Customer Reviews

Summer of Storms

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Thirty years ago, Hurricane Queenie battered New York City. The storm made so much noise that no one in the next room heard the struggles of five- year old Julie Jamieson when she was murdered. The police investigated everyone connected to Julie, but failed to find the guilty party. To escape the media and the ghosts, the family fled to Charleston, South Carolina where they still grieve their loss.

The dreams of Anna, Julie's younger sister, come true when her uncle finds her a job as a photographer for a major publisher. The only catch is the job is in the Big Apple. Over the objections of her mother, Anna accepts it. As Ana moves into an apartment in Brooklyn, the Arcaneum, a semi-secret organization consisting of law enforcement officials, decide to relook Julie's murder. These two events trigger the return of a killer who has definitive plans for Anna.

Judith Kelman, known for her superior psychological suspense tales, creates a gothic style story line that sends shivers up and down the spine of the reader. The villain is hidden in plain sight with nobody suspecting the identity of the killer until it is almost too late. SUMMER OF STORMS is also a psychological drama about a family unable to attain closure over the abrupt violent death of a loved one. This absorbing novel will keep the audience's attention even if a thunderstorm booms overhead.

Harriet Klausner

Judith Kelman's "Summer of Storms" provides the reader with an extraordinary insight into the minds of its characters. As the Jameson family deals with the 30-year old legacy of their young daughter Julie's unsolved murder, the reader cannot help but share the frustration of their lingering pain and their growing terror as the murderer reenters their lives. Kelman's unique ability to engage her readers in the experiences of her characters has been pervasive through each of her (now) twelve novels. "Summer of Storms" is certainly no exception ... a wonderfully gripping tale.

A JonBenét Ramsey-like case forms the backdrop for this intense novel about Anna Jameson's search to make sense of and identify the murderer of her sister, Julie, 30 years ago. This fast-paced book has Kelman's typically extraordinarily interesting main characters including Anna's family, her blustering editor Stuart Burlingame and her colleague, Dixon Drake. Even more fascinating are a host of supporting characters such as her landlord and a particularly loathsome customer at her photography studio. Perhaps the most unusual and engaging is the Arcanum, an elite group of criminal science and behavior experts dedicated to solving cold murder cases. I absolutely recommend Summer of Storms for all fans of fast-moving well-crafted suspense.

Judith Kelman has reached new heights with Summer of Storms. I was hooked immediately and couldn't put it down ...

I can't wait for her next release!

SUMMER OF STORMS is a vividly imagined, suspenseful story peopled with quirky, interesting characters. This is a book that only Judith Kelman could write!

Summer of Storms is an absorbing and well-written mystery thriller that will keep you awake at night. Judith Kelman writes with great descriptiveness that brings the urban setting of New York to life.

The story opens with similarities to the Jon Benet Ramsey case. A six year-old girl has been murdered in her bed, while her family slept in their NYC apartment. During an historic storm, who could have entered the building undetected? Thirty years later, the victim's sister Anna has a job opportunity to return to New York. At the same time, unbeknownst to Anna, the cold case of the "Sleeping Beauty Murder" is revived. Strange events occur, then turn deadly. But why would a child murderer return after so long?

I loved this book and burned right through it. Kelman is really a gifted writer.

I really enjoyed this book. As always, Judith Kellman does not disappoint with the suprising ending! This was a great vacation read.

I thought that this was a really good book. The author keeps you in the dark about the killer until the very end. The suspence at the end of the chapters keeps you intrigued and makes it really hard to put the book down. Over all, I thought this was an excellent book.

This book was full of surprising twists and unforgettable characters. I loved the authors sense of place and her sense of humor. I will surely pick up all her other books.

The main character in this book is a supposedly intelligent, thirty-something professional photographer. For such a character she makes incredibly stupid choices, and exhibits both self defeating and immature behavior throughout. Other characters were not well enough developed or sympathetic enough for me to really care about them. Near the end of the book (no spoiler here) the NYPD and the FBI have to locate someone, and the complete idiocy ad ineptitude in their overlooking several obvious ways to do this almost instantly is unbelievable. It is also actually insulting that the author expects us to go along with one of the most contrived and nonsensical endings I have ever read. I have read other books by Kelman and liked them. It's hard to believe she wrote this. Skip this one.