probably find the procedural aspect of it a little amateurish, though it does get better towards the end. There are some holes that you will have to overlook (kind of like watching CSI on TV - yeah it's so wrong, but for the sake of the story you can let it lie).
The religious aspect of it you will either find refreshing or annoying. I've leaned towards refreshing in the past, but have encountered other authors with characters that are spiritual, even religious, without being so in your face about it. The religion here is not subtle - all of the characters talk about God continually, so depending on your stance, that could bother you. Even for the religious folks, while it can be nice to see it portrayed, it makes the story less realistic for me.
Still a good read, but not as much of a favorite as it had been previously. I think her writing style and content preferences lend themselves much more to her rom-com stories like Boo or My Life as a Doormat.
The above remains true as I reread it again, but my preferences or discernment is maybe changing, because I am a little more critical of it than before. If you're a true crime or mystery fan, you will probably find the procedural aspect of it a little amateurish, though it does get better towards the end. There are some holes that you will have to overlook (kind of like watching CSI on TV - yeah it's so wrong, but for the sake of the story you can let it lie).
The religious aspect of it you will either find refreshing or annoying. I've leaned towards refreshing in the past, but have encountered other authors with characters that are spiritual, even religious, without being so in your face about it. The religion here is not subtle - all of the characters talk about God continually, so depending on your stance, that could bother you. Even for the religious folks, while it can be nice to see it portrayed, it makes the story less realistic for me.
Still a good read, but not as much of a favorite as it had been previously. I think her writing style and content preferences lend themselves much more to her rom-com stories like Boo or My Life as a Doormat.
June 23, 2008
The story was ok. The mystery was formula. I thought, at first, all the God talk was a joke. Then I thought it would have an impact on the story. But no it was the author using their work to preach. I'll go to church if I want that, not read a mystery novel. Totally turned me off and I won't read any other books by this author.
May 17, 2008
I love Rene Gutteridge and this book was a fun, quick read. I brought it with me when I had jury duty recently and I'm glad I did! I had plenty of time to read and this book was riveting enough to keep me amused.
August 6, 2008
Last of a trilogy. Kept me turning pages, but kind of a 'beach read.'
Read
September 23, 2008Well I had to read a Christian Fiction book for my book report this month so I tried to find something mildly entertaining. It sounds good. We'll have to see…
November 2, 2008
An interesting mystery. Not great, but still enjoyable.
December 31, 2009
Recommended by Julie Springer
July 24, 2009
This would be a 4.5. Started off as a good book, and just got better. It was hard to put down. I definately want to read more by this author.
June 7, 2011
FBI agent, Mick Kline's brother has just been murdered and he sets out to solve the crime. Overall a fun, quick read. The author has created an interesting religious line in the story.
Read
May 1, 2012Rene Gutteridge is a fine writer who skillfully tells this story, driven by interesting characters and an intriguing plot. The Splitting Storm is a page-turner—it really held my interest.
June 14, 2012
I hard a hard time putting it down.
February 16, 2013
Perhaps I would have liked it more if I had read the previous book(s) in the series. Still, it was good.
July 29, 2013
This author is really growing on me. She's not Jane Austen, but her stories are good, and its nice to read Christian books that aren't so cheesy.
August 7, 2016
Extremely slow read. I kept feeling like I was missing pieces to the story the entire way through.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews