P. M. Terrell - The Tempest Murders

4. The Tempest Murders by P. M. Terrell (2013)
The Ryan O'Clery Mystery Series Book 1
Length: 243 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 8 January 2014
Finished: 17 January 2014
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Tracee at Pump up Your Book and P. M. Terrell for sending me a copy of this book to read from Smashwords.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 21 October 2013
Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries that have slight paranormal overtones to them and P. M. Terrell is a new author for me.

In Lumberton, North Carolina, Detective Ryan O'Clery is working a series of homicides when he comes into possession of a journal kept by his great-uncle, five generations earlier. In his writings, Constable Rian Kelly details an eerily similar set of murders that he is investigating in Dublin, Ireland, during 1839. The number of victims steadily increases - until the night of January 6, 1839, when the 'Night of the Big Wind' swept the Atlantic Ocean across Ireland - completely devastating the country.

As Hurricane Irene barrels towards the North Carolina coastline, Ryan O'Clery discovers that even the killer's description that Rian Kelly mentions, matches exactly Ryan's prime suspect for the homicides in North Carolina. And as he falls in love with television reporter Cathleen Reilly, he wonders if she is, in fact, the reincarnation of Caitlyn O'Conor - Rian Kelly's fiancee, and the suspected final victim of the killer - lost as the storm raged across Ireland.

Ryan is in a desperate race against time. For, if reincarnation is possible, then Ryan suspects that he may just be the reincarnation of Rian Kelly. Now, he must rescue Cathleen before the killer finds her. Or risk losing her forever, as history appears destined to repeat itself.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. As I've said before, I do like stories that have paranormal overtones to them, and mysteries of any kind woven throughout storylines certainly intrigue me. I also like reading stories that are in any way connected to Ireland. I was originally born in Belfast, although until I was about four years old, my family and I lived in Dublin. Anyway, I give The Tempest Murders by P. M. Terrell a definite A+! and look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I just wanted to mention something that happened that surprised me: I had just finished reading this book, and was telling my mom about it. I was explaining how part of the story took place during the 'Night of the Big Wind', when I noticed that my mom was looking at me sort of curiously. I stopped speaking, and she picked up a magazine off a stack of Irish magazines that had just arrived in the mail the day before. The magazine was an issue commemorating 175 years since the 'Night of the Big Wind'!

A+! - (96-100%)          

May you read well and often