Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1015919 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 268 pages

Customer Reviews

Look What the Hurricane Stirred Up
Luanne was admittedly a little reluctant to go help Tony Amado. His aunt, Miss Keen, has just died, and rumor had it she had thrown something into the lake near where she lived. Tony needed Luanne to come and dive in the lake to find whatever it was his aunt threw in there.

The problems come almost as soon as Luanne arrives. Being early May, the alligators are in the middle of mating season. Miss Keen insisted on an autopsy, and the coroner finds foul play. And there's a hurricane coming, bringing its own damage and danger.

When I realized the action of the book was going to move from Luanne's home in the swamps outside of Tallahassee to central Florida, I was worried we wouldn't get to see the recurring characters. I had nothing to worry about as they all logically show up over the course of the book.

Since the setting is not in the area around Luanne's house, it allows the author to create a host of new characters. They are brought fully to life. There were a few characters I truly felt sorry for by the time the book was over. And several of the characters really creeped me out.

The plot moves along well in the first half. The hurricane becomes an important part of the story and not just an add on to make things more interesting. There was one major plot point I saw coming long before the characters did. I did feel they should have suspected what was going on long before they did, and I did grow a little frustrated with them in the second half. Then, the climax seems a little rushed as it tries to tie up all the plot threads.

Ms. Alam's writing is as strong as ever here. She expertly paints pictures with words while continuing to move the story forward. The descriptions kept me on edge through much of the book, adding suspense to an already good story.

Fans of the series will find another winner here. Anyone who loves a good tale well written would do well to check out this series.

It just keeps getting better!
I've read the other reviews so I'll keep this short and to the point. This is the best yet in Glynn Alam's series about LuAnne Fogarty. The familiar characters are still in the story and it is like meeting old friends to read of this latest mystery. Early in the book I wished there was a map showing the positioning of the houses along the lake, but I quickly realized that it was not important. I wish parents with teenage children would read this book. There is a lesson in it and it might help someone get help for a troubled teen if they could see what happened in the story. All that aside, it was a excellent read. Once I got to the middle of the book, I could not put it down. Now I await the next in this excellent series!

5th in series
Alam's fifth mystery featuring Luanne Fogarty, this mystery moves from the panhandle area of North Florida to the more central area in Ocala. Luanne has agreed to help her sometime boss Tony in a personal matter since her classes for the semester have ended. She heads down to Ocala with her scuba gear in the middle of gator mating season, only to end up right in the middle of the current hurricane territory. Tony's aunt had died leaving instructions to have an autopsy no matter what the situation, which raised eyebrows but managed to bring attention to a dubious state of affairs. After discovering a neighbor's body floating in the lake after a storm, Luanne and her friends are convinced that something suspicious is going on in the backwoods neighborhood, between the missing animals and the mysterious deliveries to the New Jersey neighbors, the Bonos. But will they be able to unearth enough information to piece everything together?

Alam's work is very descriptive and weaves together an exceptional cast of characters. Having grown up in the north Florida area and lived there for over twenty years, I find Alam's work a wonderful way of visiting the area without having to travel there in person.