Storm Warning [Abridged] [Audio Cassette]

Dinah McCall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2001

Time is running out for Ginny Shapiro. Of the seven smiling schoolgirls in the photo from the exclusive Montgomery Academy taken twenty years ago, she is the only one still alive. She knows that something happened all those years ago, but the memory is buried deep within her. And then it begins to come back, triggered by a sound, a single word...a voice from the past. FBI agent Sullivan Dean has the same photo and, armed with information that came too late to save her six friends, he knows that he must find Ginny before someone else does....

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1979, seven girls attended a class for gifted students at a Manhattan private school. That same year a lightning bolt burned the school down, destroying all of its records; the girls themselves remember nothing of the class's contents or its instructor. Twenty years later, each of the young women receives a single phone call that causes them to slip into a hypnotic trance and commit suicide, oblivious to warnings or pleas. Only St. Louis reporter Virginia Shapiro discovers the threat in time and flees her home to avoid the mysteriously compelling call. Eventually, she is joined by off-duty FBI agent Sullivan Dean, a close friend of one of the victims. The two battle perils on the road and then their equally intense attraction at a remote safe house where they wait while the FBI clumsily attempts to solve the case. Meanwhile, Nobel-winning doctor Emile Karnoff, who unbeknownst to the world was the class's teacher, continues to heal illness with hypnosis as his disturbed son disintegrates and his wife keeps life tidy in increasingly peculiar ways. Neither the book's medical nor its investigative details ring true, and a surprising denouement leaves many questions unanswered. Despite its novel premise, McCall's (The Return) lackluster thriller fails to develop full characters or a credible plot line.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In the space of a few weeks, six of Ginny Shapiro's grade-school friends have committed suicide even Sister Mary Theresa, who wrote to tell her of the deaths and knew that killing herself was a mortal sin. Having learned that a phone call somehow triggers these so-called suicides, Ginny is running for her life, with FBI agent Sullivan Dean a friend of Sister Mary's brother in hot pursuit, determined to save her. Intense, fast-paced, and cleverly crafted, this engrossing tale deals with some of the darker aspects of hypnosis and human nature and will appeal to those who like their contemporary romances on the chilling side. McCall (The Return) also writes under her own name, Sharon Sala, and lives in Oklahoma.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Dh Audio; Abridged edition (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552042634
• ISBN-13: 978-1552042632
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,640,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It'll keep you guessing..., July 4, 2003

By 

iheartjackbauer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Storm Warning (Mass Market Paperback)

Ginny Shapiro gets the shock of her life when she realizes that six out of the seven girls that were in the gifted class at age six are dead of suicide after receiving mysterious phone calls. Most of the women were happy, most especially her close friend Georgia who embraced God and became Sister Mary Theresa. When she finds out how Georgia died, and receives a package from her after she died, Ginny knew that she couldn't stay put. On the run from an unknown assaliant, Ginny has no one, until Sullivan Dean comes to her rescue.

Agent Sully Dean is dealing with his own guilt. Knowing Georgia since she was in pigtails, he was more than happy for her when she made her decision to become a nun. When he got her package too late to help, he knew that the one thing that he could do to honor her memory was to protect her friend, Ginny. What he doesn't expect is the complexity of the case, nor his feelings for Ginny.

Storm Warning has a very interesting story line, but the romance between the two seemed to fall flat. There was a little too much drama involved with an incident that happened half way through the book, which I think the book could have done with out. It was after days that they fell in love, but they just didn't seem to click as most authors make their characters click. I enjoyed the suspense and the ending was very surprising and a lot disturbing.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Highly Disappointed, June 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Storm Warning (Mass Market Paperback)

I was looking forward to this book. The plot sounded interesting, and I am a great fan of Dinah McCall. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Is this the same women who wrote Jackson Rule and Dreamcatcher??? The romance was forced, and almost like an afterthought. The part of the book about the fishing camp had nothing to do with the main plot, and was distracting to the story line. This book, in my opinion, was poorly written. I expected much better from an author with Ms. McCall's experience. If you want to read this book, wait until it comes to your library.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Answer The Phone!, June 6, 2005

By 

Susie Morris "Book Junkie" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Storm Warning (Mass Market Paperback)

Dinah McCall serves up a thriller with a little different beat. STORM WARNING has the reader wondering if this could really happen and lets your imagination take over from there, similar to John Saul's GUARDIAN.

Seven girls who attended a gifted class when they were very young in 1979 are suddenly committing suicide with no warning and under very bizarre circumstances - each receive a phone call and become entranced and kill themselves. When Ginny Shapirio, an investigative reporter, realizes she's the only one left from this class, she begins to wonder. She receives a letter of warning from Sister Mary Theresa (her best friend) warning her not to answer the phone. Sister Mary Theresa has linked their classmates' deaths to a phone call right before their demise. However, Sister Mary Theresa dies before the letter is received and Ginny flees to try to save herself - but from what or whom she's not certain.

FBI agent Sullivan Dean, finds Ginny, and tries to help. It's a convoluted chain of friendships that gets Dean involved, but once you figure that out, you understand his drive. Ginny and Dean strive to figure out why these suicides happened, and what can be done to stop the "trigger" from setting off Ginny.

Character development is excellent. McCall creates a vibrant victim in Ginny - she's smart, attractive, and a strong female. Dean is also robust and the perfect match to compliment Ginny. Thrown in is a Nobel-winning doctor (Emile Karnoff) who is a bit eccentric but believes in his theory of using hypnosis to heal. Emile comes with his crazy son and doting wife (she thrives on keeping everything tidy).

The plot line is a bit farfetched, but fun. To spice up the thriller side of the story, a good dose of romance is tossed in for good measure. STORM WARNING is a perfect blend of thriller and romance. Dinah McCall (AKA Sharon Sala) is definitely an author to peruse. I've enjoyed all of her books that I've read to date and STORM WARNING is at the top of that list!