The Storm by Rachel Hawkins
“”The Storm” is an out-from-nowhere body slam of a Southern Gothic thriller you don’t want to miss!”
Closely held secrets and shocking surprises await readers of the edgy Southern Gothic thriller The Storm by New York Times best-selling author Rachel Hawkins. It’s the height of hurricane season in the fictional small coastal town of St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama although lacking a bay; the town was appropriately named after St. Medard, the patron saint of hurricanes. Geneva Corliss, reluctant owner of the historic Rosalie Inn which has weathered storms of every type for over a century, is facing financial ruin. Her father is deceased, her mother Ellen is in an assisted living facility with advanced early onset Alzheimer’s disease and this rundown beachfront hotel is her only asset. The property needs updating, bookings are down from previous years and the sad fact is there are nicer resorts and hotels in the community with more modern amenities. A phone call from August Fletcher, a nonfiction magazine crime writer who wishes to investigate and write about a 41 year-old unsolved murder may be the answer to her prayers by generating a large influx of cash. He’s willing to pay top dollar to stay at the Rosalie Inn for several weeks, potentially extending into months and would be bringing with him a guest who would be staying in a different room.
A Murder That Refuses to Fade
Hurricane Marie on August 4, 1984 was the last fatal monster storm to hit St. Medard’s Bay during which occurred the mysterious murder of Landon Fitzroy, handsome son and golden boy of the sitting Governor of Alabama, attorney, aspiring politician and serial seducer of young women. Gloria “Lo” Bailey, a beautiful teenager and reputedly his about to be discarded mistress was arrested. She was charged with the crime, held without bail and released when a hopelessly hung jury prompted the judge to declare a mistrial. Neither his father nor his childless widow, a former Miss Alabama, commented on the decision. The prosecutor’s promise to seek an immediate retrial never came to fruition. Lo Bailey seemed the only one determined to clear her name no matter how long it might take.
Media portrayed “teenage temptress” luring a happily married man into sex and sin or “vulnerable victim” were aspersions Lo Bailey wished to dispel. Although one of the poorer girls in St. Medard’s Bay, she was also the prettiest, and many people believed she had gotten away with murder and deserved the electric chair. Her father had died in the biggest storm of 1965, Hurricane Delphine, which her mother narrowly escaped by climbing and clinging to a tree. Lo’s best friends were Frieda, who lived with her parents in a trailer outside of town, Ellen, whose parents owned what had been the only hotel in town and souvenir shop owner Beth Ann Bailey, who was a well-liked solid member of the community. These innocents called themselves The Witches of St. Medard’s Bay and hung out together in and out of school. Oddly, they were not contacted after the trial. Lo was only nineteen when she fled the town and nearly sixty when she returned with writer August Fletcher. She remained lithe, trim and full of sass albeit with wrinkles evident in direct sunlight.
When the Storm Comes Calling
Hurricane warnings are well heeded among coastal folk who have weathered multiple CAT-4 and 5 storms experiencing loss of lives, homes and property. They have their hurricane preparedness routines mastered, check their lists to shutter or board-up windows and glass doors, bring in bicycles, children’s toys and garden ornaments that could vanish or cause structural damage when airborne. They have bottled water, food, batteries, flashlights, wireless radios and fully charged phones along with cash and clothing. Hurricane Lizzie has been predicted but nothing can prepare the current residents of the Rosalie Inn from the kind of terrifying rage The Storm that will deliver to their door.
Rachel Hawkins has adroitly employed acclaimed filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon effect by narrating The Storm from multiple disparate and conflicting viewpoints by each major character in turn. The various recollections of the 1984 murder may yet reveal the truth. The Storm is an out-from-nowhere body slam of a Southern Gothic thriller you don’t want to miss!
Rachel Hawkins is the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs, Reckless Girls, The Villa, The Heiress, and The Storm as well as multiple books for young readers. Her work has been translated intoover a dozen languages. She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University and currently lives in Alabama.
Publish Date: January 6, 2026
Genre: Fiction, Thrillers
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Page Count: 288 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 978-1250341884