⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Was I hooked by that book? Absolutely. An epic storm and unexpected danger bring family, friends, and neighbours together in this hair-raising, suspenseful thriller.
After the sudden death of her husband, Ellen McKenna is doing everything she can to keep her Texas farm afloat. She and her family hope to expand their operation, but times are tough and making ends meet is more expensive than she imagined, much less trying to grow. Many of their neighbors in Cooke County have thrown in the towel and agreed to sell their farms to a local businessman, but despite similar pressure, Ellen refuses to let her dreams die. On top of the usual hardships, a series of recent storms has left the region partly flooded, and as the heavy rain begins again one morning, all the members of the McKenna family jump into action to protect their land and animals. Ellen’s oldest son discovers an injured dog—and the dog leads him to a man barely clinging to life, the apparent victim of a brutal home invasion. Then, Ellen’s younger kids go to check on a nearby neighbor and walk into a threat none of them saw coming. Before anyone can figure out what’s really going on in their idyllic rural valley, the storm picks up again in intensity, and the McKenna kids find themselves in over their heads with no way to call for help. To protect her farm–and her family—Ellen must face down all the forces trying to tear them apart.
MY THOUGHTS
Whoa, what a ride! That was beyond intense. The plot flowed fast and furious with various different things happening at the same time. Every situation was meticulously set up and explained, which made it easy to keep all the events straight. Believe me, that was helpful and necessary to not lose track of every complicated, nail-biting detail.
Ellen, her children, and all the other characters showed so much fortitude and common sense. Their decisions weren’t always the greatest, but they did the best they could. (Except maybe the villains, they just kept making desperate and dangerous mistakes.) The focus shifted between the various characters and the disasters they had to navigate. Everything connected seamlessly together in this gripping drama that was very hard to put down.
The tension was continuously high for about a good two thirds of the book. My heart was in my throat that entire time, until things started to turn around and hope resurfaced. I can highly recommend this if you like a suspenseful crime thriller. See what other readers are saying on Goodreads.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Were you hooked by that book? Let me know in the comments below.
Genre: Suspense
Publication Date: June 23, 2026
Sensuality Rating: None
