Storm Warning

by Nora Roberts

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts, Storm Warning is the thrilling novel of one woman’s loving heart aroused by terrifying suspicion.

Back in rural Virginia to take over her aunt’s mountain inn, Autumn Gallegher is surprised to find the resort so full of guests—and shocked to discover Lucas McLean among them. A writer of extraordinary depth and talent, Lucas’s way with words won Autumn’s love in a passionate affair that he ended without warning.

Three years later, she’s still drawn to his dark intensity and desires him more than ever. But when a guest’s dead body is discovered, Lucas becomes the police’s prime suspect. And while Autumn still loves Lucas, she also has evidence that could convict him of murder…

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Mystery, Fiction, Chick Lit

165 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 1984

About the author

Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 -- The Becoming -- the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

Reviews

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, the Alpha A--hole. He was a staple in the 80's in the writings of some of the most wonderful authors: Nora Roberts, Sandra Brown, Linda Howard to name a few. I just don't remember, I was too busy and any spare time I had, I slept. Reading for pleasure wasn't on my radar back then. While the jerk in this particular romance turns out to be a good guy, he hurt the heroine very badly when they were first together. Yet, three years later she is still not over him. I guess you could call this a second chance romance.

No one does the visual descriptions in a book quite like Nora Roberts. She can paint a picture in words to evoke a place or a mood like no other author. She has had this gift from early in her career and uses it to full advantage here. A group is staying at the Pine View Inn in the Blue Ridge Mountains owned by Autumn's aunt, Aunt Tabby, and there is just something off about this group, most strangers to each other. Photographer Autumn Gallegher is here from New York for an expended visit and as she gets to know the eclectic group, even she picks up on the tension that pervades their interchanges. Among the guests is Autumn's ex, mystery writer Lucas McLean. Who is still a surly lout and bent on putting the moves on Autumn, who says she wants nothing to do with him. With all that tension abounding it is only a matter of time until a body drops.

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cannot express how much NOPE I feel for this story. We're trucking along with a second chance love story and a predictable murder mystery when suddenly attempted rape! And we're not talking kind of or borderline no, the hero calls it what it is right before the heroine AGREES TO FUCKING MARRY HIM. I don't know who I dislike or am frustrated by, her or him! This is just a straight up HELL NO.

[Pilar S.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pesar de ser una novela corta, Roberts narra una historia completamente cautivadora.

Hubo un momento de despide con respecto al asesino de Helen, pero los detalles más sutiles encauzan al lector hacia el buen camino y verdadero culpable.

Lucas merece especial mención por sus propios demonios, lo que resalta con respecto a Autumm, más inocente y noble.

Julia es encantadora. Casi encantadoramente asesina. Qué papelón tiene en melodrama, santo cielo.

Tabby pierde fuerza y, aunque presente en detalles de forma intermitente, me hubiese gustado más protagonismo para ella.

En general, una buena historia para una tarde de distracción.

[Marney · Rating 1 out of 5]

A variation on Agatha Christine's house party murders. I did not feel the plotting or the characters were up to Nora Roberts usual standard. The heroine's behaviour seems somewhat stupid; out in the woods alone after figuring out someone was after her. I also thought the hero was less than likeable and the strong heroines that Roberts normally presents, would not have allowed anyone to treat them as he did her. Not great.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Great Nora has done it again! Take a bit of Agatha Christie and add Nora's style. An excellent mystery with excellent characters!

[Heather Neill]

Don't judge me, I read it on a plane.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Nora Roberts and am trying to read all of her books, but this is the worst so far. Our main character's love interest is manipulating, entitled and super angry, he gaslights and threatens our heroine and pretty much assaults her, not caring about her consent and forcing her. There is nothing redeemable about his actions and it's a really toxic relationship. I had to come here and check whether he is actually the love interest or the villain.

I didn't mind the mystery aspect, but that relationship ruined the rest.

[Carlea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth the read. All characters are thin and unlike able. There is an overpowering plot that stinks of replication from another source and no romance until the last 2 pages, if that's what you call it. Seriously, it's bad.

[Iza Brekilien · Rating 1 out of 5]

Definitely not her best, it lacks originality and the characters are stereotypes.

[Titinha Scaeiro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Estive em duvida entre o dar 2* ou 3*... Ainda pensei em dar 2,5 mas... Hum!!! Não consigo, há coisas que me fizeram ter vontade de rasgar o livro... *suspiro*
Vamos lá por partes:
1º fiquei com pele de galinha sempre que lia a palavra "Gata", ele só a chamava de "Gata", não me lembro se ele a chamou alguma vez pelo nome, vejam a quantidade de vezes que o "nome" Gata apareceu no livro.
2º achei a Autumn uma mocinha sem sal, "ai eu agora sou outra mulher, sou adulta"... "ai não, não lhe resisto e ele é o amor da minha vida"... "não, não tenho que ser forte para ele não me magoar"... "Ai que frio... Ai que medo..." *suspiro*
3º o Lucas era um idiota, parvo, uma "cavalgadura", para no final ficar um fofo, um querido, um amor, que só fez tudo porque a amava, antes porque tinha medo (e se tivesse comprado um cão, não era melhor?) e que ao tentar resolver as coisas, só fazia merda (desculpem a palavra) e que se tornava uma "cavalgadura", como não suportava viver sem a mocinha, entrava em modo "brutamontes idiota".

Quem me conhece, sabe que adoro a Nora mas há alguns livros que me fazem pensar que a autora comeu gelados pela testa, e este é um deles. Salvou a história em si, pelo lado mais "policial" e algumas personagens. Com pena minha não consigo dar mais que 2*

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Professional photographer Autumn Gallegher arrives at her aunt’s inn set remotely in the Blue Ridge Mountains where she discovers one of the guests includes her ex, Lucas McLean. During a storm, one of the guests (Helen) is murdered. Once it's revealed that Helen was blackmailing the other guests, all have a motive for murder, and Autumn is confused and fearful that Lucas may be behind it. This is Nora's first mystery, and it's a work in progress. There aren't enough pages for a good romance and a good mystery, and the former takes a big hit. To hear a full discussion of Storm Warning listen to Season 1, Ep. #6 "Nora Roberts 1984: Endings and Beginnings, Storm Warning, Sullivan’s Woman, Promise Me Tomorrow" of Romancing the Shelf, a Nora Roberts podcast: https://romancingtheshelf.libsyn.com/

[BJ Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's easy to see that this is an early Nora Roberts - with a mostly unlikeable, selfish, physically macho hero, and the fact that he's burning for the heroine he tossed aside 3 years ago doesn't excuse his behavior. Still, I enjoyed Aunt Tabby, and I liked the emphasis on nature and photography. Good character development on the other characters isolated in the inn by a severe thunderstorm.

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mystery novel written in the style of Agatha Christie or Georgette Heyer, but without reaching the mastery of any of them.
What I liked least was the romantic side of the story, Lucas was an asshole, speaking bluntly.

[Hanna-Anneli Belt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again an assured Nora Roberts quality reading. Conflicted lovers, mystery, warm friendship and quaint country milieu.

[anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

i’m so mad. i really liked the setting - series of mystery events in this cosy isolated inn. i liked fmc when she was standing up for herself but not when she was dismissing everything mmc did to her and surrendering to him. but i hated mmc from start to finish. he was cruel to her with his words and actions in the past and in the present. he nearly raped her, forced himself on her multiple times, never said anything nice to her except that pitiful speech at the end. wtf???

mmc in the past was an asshole. did we have to like him in the present? that’s how he broke up with fmc in the past:

“Stop it! I haven’t the time to deal with weeping. Just pack it in. Chalk it up to experience. God knows you need it.”

i hated mmc with his snide comments. i desperately wanted him to be an ex only.

we do love a threat of a rape from mmc. 🥰🥰🥰

“I’ll take you, Cat, take you kicking and screaming if you push me much further.”

“Bite and scratch all you want, Cat. I’ve reached my limit.”
“I’ll scream, Lucas.” The words shuddered out of her. “If you touch me again, I’ll scream.”

i disagreed with her strongly. also why did police take so much time to come?

“With absolute certainty, she knew she could never hand the film over to the police. No matter what Lucas had done or would do, she couldn’t betray him.”

mmc was attacking fmc even when he was attempting to apologize if that what it was.

“That’s another apology I owe you. I seem to have chalked up quite a few. Would you like them in a group, Cat, or one at a time?”

so romantic i couldn’t cope. 🙄🙄

“I’d simply never give you a divorce no matter how you struggled.”

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this might the first NR throwback book that didn't work for me. While there were parts I enjoyed, the ending seemed abrupt and I wasn't thrilled with the reasoning behind why Lucas broke things off with Autumn originally. It just felt...I dunno, too easy a reason, maybe? (On an unrelated note, the blurb doesn't quite hit right either. Mostly because I don't remember Autumn going to to the inn to take it over [she was just there for a visit] and Lucas was never in the police's prime suspect [by the time the police arrived, the baddie had been caught by those at the inn]. So, there's that.)

Anywho. The things I enjoyed (in no particular order): Murder. Trying to figure out who did the deed. Autumn's passion for photography and acceptance of her slightly absentminded aunt's tangents.

Like I said, this is the first NR throwback I didn't love, but it's not going to stop me from continuing to delve into her backlist.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Barbara Girardet · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 ⭐️
Qu’est ce que c’était nul
- Oh la la quel hasard je me retrouve dans une auberge pleine de célébrités et oh comme par hasard avec mon ex
- Oh la la un meurtre se produit et en fait on est tous coincé dans l’auberge parce qu’il y a une tempête et la ligne du téléphone est coupée
- Ex qui soit dit en passant a un comportement ABJECTE ET INTOLÉRABLE, c’est plus possible d’écrire des personnages violents qui se permettent de frapper et limite violer des femmes pour que la personnage principale dise „mais finalement ça a réveillé mon désir“ mais Ahsjdkfjqhdjdhs
- Le personnage d‘Autumn est beaucoup trop bête, même moi j’avais deviné la fin du bouquin à la 25eme page

Bref il m‘a énervé et c’était trop nul

[Charlotte · Rating 1 out of 5]

J'apprécie les romans de Nora Roberts pour leur efficacité à me transporter dans des lieux différents, magnifiquement décrits, parfois féeriques. Malheureusement avec ce roman le charme n'a pas opéré !
L'histoire n'est ni plus ni moins qu'un Cluedo littéraire mais avec peu de rebondissements. Les personnages loin d'être attachants m'ont plus lassés qu'autre chose.
Le meurtre commis arrive comme un cheveu sur la soupe alors que la tension commence juste à monter entre les personnages. L'enquête est bien trop vite résolue voir bâclée et la fin mièvre m'a agacé.

[Fran Winandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Adoro a autora, mas esse é um dos livros fracos dela. A estória poderia ser interessante mas a " mocinha" é lerda e sem sal, o " mocinho" problemático e pouco interessante e o final totalmente previsível. Da série " escrito rapidinho para levantar uns trocos". Não perca seu tempo!.

[DarkAthena59 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une histoire qui se lit mais qui manque de profondeur. C'est trop rapide, les personnages ne sont pas assez développés. J'ai eu du mal avec le personnage de Lucas. La dernière partie relève un peu le niveau. Pas le meilleur livre de l'auteure.

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystery, Drama and Suspense

This book reminds me of an Agatha Christie novel in which a group of strangers are thrown together and then one of them is murdered. The police can’t be called because they are totally isolated by a bad storm. The characters were dynamic and the story was fast-paced. I was able to figure out the killer and the dramatic conclusion but it was still a good, enjoyable read. I checked out a copy of this book from my local library using the Libby App. All opinions expressed are my own.

[em_night · Rating 2 out of 5]

Intrigue peu étoffée, personnages stéréotypés.

[Loes M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t like the book. It was on the one hand much too Cluedo for me, and on the other hand total bullshit. A group of people in a house, who are all connected in some way that’s unclear to the main character. One night, during a storm, one of them die. What follows is the main character trying to figure out who did it, while suspecting everybody at one point. Oh, and because of the storm, the landlines are out (is there no cell reception?) and the roads that lead to the village are blocked because the bridges are under water. What a coincidence! And during the entire “whodunit”, Autumn’s aunt and her employee are just absent – they are never suspected (which is understandable since Autumn is the main character and she isn’t going to suspect the two people closest to her) but they are also left out of the story mostly. I mean, it’s her aunt for crying out loud! But she hardly concerns herself with Autumn (who discovers the dead body and is knocked unconscious when the murderer is trying to get rid of evidence), choosing to disappear all the time. So that was one thing that I didn’t like: the overly cliché setting and the conspicuously absent aunt.

Secondly, I also detested their relationship. When Lucas and Autumn met all those years ago, they had a very unequal relationship: he was the big shot writer and she was the photographer starting out who was contracted to take his picture. She fell head over heels for him and would come over to his house every Wednesday to cook for him and then they would eat together. He was arrogant, grumpy and selfish and she was basically doing all of the work. Until one Wednesday that she came over and he was sitting in his tux, waiting to leave for a date with someone else (as he told her). So what did she do? She stood there, tears rolling down her cheeks, and asked him if he was breaking up with her. He acted like a jerk and told her it was never really a relationship and that she was being childish. And now, 3,5 years later, he is still mean, grumpy and selfish. He corners her, gets angry at her, yells at her, kisses her forcefully, almost rapes her, is constantly mean and yelling, and doesn’t respect her wishes at any point. He constantly hides how he feels behind a mask, but he gives her one or two hurt looks. And so at the end, he tells her how he misses her, how he got scared of his feelings and was unable to admit (even to himself) that he loved her, that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. And then she’s like, okay, let’s get married. I did not understand that at all! He treats you like shit, he’s constantly mean and angry, he doesn’t value you and doesn’t respect your wishes – but he’s your first (and only) love (and sexual partner) and he tells you once that he loves you and that’s enough?

It's a shame, because Nora Roberts' more recent books are so much more! Don't let this book deter you from reading her more recent work!

More on: www.owlishbooks.com

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me gustó esta portada por el entorno, y los personajes se parece a la descripción en el libro.

Autumn Gallagher es fotógrafa, vive en New York y después de recibir la invitación de su tía a la adorable posada en la zona rural de Virginia, Autumn decide tomarse unas merecidas vacaciones y pasar el tiempo con su Tia que hace años que no ve. Al llegar a la posada encuentra que la capacidad de la misma está prácticamente llena con personas que por algún motivo tienen algo en común, incluyendo a su exnovio, el escritor Lucas McLean.

Tres años antes Lucas le rompió el corazón a Autumn. Ella se refugió en su trabajo pero verlo de nuevo y en ese entorno trae recuerdos dolorosos a la superficie. Pero las personas que están en la posada no son quienes dicen ser y extrañas cosas comienzan a pasar culminando con el asesinato de una de ellas; siendo una cabañas en el medio de las montañas, estando aislados por una fuerte tormenta, el asesino no tiene a donde escapar y las posibles victimas tampoco, además Autumn empieza a pensar que el asesino podría ser el hombre al que una vez amó.

La historia fue originalmente publicada en 1984. Me gusta Autumn, es una heroína con temperamento y manda al diablo a Lucas en más de una ocasión. Su Tía Tabby es adorable con sus constantes despistes. Lucas... Nora Roberts sabe crear muy buenos personajes masculinos pero Lucas es un completo idiota!! Es temperamental al borde de ser agresivo (no me extraña que alguien piense que es el asesino). En la novela romántica de esa época las relaciones eran distintas, los malos tratos de Lucas a Autum raya en la violencia de genero y el motivo por el que se separaron tres años antes es realmente estúpido!! No me gustó Lucas; así como tengo listas de los mejores héroes de las novelas de Nora Roberts, Lucas va a la lista de los más estúpidos e idiotas; si bien se redime un poco al final, por si no queda claro: no me gustó Lucas.

La verdad que se nota la evolución de la novela romántica a lo largo de los años, la evolución de la autora y si bien la historia es pasatista, no es la gran cosa, sirve para ver que los mejores trabajos de la autora están por llegar.

[Bren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como siempre, he disfrutado con este libro de Nora Roberts, siempre me gusta la forma en que narra sus libros, en independencia del argumento, en este caso, nos entrega una historia de romance envuelta en un halo de misterio.

La manera en que va desarrollando los hechos me recordó mucho a las novelas clásicas, no puedo evitar pensar en que quiso emularlas y la verdad es que lo ha hecho bastante bien.

La atmosfera creada de secretismo, una pensión alejada de todo donde varias personas se ven envueltas en un asesinato y donde todos son sospechosos,

Autumn además de verse envuelta en todo este asunto, es también objeto de la persecusión del asesino y en toda la trama esta en una lucha constante entre el amor y la sospecha.

El único pero que le pondría sería que el final es poco elaborado y que la historia termina tan rápido que no puedes evitar pensar ¿ya? ¿esto es todo? porque siento que nos falta mas, mucho mas, pero la realidad es que no desmerece tanto, disfrute enormemente y como ya dije, me gusta la manera de escribir de Nora.

[Kinga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nem mondanám rossznak, de valószínű nem ez Nora Roberts legjobb könyve. Valójában nem is értem, hogyan lett ebből Harlequin-füzet, hiszen a történet túlnyomórészt inkább krimi, mint románc.

A krimi-szál egy kicsit mintha megpróbált volna Agatha Christie-re hajazni, de a gyilkos kiléte nem ért meglepetésként. A romantika-szál annyira kevés volt, hogy pont ezért nem sikerült teljesen kibontakoztatni, a pasi magyarázata a miértekre nekem nem volt elég ahhoz, hogy ehhez 3 évet kelljen várnia, és így nem is igazán sikerült szorítanom ezért a párosért, nem éreztem köztük a kémiát.

Egyszeri olvasásra jó volt, de sajnálom, mert az alaptörténetből szerintem többet is ki lehetett volna hozni.

(A szokásos névváltoztatáson meg már nem is csodálkozom, Andreát ugyanis az eredeti történetben Autumn-nak hívják. ;))

[Francesca ❆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

No, no, no.
I’m very wary of second chance romances because I’ve found it easy to write the story in a way that makes you hate everything and everyone in it.
So while this short story had a beautiful setting and the plot reminded me of one of Agatha Christie’s dinner party murders, the two main characters were both so unlikeable that I couldn’t enjoy the book at all.
Autumn is idiotic and makes some dubious decisions near the end that put her in the middle of the danger, and Lucas is a selfish prick that deserves to live the rest of his life alone…not end up with the girl he mistreated and shoved away cause he was “scared” by his feelings. 😑
Definitely not one of the best works by NR, I’m so glad she has improved tons since this one came out.

[Pamela Fernandes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its easy to see this is one of Nora's early books. Its a romantic suspense where Lucas and Autumn run into each other at an Inn where a murder takes place. Its a remote place where a funny mix of people are stranded. Its almost like a Poirot esque collection of people.
Lucas as a character was not very likeable, because he kept forcing himself on Autumn and she's pretty much the TSTL heroine. It moves quite quickly. Nora has a gift for setting and description and that's the best part of the book. The murderer is no surprise if you read this genre a lot.

[Romancing the Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, I had no idea that it was only 130 pages when I bought it. That being said, the story was generally really great. A good mystery, thoughtful and well developed characters. All good things. What made me give it a three was an unfortunate "rape" scene. I'm kind of open to weird sex stuff in books, it takes a lot for me to even mention this type of thing. It just was very uncomfortable for me to read. And even when I shrugged it off as uncomfortable - later in the book the main character says, verbatim, "I even almost raped you." Just random, especially for Nora Roberts.

[Ashley Catron · Rating 1 out of 5]

This makes me so angry because I normally adore Nora Roberts, but this book was a struggle to get through. The "romantic interest" was a horrible person and to know the protagonist ends up back with him because "he loved her," and that was the reason he was being so abusive and damn near raped her? Nope. Not for me. Definitely would not recommend actually.