Revenge is best served cold

Whirlwind is a great read from start to finish. The small town of Shiloh holds many secrets and the tragic abduction and murder of a seven year old girl in the 70s has shaped the lives of the inhabitants forever. The Cromwell family especially, after Donald Cromwell is charged with her murder. His subsequent suicide seems to seal his guilt and his family is left to pick up the pieces.

Years later, Liza Plain interviews the grandson of Donald Cromwell on an unrelated subject but this act sets in motion a series of horrifying events that culminate in a hostage situation in the local church in the midst of a huge snow storm.

There is plenty of detail and many characters to keep track of and the timeline of the story skips back and forth but the writer keeps the plot clear and slowly builds up the suspense.

Revenge is always a good motive and in this story the crazed killer believes that divine retribution is the driving force behind all the killings.

A gripping read

Gillian

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

Sorry. this was not my sort of book after all. It started well but I didn't like the inclusion of angels and the afterlife. Thank you for letting me read it.

Michael Rider is a good man ... or at least he was. An event that occurred even before he was born cost him and his family everything. His grandfather was an accused murderer. Which led to his daughter (Rider's mother) leading a less than good life. She eventually turned to pills and booze which cost her her life. He is now angry and bitter.

Liza Plain is a journalist. She is floundering in her life, and is now dreading the thought of spending Christmas with a grandfather who hates her.

When their lives intersect, Liza finds herself embroiled not only in a decades old murder, but also the series of unsolved, church-linked missing persons.

The first half of the book is little slow, but the author sets up the characters who all play such an important part of the story. A psychopath gives Michael the chance for revenge on a small town, Shiloh, in New England.

It's the second half on the book that nearly took my breath away. It's chilling, and the fear and suspense ratchets higher and higher until the very explosive end. People are going to die. Secrets and lies will be exposed. The ending is something the reader never sees coming.

Many thanks to the author / Severn House / Netgalley for the digital copy of WHIRLWIND. Opinions voiced here are unbiased and entirely my own.

This book told a while to capture my interest. The first third of the book moved slowly and jumped around so much that it was hard to follow. I am glad I kept reading, though, because the last two thirds of the book was fast paced and exciting. While the characters were well developed, truly understanding the character's motivations were sometimes hard to fathom. the character known as "The Reaper" really needed more of a backstory leading up to the final scene, especially since it was unclear how he was able to gather the team he did. I was also disappointed by the ending. There was little information given about what happened to the two main characters. So, while an enjoyable read, there were some flaws.

The beginning of this book was strange and spooky and made me feel like abandoning it; but about halfway through the book, things really picked up and the different threads came together. It became a real page-turner.

I would have preferred a different beginning that would have 'grabbed' me, and I hope people can get past that beginning and stick with it because it's an unusual mystery that's an entertaining read. Lots of twists and turns and unexpected revelations.

Fabulous read! Looking forward to reading more by this author!