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Small Town Storm

by Elise K. Ackers (Goodreads Author)

4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 · rating details · 17 ratings · 6 reviews

Nineteen years after a devastating crime almost killed her, Erica Lawrence has returned home. In the small mountain town of Olinda, her story is legend. And now everyone knows she's back, including top cop and childhood best friend, Jordan Hill, the first and only person to ever touch her guarded heart.

When a woman goes missing and her body is found brutally murdered, fear...more

ebook, 337 pages

Published August 16th 2012 by Penguin Books Aus Destiny Romance

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Nov 28, 2012 Paula Phillips rated it 5 of 5 stars

Did you enjoy that movie "The Sixth Sense" ? In a way this book first reminded me of the movie as we learn that the main character's mother tried to kill her overtime by posioning her food and lacing it with arsenic . Nineteen years ago Erica's mother Alicia was convicted of trying to kill her daughter, that night Erica left behind the one person in the world that she cared about - best friend Jordie Hill. Now flash forward nineteen years, the pair of them have somehow found their ways back to t...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Hsiau Wei rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, books-read-in-2012

This book tell the story of Erica and Jordan who was separated nineteen years ago found their way back to the town where both are trying to find answer for the thing had happened then. What irony was that Jordan thought that Erica has died from the bout of sickness then. Hence, seeing her again has a great impact on him. They are trying to get to terms with what has happened before. Meanwhile, murders seem to be taken place in the town soon after Erica arrived and soon, she found herself to be t...more

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Oct 14, 2012 Lauren Murphy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aussie-author, aww2012, romantic-suspense

Small Town Storm is one of the first romantic suspense titles to be published by Destiny Romance, the new digital-first imprint from Penguin. It’s very encouraging that Australian publishers are beginning to appreciate the popularity of romance novels in Australia and are committed to publishing stories about Aussies in local settings. Small Town Storm is set in the suburb of Olinda in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria.

Erica Lawrence returns to her Olinda, her hometown after a long stint in Sydney....more Small Town Storm is one of the first romantic suspense titles to be published by Destiny Romance, the new digital-first imprint from Penguin. It’s very encouraging that Australian publishers are beginning to appreciate the popularity of romance novels in Australia and are committed to publishing stories about Aussies in local settings. Small Town Storm is set in the suburb of Olinda in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria.

Erica Lawrence returns to her Olinda, her hometown after a long stint in Sydney. She hopes to find answers to her past and the reason why her mother tried to kill her nineteen years prior. She doesn’t expect to recruit her childhood best friend Jordan Hill in her inquiry who claims he too needs closure from the traumatic events that led to their separation nearly two decades prior. She also doesn’t expect to become prime suspect in a murder investigation led by the one and only Leading Senior Constable Jordan Hill.

Erica and Jordan have a rocky start, both are flooded with memories of the past and intense emotions they struggle to contain. They both find the past keeps dragging them back and it gets in the way of their ability to have a friendship in the present. They are both quite complex and interesting characters. I empathised immediately with Jordan and I think it was easier to connect with him because his emotions were far more palpable and exposed. He’s really hurt and cannot understand why Erica had not made contact with him after she left Olinda, he had presumed her dead. Understandably, he is angry and Erica doesn’t offer answers readily. She is closed off and has many emotional defences to keep her safe from perceived threats. From a secret eating disorder to a severe distrust of people, Erica’s early childhood trauma is impacting on her daily functioning.

Jordan’s ‘hero complex’ gets in the way of Erica’s desire to be independent and even though he really wants to help her through her issues, she doesn’t want to become one of his projects. Most of the time he follows her around like a love-sick puppy, but I liked this sensitive, caring aspect of his tough cop persona. Erica became more likeable as her story unravels and she begins to open up to Jordan and allow him to break through some of her defences.

The murder plot kept me on my toes and I was questioning who the perpetrator was throughout the novel. The disturbances in the small town unsettle the past which both Erica and Jordan hope to put behind them. Though I did feel the motive for the murders was a little far-fetched, it did make sense on one level.

Small Town Storm is a compelling romantic suspense novel by an Australian author with fascinating, well-developed characters and set in a disquieting little town in the Dandenong Ranges.
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Feb 03, 2013 Sophia Grewal rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my favourite books.

The author writes in such a familiar way where you feel like you know the characters so well, and by the end of it you miss their company.

Living in Victoria, knowing the locations made it all the more real, and quite chilling to think of the murders taking place. The suspense built steadily throughout the book, to the point where you feel you can trust anyone.

I would love to see this book made into a movie! 5 stars.

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Dec 29, 2012 Emma rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I even stayed up to finish it when everyone else was in bed!! Can't wait to read some more from this author.

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Apr 21, 2013 Rachael Johns added it

One of the best books I've red this year! Reminded me a lot of Nora Roberts' romantic suspense novels ;)

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About Elise K. Ackers

Elise K. Ackers was born in New South Wales, Australia, but she grew up in Western Australia, northern Queensland, Sydney's Blue Mountains, and the Victorian Dandenong Ranges. Suffice to say, she enjoys change and likes to travel.

Elise was a storyteller before she was a writer. For hours on end she would recount every moment of her kindergarten days to her mum, pausing often for dramatic effect....more Elise K. Ackers was born in New South Wales, Australia, but she grew up in Western Australia, northern Queensland, Sydney's Blue Mountains, and the Victorian Dandenong Ranges. Suffice to say, she enjoys change and likes to travel.

Elise was a storyteller before she was a writer. For hours on end she would recount every moment of her kindergarten days to her mum, pausing often for dramatic effect. She would help her dad finish bed-time stories - sending the family dog and cat to the moon, amongst other adventures. And almost from the start her parents knew. They just knew what she'd grow up to be.

In later years she wrote plays. Her older brother was the lighting designer and the sound producer and she was the leading lady, the hero and the villain. She wrote and distributed a weekly family newsletter and had a hand-made mailbox taped to her primary school desk to accept letters from friends who were co-authoring an epic animal adventure story.

In highschool she co-authored numerous books of fan fiction: her sections invariably brought her favourite TV couples together. She "published" her first work of romantic fiction in eighth grade. It was passed around and praised, but the reviews were hard to bear. That was the first and last time Elise killed her male hero. Turns out, it's just not done.

Whilst studying Psychology at university she was really just learning how to better understand her characters, so she eventually took herself seriously enough to change majors and study creative writing and editing. Throughout her studies she traveled extensively, visiting the United Kingdom, Europe, Malaysia and South East Asia. She wrote about all of it.

Elise is now in her mid-twenties and lives in Melbourne. She's a magnet for unusual accidents, an animal foster carer, a laser tag enthusiast and a couch commentator. She attempted to learn four instruments before she accepted she wasn't musical and tends to end up on a plane when she's bored. Owing to a broken internal compass she needs to factor getting lost into her travel time.

She got her long awaited break when Small Town Storm began making a name for itself in the international competition circuit. A pitch at a writing conference led to The Call.(less)

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