REVIEW: The Storm by Amanda Jennings

The Storm by Amanda Jennings

Genre: Domestic thriller

Read: 28th December 2021

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Published: 23rd July 2020

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Hannah and Nathan appear to have the perfect marriage. A beautiful Cornish house with heritage, a son, a dog. Every evening, Hannah awaits her husband’s return, with a home-cooked meal, soothing conversation and, ultimately, sex. But Nathan control Hannah’s every move – counting her change from her shopping, checking her receipts, the mileage on the car. And Hannah seems happy to let him, being a prisoner in a gilded cage.

Because Hannah has a secret. She dreams of someone else, someone who once made her heart sing… But that was a long time ago, before everything went wrong. And ever since that night on the docks, when blood splashed in the rain, Hannah has been paying the price, keeping Nathan happy, keeping the peace…

But her past is going to catch up with her…

Set against the brutal backdrop of a Cornish fishing port in the 90s, where trips to sea were long and heartbreaking, fraught with danger and horrific accidents, this is devastating exploration of the power of coercive control…

MY REVIEW:

A complex tale of love, secrets and obsession, THE STORM is not what you might at first think. A slow burn that begins with a puzzling Prologue before moving onto the tale of Hannah and the tangled web she has woven around herself. But oh, tales set in Cornwall are so atmospheric that the setting alone makes for some sinister reading. And this one was no different.

To the outside world, Hannah has the perfect life married to the perfect man and living in a beautiful house that has been in her husband's family for generations. They have a teenage son, Alex, and Hannah lives a life of relative leisure whilst lawyer husband Nathan provides their every need. Perfect? Maybe on the outside. But behind closed doors it is a very different story indeed.

An expert at twisting words and scenarios to suit his needs, Nathan is a master of manipulation. He controls everything Hannah does - from the clothes she wears, the people she sees, checks her shopping receipts afterwhich she gives him the change, keeps her passport locked away and does not allow to have a bank account or even a driver's licence. He gives her enough money for a bus fare and a few grocery items and nothing more. If she dare questions him or speaks out, he fabricates a conversation that never happened out of thin air and blames her poor memory for not recalling it. But why does Hannah allow him to treat her this way?

Sixteen years before, a tragic event occurred in the midst of a relentless storm changing everything she ever knew. And the consequences of that night have haunted her memories ever since. A storm, a life, a tragedy became a lie, a secret and a deception so big that Hannah agrees to a marriage to a man she doesn't love. For what? And why?

Now her teenage son Alex is rebelling against his father's restraints, often talking back to him without fear and arguments that lead to bouts of rage and the danger of the truth coming out. But Hannah must protect her son at all costs. No matter what. 

But when Alex runs away and returns with a face from Hannah's past, the wheels are set in motion to bring this fast moving trainwreck derailing off its tracks. Hannah is speechless; Nathan is livid; Cam is tentative; while Alex is confused.

It was inevitable that Nathan's carefully constructed prison he has erected around Hannah would coming tumbling down just as Hannah's secrets from the past would inevitably resurface. But none of them could predict the way it would unravel...and the secrets it would inevitably reveal.

THE STORM was about more than just a storm. It was a storm waiting to happen in the sham of a marriage. It was a storm that raged just beneath the surface of Nathan's carefully constructed life. It was a storm that would erupt when all three would come together sixteen years later when the truth would finally be revealed.

I hated Nathan with a vengeance. He was creepy, he was controlling, he was manipulative. How could someone profess to love someone and then treat them how he treated Hannah? And then twist every word that was said, every thing that happened and every scenario for his own narcissistic gain. I couldn't wait to see him get his comeuppance as was surely bound to happen. The guy deserved everything coming to him and more.

The story itself is told primarily by Hannah with the occasional narratives by Nathan and Cam respectively. I must admit I wasn't overly interested in life at sea as a fisherman...blah blah blah...and admittedly glossed over much of that as I was only interested in the story and the hold Nathan had over Hannah and apparently Cam. And I could have done without the excessive colourful language. I'm no prude and accept the f-bomb is dropped on occasion in storylines, but I found it excessive and with the addition of the much hated c-word as well. Totally unnecessary, in my opinion, whether fisherman use that language or not...I don't care. I didn't want to read it continually.

I did, however, adore the setting. Cornwall is always a favourite setting as I tend to gravitate towards stories set there with the stormy rugged coastline a character in its own right. It is always an atmospheric setting, almost spooky at times, in particular the house in which Hannah and Nathan live with the ghost of Nathan's father, and the nature of his death, forever looming in Hannah's mind.

With a myriad of layers to unfold, THE STORM is more than just a tale of manipulation and coercive control. It is about secrets, lies, deception and so much more. And as events unfold and the tragic tale of the past becomes clear, you will see that not everything is as it seems as the truth begins to fall into place.

Not my usual choice of story, I did enjoy THE STORM whilst loathing Nathan with a passion. Yet at the same time, it is revealed why he is the way he is and that he is just as damaged as the rest of them. Only he now maintains a level of control to project an image to the public. And it's that that makes him a force to be reckoned with and a sinister if not malevolent opponent to come up against. An engrossing domestic thriller with a difference, the ending will leave you speechless.

I would like to thank #AmandaJennings, #Netgalley and #HQDigital for an ARC of #TheStorm in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Amanda Jennings was born in London in 1973, and her family moved to a village in rural Berkshire when she was young. She accepted a place to read architecture at Cambridge University, but it soon became clear it wasn’t for her and after a year she changed course to History of Art. After she finished university she set up a company with a friend writing copy for a variety of small businesses and then a year or so later was offered a job as a researcher at the BBC. But when she had her first child she found it hard to juggle home life with working, and could no longer ignore her yearning to write. When she became pregnant with her second child, and encouraged by the success of a shortlisted sitcom script in a BBC writing competition, she took the opportunity to be at home with her children, and grabbed every spare moment she could find to write.  

Sworn Secret, her first novel, was published in the UK in August 2012. On kindle it was #4 bestseller in the UK, a Top 100 bestseller in the US, and reached the #1 spot in Italy in translation. It was also published in Taiwan in translation. Her second book, The Judas Scar, was published in May 2014, and shortly after was optioned by a film and television production company. In Her Wake, her third, was a WHSmith Fresh Talent pick and will be published in Germany, Sweden, Turkey and Italy. The Cliff House is published by HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins, in hardback, audio, ebook, and paperback, as well as internationally. HQ are publishing The Storm in July.   

Amanda enjoys appearing at events, is a regular guest on BBC Berkshire’s Book Club, and is a judge for the annual Henley Youth Festival writing competition. She has been involved in the WoMentoring Project, which offers mentoring support for talented female writers with women who work in the literary world, and run writers' workshops.   

Amanda lives just outside Henley-on-Thames and has three daughters and a varied menagerie. She is currently writing her sixth book, which will be set on Bodmin Moor. When she isn't writing she can generally be found walking the dog or dreaming of mountains or the sea. She loves connecting with readers and can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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