Hurricane Crimes by Chrys Fey
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Short story (54 pages)
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by FernAfter her car breaks down, Beth Kennedy is forced to stay in Florida, the target of Hurricane Sabrina. She stocks up supplies, boards up windows, and hunkers down to wait out the storm, but her plan unravels when she witnesses a car accident. Risking her life, she braves the winds to save the driver. Just when she believes they are safe, she finds out the man she saved could possibly be more dangerous than the severe weather.
Donovan Goldwyn only wanted to hide from the police, but the hurricane shoved his car into a tree. Now he’s trapped with a beautiful woman while the evidence that can prove his innocence to a brutal crime is out there for anyone to find.
As Hurricane Sabrina wreaks havoc, Beth has no other choice but to trust Donovan to stay alive. But will she survive, or will she become another hurricane crime?
Beth hadn’t planned on weathering out the worst Category 5 hurricane to hit Florida in years, but Sabrina was bearing down and Beth’s car broke down, stranding her at home. With no family to help her out Beth decided to make the most of her bad situation. When a car crashed just a few doors down from her, Beth braved the hurricane and rescued the driver, bringing him back to her home and relative safety. Only the man she rescued isn’t at all what she expected. Can they both survive the storm?
I thought this was an interesting and fast-paced short story. I loved how there were pretty much three main characters to it – Beth, Donovan and Hurricane Sabrina. The author clearly enjoyed making the enormous storm not only have a real part to play in the story but I feel they relished bringing the fierceness and intensity of the Hurricane practically to life. I thoroughly enjoyed the tension of the mystery and felt it worked well hand-in-hand with the overall tension the Hurricane itself brought to the overall story. I have to admit I felt Beth was a little too naïve and trusting. I understand why she couldn’t just open the door and run away – or call the police for help – but that was the only part of the plot that didn’t really connect well with me.
Both Beth and Donovan were interesting characters and kept my attention. Coupled with the interesting mystery plot I had no problems reading this whole story eagerly in one sitting. Towards the end of the story there are a few steamy kisses and one sex scene where the bedroom door is very firmly closed. While I felt the romance between Beth and Donovan felt a little rushed I have to admit that being trapped in a Hurricane and genuinely feeling as if their deaths were imminent went a long way to convincing me the characters found themselves in an extraordinary situation.
With a wonderful happy ending and an interesting plot I found this to be a great short story and one I enjoyed reading. Fast paced and snappy I think this should appeal to a wide range of readers.
Sounds like a interesting suspenseful read.
Thank you for the review!