Review of Storm Surge by Tamara Ward

I had the chance to meet Tamara Ward at the Apex Writer's Guild meeting a few months ago. She had recently released Storm Surge--A Jonie Waters Mystery through Peak City Publishing. A few days later I went to All Booked Up, in Apex, NC to buy said book. They actually had to sell me the display copy because they had sold out of the rest--and I can see why.

The story centers around Jonie Waters, a reporter who is returning to her hometown of Wilmington, NC in seek of new employment. She had left the area some time ago due to issues with her family--most noticeably her step-sister, Kimmie. There is quite the history between Jonie and Kimmie, which makes for a very interesting addition to the book. Without giving away too much of the book, Jonie finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation of an old friend and Kimmie is a detective working on the case. But Kimmie doesn't work alone. Her partner, Daniel, is someone that Jonie finds fascinating, despite the fact he's Kimmie's partner and he often is at odds with Jonie's investigation methods.

While the book is a murder mystery, the heart and soul of the book are the characters. They add a dimension to the book I've not found in many other books of this genre. What makes it more interesting to me is that this is the first book of a series. While the story of the mystery is engaging, it is really Jonie that drives the book. I can't wait to see what happens to her next.

Tamara does an excellent job with the mystery aspect of the book. I honestly had no idea who the killer was until it was revealed at the end. The writing flows well and the book has excellent pacing.

As far as who would like this book? I'd give it a PG-13 rating for some violence and some slightly suggestive themes--and even then, it's still something I'd let my teenagers read.

To sum up how good this book is, my wife stayed up until 3:00 am one night to finish it because she "had to see how it ended." 

For more about Tamara Ward, click here. 

To order the book, click here. 

**Disclaimer: I purchased this book on my own. I was not given any compensation for this review, so the contents herein are my honest opinion. **