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LindaPf

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Two Kinds of Stranger (Eddie Flynn #9)

by Steve Cavanagh (Goodreads Author)

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LindaPf is currently reading

The Storm

by Rachel Hawkins (Goodreads Author)

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read in August 2025

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LindaPf said: " This Southern gothic thriller unfolds partly through the first person POV eyes of Geneva, proprietress of the Rosalie Inn (also once the Shipwreck or Sand Dollar Inn) in fictional St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama (appropriately and ironically named since St This Southern gothic thriller unfolds partly through the first person POV eyes of Geneva, proprietress of the Rosalie Inn (also once the Shipwreck or Sand Dollar Inn) in fictional St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama (appropriately and ironically named since St. Medard is the patron saint for preventing bad weather). The author challenges us to unravel the 1986 story of Hurricane Marie and how, in the aftermath, the married son of the governor was found dead by blunt force. He was in St. Medard’s visiting his beautiful teenage mistress (being wed to a former Miss Alabama wasn’t enough), who may have been the blunt force to his head.

Geneva books a writer, August Fletcher, for a two month visit who wants to dig deeper into the story. Fortunately, Gen’s mother (now suffering from Alzheimer’s) had a pack rat bundle of all the newspaper stories and magazines of the “hurricane murder” in the attic. But there’s a better witness coming back to town: Lo Bailey, the accused mistress, plans to meet with Fletcher so he can write her memoir. She still insists she’s innocent (and also probably wouldn’t mind monetary compensation for her story).

Hawkins’ book also makes characters of hurricanes — just out of sight, brewing stronger and stronger winds, ready to strike (or not) with intense devastation. The story is revealed through Geneva plus a variety of news articles, Lo’s and August’s unfinished manuscripts, Lo’s mother’s diary, other book and magazine excerpts, love letters, texts, and emails. It’s an interesting compilation that keeps the reader slightly ahead of Geneva’s discoveries. To keep up that foreboding sense of unexpected severe weather, Hawkins divides timelines by Hurricane names, which I loved. There never seemed to be a dull moment and this turned out to be a book I didn’t want to put down. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Both Lo and her mother have green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO we have an assortment of coastal gardens and big hanging baskets of begonias adorning the Rosalie Inn’s porch.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy! ...more "

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— Aug 15, 2025 09:14PM

Nov 18, 2025 07:26PM · see review