I picked a great weekend to read Storm Warning: a gloomy, rainy one that seemed perfect for curling up with a thriller about a group of people trapped in a hurricane. But while the weather definitely enhanced the atmosphere of the story, I can’t say that the book itself blew me away (pun totally intended).

The premise of Storm Warning is intriguing: A man on a Florida barrier island must protect his family, and the island’s other residents, from both a destructive hurricane and a murderer – like a mash-up of a locked room mystery and a natural disaster thriller. But unfortunately, it didn’t take me long to realize I wasn’t going to vibe with this one as much as I’d hoped.

Everything about the book, from the mystery to the characters to the plotting, seemed very surface level. I can appreciate a book that is action-forward, but I think this could have been a much better book had David Bell explored some of his subject matter – complex family dynamics, the effects of development on indigenous populations, age-related issues, neurodivergence, drug abuse, climate change – in a more meaningful way. Bell does make attempts at giving his characters meaningful backstories, but I wanted them to be more developed. And in a book that was heavy on dialogue, many of the characters’ conversations rang false. The teenage daughter’s dialogue in particular came off as, to borrow some teen slang myself, “cringe.”

Don’t get me wrong: Parts of Storm Warning are exciting and tense as the hurricane closes in. But that tension was overshadowed by characters behaving in unbelievable ways and some plot points that strained credulity a bit too much. This was my first book by Bell, although I have several of his previous titles on my list to read. I’ll definitely give him another try, but I wouldn’t recommend starting with Storm Warning if he’s a new author for you. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for the early reading opportunity.

This is my first book by David Bell and also my last, as you can probably surmise I was not thrilled with this one. Jake is driving from Florida back to his estranged wife and daughter in Ohio. Jake's estranged wife and daughter are driving to Florida from Ohio to see him. So this is a family of people who drive a thousand miles without telling the person they're visiting. That was the first thing I shook my head at, who does that!? And what are the chances that they both decide to do that on the same day no less I mean really?

There's been a murder and Jake reports it to the police but no officers come, like none at all ever. That's the second thing I shook my head at. I know there's a storm and all but we're talking about a dead body with a hole in the head that wasn't put there by an accident. That's the second thing I shook my head at. There is a category three hurricane and no one leaves the building? The police don't evacuate and make people take shelter? Way too far-fetched.

Every character in this story made stupid mistakes repeatedly. Gawd I really hate it when I read a book and I feel like the author thinks his readers are too dumb to catch on to his mistakes. Well guess what...your book is really dumb. The ending was really terrible too, I felt ripped off. I read three hundred pages for that? Let's go skip off into the sunset all hunky dory. Truthfully by that point, I didn't care. I wish I could give negative stars.

I was intrigued by what should have been the ultimate locked room thriller - a group of tenants trapped in a dilapidated building in the eye of a hurricane. I could not get past Jordan and Mackenzie showing up for a surprise vacation in the middle of hurricane season… does anyone check the weather?! They drove from Ohio to Florida so Mackenzie could see the ocean. They both distracted from the story and I feel like it would’ve played out much better if it was just the MC and the tenants and a killer.

Another brilliant thriller by this brilliant author. It brings mother nature in as a character and who is more dangerous, mother nature or man? This book will keep you at the edge of your seat until the end. Great book

David Bell, does it again

I mean, did we expect anything else?

I completely fan-girled out last year after reading She’s Gone…. I fell head over heels in love with Bell’s style. After concluding (and picking my jaw up off the ground) I knew Bell, would join my list of "auto buy authors" .

I love the way Bell, throws us right into the chaos. The suspense is present early on. The character development is on point and each one of the characters come to life between the pages. The twist will get everyones pulse racing and left me in pure shock.

This is a MUST READ for everyone who loves thrillers, suspense, and even drama.

Storm Warning, is out June 25, 2024, you know what to do! Head on over to your favorite bookstore and pre-order this book!


Teaser :

A man living on a Florida barrier island must protect his family from both an approaching hurricane and a relentless killer.

Jake Powell is racing to get off the island as a powerful hurricane approaches. When he finds his best friend Dallas, the building manager, dead from a blow to the skull, Jake realizes there’s more than the storm to fear. There’s a murderer on the island, maybe even still inside the nearly abandoned building.

Dallas had repeatedly run afoul of the wealthy owners of the building by complaining about code violations and the precarious state of the condos. But he’d also once told Jake that every resident had a secret they’d come to Florida to escape. Had one of them killed to conceal their sins? As a dozen people shelter together in hopes of surviving the deadly hurricane, a second murder makes it all too clear: one of them is a dangerous killer.

2.5 stars

The premise sounded quite engaging. However, I found many parts very far-fetched, even for fiction. I never really connected with any of the characters, and their logic behind their actions seemed implausible, perhaps even lame. I did enjoy the tense angle as a result of the storms and short chapters, which helped with the pace. The ending didn't work for me, as it was way to "perfect."

This is a thrilling mystery! Is a murderer cloaked in the shadows of a decrepit building while a hurricane rages and threatens to destroy the building and the lives of those who still live within. Jake is just an ordinary man, hoping to reconcile with his wife and daughter in Ohio, when he is thrust into doing whatever he can to ensure that his fellow tenants survive both the onslaught of a hurricane, as well as a possible murderer in their midst. Jake, the other tenants and his visiting family soon find themselves in a fight for their lives. David Bell has created a cast of characters that show the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unsurmountable odds. His descriptions of the hurricane are vividly realistic. Yes, it is a good mystery, but also a story of hope and new beginnings. I thoroughly enjoyed the book! Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy. The opinions of my review are my own.

4.5🌟
What’s more dangerous….mother nature? Or man?!

Jake left his wife and daughter in Ohio for a small island off the Florida coast. It was supposed to be temporary. A stay in an old apartment building destined for destruction. (He's hoping his marriage will have a better future than the building).

Jake needed some time to find himself and reset the marriage. Now refreshed and renewed, he’s ready to drive back home, but his timing couldn’t be worse. A category 3 hurricane is bearing down on the tiny island!

To compound this bad timing, his wife and daughter decide to surprise him and show up just as the hurricane is making its way on land.

But the reunion is going to have to wait when the body of the apartment manager is found murdered.
Completely cutoff from the mainland Jake realizes he needs to step up to protect his family and the quirky characters living in his crumbling apartment complex.

Will they survive the storm? Or will the killer make sure no one leaves the island.

David Bell had always been an auto request/read author for me! I so looked forward to his books every spring. But the last few years his books seem to have a different feel. They just didn’t click with me like his previous. I started asking myself if I needed to take a break from his books for a while.

But I’m so happy to say…he’s baaack! 🎶

Once again, David Bell pens a magnificent thriller! With short chapters keep the storyline moving at breakneck speed, I finished the book in two sittings! You do need to suspend your believability (quite a bit), and if you can you are in for one heck of a ride!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing

I loved the hurricane setting! I thought the characters were well-developed and likable. The plot kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next. I really enjoyed this whole book, except for the ending. It wrapped up a little too neat and quick. And the box of papers did not make a lot of sense to me.

This is my first book by this author, and I’m impressed! I read this book in one sitting. I’ve lived through several hurricanes and can relate to much of his detailed descriptions. You could almost feel the wind and rain hitting your clothes. While there was an underlying mystery, the main theme was the simple man who became a hero by stepping up and taking care of a wide variety of people. I found it inspiring. My only issue is that the author seemed to forget about the cat. I wanted Isaac to survive the storm, but he just disappears from the plot. I’d like to think his owner never let go of him! Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I don’t like giving a book only 2 stars but this one really wasn’t for me. It was just way too far-fetched to believe any of it, even for a fiction novel. I found myself getting extremely annoyed with pretty much every character’s decisions. From the very beginning of the book I found myself saying, really? Who would ever do that?
The ending was ok but again, very far fetched. Pretty much like.. really, all of that.. for THAT?
If you like thrillers that take place during storms/hurricanes, and can put up with a lot of unrealistic moments— you will probably enjoy this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

When you get to read an ARC copy of the new David Bell novel, you immediately start reading it because every single one of his books are winners. And Storm Warning did not disappoint. Play by play of about a 13 hour period of time, before and after a major hurricane. And about a dozen characters, none of which you know whether they are good or bad because they all seemed a little sketchy in their own way. The story packed a lot of action and was pretty flawlessly told. Lots of attention to detail, and a nicely wrapped up ending. I always can appreciate a good David Bell thriller, and this story was definitely something worth staying up past my bedtime to finish reading.

Jake is a husband and father who took a “break” from his family to live on a Florida island. He decides to go back home to his family in Ohio but he has to get past this little thing called a hurricane that has just trapped him on the island. And then there is a little thing about the tenants left in this crumbling building- (the whole island has been bought and very few tenants remain to ride the storm out.) being killed. So as they struggle to survive the hurricane and stay safe they also have murderer on the loose. Is it one of those left in the building or someone related to the new owners/ sellers? I found myself not wanting to out this one down. It really is someone’s worst nightmares to be stuck with a hurricane barreling down. I was terrified and felt like I was there. Which means it was good. I liked the whole dunnit aspect of the book and was able to guess some things along the way. But I did enjoy every second of the book. And I am a huge David Bell fan.

Trapped with a killer in a building during a disastrous hurricane, this was a quick, entertaining read. While I had to suspend disbelief for the plot (three people willingly traveling to an island in the middle of a storm), this was a good read. The writing was descriptive, enabling me to feel myself in the storm itself. The plot was good and fast-paced, but the ending fell short. The reasoning didn't seem enough to me and felt like a "and they lived happily ever after" vibe. All in all, this is good for a beach read or quick trip. Three stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group, for this ARC.

Thank you to Berkley Books, @Berkley and Netgalley @Netgalley for this e-arc. All thoughts are my own.

I love a good storm book, so was excited to dive into this one. I will have to caveat this review by saying I don’t live on the coast with Hurricanes, so certain things may strike me as odd, but they really aren’t for those who normally encounter them. I did my best effort to ask my friends who live in Florida about their experiences with hurricanes for context, but again, this is all secondhand knowledge.

I will say that if there was a hurricane headed straight for the small island I lived on, I’d be hightailing it out of there! But, things get delayed and Jake goes back and discovers a dead body. This leads to not making it out and having to deal with not only the hurricane, but knowing there is a killer on the loose.

The writing was immersive and descriptive, which did make me feel like I was experiencing the book with the characters. However, the actual plot seemed to be slow and lacking. I struggle when things happen, but they just happen to fill space, and that seemed to be the case here. I also thought there wasn’t a ton of substantive weight that was given to the particular killer threat, and when they did find the killer, it was just nicely wrapped up and everyone was happy and had a nice day. It was almost too much of a tidy ending to me, I prefer things to be a little messier or ambiguous.

I still grappled with most of the story because things seemed so outlandish to be. I could have used some more information into how storms have historically handled the island. I think information like that would have added to my reading journey and brought me more enjoyment.

Just as Jake is ready to go back to Ohio, a hurricane hits the small island where he’s been living. When he finds the manager of the building murdered he races back to town to report it to the police. Unfortunately, his wife and daughter came the island to bring him back, so Jake has to rush back to get them. As the hurricane rushes in, Jake finds himself trying to keep everyone safe while a killer is loose. Short chapters and the fast paced action will keep you turning the pages. I thought the reason behind everything was kind of lame, so the ending wasn’t the best.

I really like his style of writing, his characters seem real, full of quirks and heart. Takes place in a old building, set for destruction, during a bad hurricane. A small group of tenants have to band together to survive, both the storm, the building and a killer

Loved the atmosphere and the setting here. The characters were solid and the writing flowed well enough to keep me reading. Obviously the plot itself gripped me too, the premise was crazy good. I can recommend this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for the copy of Storm Warning by David Bell. I’m not a fan of “slow burn” novels, so getting a taste of the oncoming hurricane on the first page got me invested in the book right away. I have never experienced a hurricane, but this book made me feel like I had, because it was so vivid. I hope to never experience one now! I love how Bell has the ability to humanize his characters and let us get to know them through their actions instead of by simply describing them. One of the things that make a thriller soar for me is when a character does or says something so tender or kind that I tear up and there were a number of those moments in this stupendous book, which is destined to be on my top ten books of 2024.

David Bell is fast becoming one of my favorite mystery authors. His characters and plot is absolutely amazing. This is one I will need to own in my collection.