Storm Surge

Nadine Laman
Nadine Laman Books (2009)
ISBN 9780982332122
Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (10/09)

It was a nice surprise to see that Nadine Laman finished her third book in the Kathryn McKenzie series.  The first two books in the series are “Kathryn’s Beach” and “High Tide.”  You do not need to read the other two before this one, but I highly recommend that you do not miss them.  As with the first two books, this one does not disappoint. 

“Storm Surge” takes place four years after “High Tide.”  The story begins with Kathryn getting the surprise of a lifetime when her Grandfather McKenzie publicly announces his retirement and appoints her to take over the family empire.  This sends the press into a feeding frenzy and she knows that the quiet life that she has built for herself has come to an end.  As she comes to terms with the changes, she leaves the job that she has had for several years and has come to love as a Social Worker at St. Mark’s convent.   

As Kathryn leaves her beloved beach behind to move into her new position and the family mansion, she finds herself cleaning up her cousins’ messes and that she is less than welcome by them.  She also begins to unravel family secrets, threats to her life and very suspicious corporate activity.  Just one of those issues would be enough for anyone to handle, but Kathryn must meet them all head on.  As usual, with large doses of her prized coffee, she does beautifully.

As Kathryn faces all these challenges, she is confronted with her own health challenges and must dig deeper than she ever has to deal with them.  As she does, she learns who she can really trust in her life and that being courageous is the only thing that will get her through. 

“Storm Surge” is very well written and as usual with Nadine Laman’s work, I did not want it to end.  Hopefully, we will see more of her work in the near future.