Vengeance is a bitter brew served in your own cupped hands.

Nate McHale finds himself tracking far distant miles from home aboard a cramped bus in the direction of Greystone Lake, New York. A hurricane is churning up along the east coast making travel hazardous at best. His thoughts turn to his wife Meg and his daughter Livvy who are headed to the safety of her parents' home. Images of his patients also swirl in the mind of this pediatric surgical oncologist.

Now what would draw this dedicated man away from his family and his practice on such a foreboding day as this? A funeral. But not just an ordinary funeral. Lucy Bennett, Nate's first love, has been found in the depth of the woods after she had been missing for fourteen years. Nothing proves more than these ties that certainly bind. Although Nate has distanced himself from his hometown of Greystone Lake, there are still darklings so rooted in the past that they continue to zig and zag and bleed into the present. There's a stain on Nate's soul, admitted or not.

Nate visits his band of brothers from his youth. The name of Lucy is spoken in hushed whispers. They visit their ol' haunt of The Night Ship along the abandoned pier. The Night Ship was once a lively nightclub back in 1964 which housed some unscrupulous activities and tragedies. It also served as a nesting place for Nate and Lucy until the wee hours of the morning.

But the air is now filled with more electricity than just the impending storm. approaching them. Crimes are being committed in the area with severe damage to personal property including the pub owned by Nate's grandmother, Bea. Who's behind all this? Is it one individual or a group of vigilantes with a dark vendetta? And why?

Brendan Duffy has created a tale here that should make even ol' Alice dizzy from falling down this rabbit hole. He throws everything into this one with unrelenting slams into the walls of that cavernous hole. The reader doesn't have time to steady the mind after this continuous onslaught. And sometimes, just sometimes, this can be just too much of a good thing. You'll have to judge for yourself if you're buying everything that he's selling. Still a good read even though it's like trying to fold back a treacherous paper roadmap. So many, many folds and creases.

I received a copy of The Storm King through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Ballantine Books (Random House) and Brendan Duffy for the opportunity.

Holy heck!!!! Right off the bat, I need to say this book is fantastic!!! AMAZING!!! I love a great suspense novel and Brendan Duffy 100% delivers an addictive read that you absolutely won’t be able to put down! I was hooked from the beginning and was blown away how Brendan Duffy intricately spun a web of mystery that had me creating A LOT conspiracy theories that all proved to be waaaaay wrong!! The pacing was perfect and twist and turns were well-timed (I honestly never saw most of them coming)—love that! The Storm King is a 5+++ star novel that is at the top of my 2018 favorites list!!! Trust me, you won’t want to miss this MUST READ!!!

I found this book surprisingly good. It started out a little slow as there seemed to be quite a bit of set up leading into the main character, Nate's, state of mind. Once I was into it, I found the story very interesting. The author did a good job with the plot and the story was exciting through to the end. I thought it was pretty easy to read, prose and style were very good.. It had a good flow to the story overall. The character development seemed to be just right. I had a pretty good feel for all the main players in the end. About halfway through I thought the story really picked up and the book is hard to put down till the end. I really enjoyed the story and the psychological aspects of it, the twists and turns kept it very interesting. There were a couple points of teenage life that I found a little extreme and would like to dispute with the author, but hey it's his book not mine. I'll give it 4.5 stars. The story ends up being one of the most interesting I have read lately. If you like psychological thrillers, this should be an extremely enjoyable read.

I gave this book 3 stars, but in truth it is probably more like a 3.5. It is well-written, and I think others may like it more than I did. There is some mystery, and the whole book is pretty dark. Nate, a doctor with a young family, returns home for a funeral that coincides with a hurricane making landfall. Just as in his youth, thunder storms at night coincide with acts of vandalism, but now the acts are targeted at Nate's family and friends. The story alternates between Nate's present day and flashbacks of his high school years.

I struggled with the fact that while I mostly liked adult Nate, I did not like him as a teenager at all, and it is clear that he is emotionally damaged as a result of the tragedy at the beginning of the book. The book explores the concept of the ripple effect a person's actions can have on others, but it neglects the fact that even when things "happen" to people, it is up to each person how to react to the situation and the effects it can have.

This book was a real page turner. I found myself wondering in my off moments not reading the book what would happen to Nate. The twists and turns it took were reminiscent of The Girl on the Train. The description of the scenery and the lake made me want to go on vacation to this beautiful place. It was very timely that I was reading this book at this point in time due to the large Number of hurricanes we have had this year and it made it much more real for me. Highly recommend.

5 stars

This book could be subtitled: “A Cautionary Tale about Vengeance.”

Fourteen-year old Nate McHale is a baseball player who makes the winning move in his latest baseball game. Lauded as hero of the day, he receives the game ball. His family decides to go on a celebratory picnic. His mother, father and his three-year old brother Gabe set out for the picnic place when suddenly a car comes at them. His father can’t press the brake for Nate’s game ball is now trapped under the brake pedal. Plunging off the road, the car winds up in the lake. Nate is the only survivor.

His apparent recovery is accomplished at his grandmother’s home. She also owns and manages the local bar. The driver of the car that ran them off the road is convicted of drunk driving and is sentenced to prison. Nate meets Lucy, a girl in his class and they fall together in a mad passion. Here the secrets begin. Nate and his three friends Jonny, Tom and Owen fall into a reign of terror on the little town. This is in response to the hurts they feel they have suffered at the hands of their victims. On graduation night, Lucy disappears.

Nate is the only of the four friends to escape the little town. He goes to college and becomes a pediatric oncological surgeon. He saves lives, he makes kids better and he tries to be a good father to his young daughter, Livvy and a good husband to his wife, Meg. Fourteen years later he returns to his hometown to attend a funeral. Lucy’s body has been found. His visit coincides with the arrival of hurricane Medea.

Things begin to go wrong. Some young people are wreaking the same havoc upon the little town that Nate and his friends used to.

Nate meets an old woman who tells him his story. Nate begins to understand the consequences that his and his friends’ actions had on the town’s inhabitants. He understands the nature of his own guilt.

In an exciting denouement, we learn who killed Lucy and the others.

This book is both brilliantly written and plotted. The book goes back and forth between the past and the present, a device that Mr. Duffy uses to good effect. There are no wasted words. The background information given about the main characters only adds to the depth and richness of the story. The psychological insights are very well done and grant the reader more insight as to the motivations of “The Storm King” and his followers. Mr. Duffy’s understanding of both psychology and human nature are uncannily spot on. I truly enjoyed this book and will certainly look for more of Brendan Duffy’s writing.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for forwarding to me a copy of this most remarkable novel to read and enjoy.

This ARC was provided complements of NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. My gratitude sent to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for allowing this pre-release edition made available.

The author drove home a lesson known all too well. To me anyway. Wrapped up in an old cliché that says it best: "You can run but you can't hide." Our feelings. Emotions. Travel the world with us. No leaving them behind. Our constant companion. This superbly-written narrative took me scene-by-scene through the turmoil that had shaken a town down to its very foundation. Once, a wondrous mountain retreat. Behold Greystone Lake. Unprepared, I took a perilous journey that led to heartbreak and horror. I could not look away. Not an option. Nor, could I stop reading. The scenes progressively gathered momentum with an ending that ultimately, hit with the power of a freight-train. I never saw it coming. Thrilling ride.

Nate McHale played junior varsity on Greystone Lake's baseball team. One of their star players. His team had just won a game. A picture perfect spring day in April. He was awarded the game ball for knocking home the winning run. An honor. What more could he ask for? Time to celebrate. His parents and younger brother Gabe headed out in the family car to enjoy Nate's one simple request. A peach pie. The game ball perched in the front seat next to his mom. Suddenly, an oncoming car swerved into their lane. Nate's father reacted quickly swerving in time to avoid a collision. In doing so, the baseball rolled off the seat and wedged itself under the brake pedal. There was no stopping. When his father tried to apply the brakes, the pedal wouldn't budge. Doomed, the car careened over a cliff and plummeted into Greystone Lake. To the bottom. Nate survived with a shattered arm and broken ribs. His family gone. If only he'd struck out...

Sixteen years had passed since the tragic accident. Nate McHale had turned his life around. Now a medical doctor. Surgeon. A satisfying life. Until now. It would all need to be put on hold for a while. How long - not sure. The past was desperately calling to him. After saying his sad goodbyes to his wife Meg and three-year-old daughter Livvy, he began his fateful journey back to his old stomping grounds. To his old memories. Some good. Others nightmares. Greystone Lake. Welcome home.

Hikers had found Lucy's body hidden in the foothills that surrounded the lake. What was left of it anyway. Fourteen years had gone by. Beyond decomposition. Hyoid bone crushed - tattered panties revealed blood and semen. The medical examiner's report concluded; she had been raped and murdered. The community fell into a state of shock. Raped and murdered.

At one time, they had feelings for each other. More than just feelings. They were High School sweethearts. Homecoming king and queen. The talk of the town. Nate envisioned a bright future with her. They were in love. Young love. Marriage. Children. Life. The whole works. Then one day, she just disappeared. Everyone in town thought she'd run away. Everyone that is, except Nate. He searched high and low for her. Exhausted, he gave up. With the blink of an eye. Gone were the dreams. The hope. Shattered.

After all these years, he'd never stopped thinking about her. Couldn't. Now, fourteen years later summoned back to attend her funeral. She'd been found. His darling Lucy. Coming back home brought with it all the uncontrollable misery and rage that consumed him in his former life. Maybe, he really wasn't so different now after all. An electrifying feeling once again raced through his blood.

After an initial greeting, his former best friend, town Deputy, Tom, drove him to his grandmother's house. He had lived with her for two years following the tragic accident that claimed his family. Till graduation. Upon entering his old bedroom upstairs, he found a baseball that had been thrown through a nearby window. Sitting on top of the bed. This could be no coincidence given the timing of the funeral. What message was he being sent?

His time at Greystone Lake had spiraled down from bad to worse. A teenager's body had been found washed up along the shore. Not the result of drowning. She had been murdered. Strangled. Her friend, possibly boyfriend, missing. There's a killer on the loose. The town was thrown into a frenzy. Why had she been murdered? Where's the missing boy?

It had been confirmed. Finally. Lucy had not run away as everyone imagined. Nate's suspicions proved true. The one time he wished he was wrong. Closure's not all cracked with what it's supposed to be. A sad reality. All that mattered now was finding the one responsible for her murder. Most likely, someone present at the funeral. His present life, family, work - on the back burner. He would not rest. Even at the risk of his own life.

After a terrible car crash leaves his family dead, and Nate McHale miraculously unharmed. he’s filled with anger over the injustice of it. He spends his remaining time in high school meting out justice to those he feels are in need of it. he and his best friends use the cover of storms to wreak havoc. Now, years later, Nate is a doctor, husband and father, and living far away from the lake that took his family from him. But he is summoned back to his hometown when the body of his long missing high school girlfriend is found. Things are not any easier at the Lake, and a new group of teens has stepped forward to take over Nate’s role as Storm King, with disastrous results. My favorite parts of this book centered around Nate’s younger days – this is a coming of age story right out of hell