Thirty-something Jo is still grieving the loss of her husband, and to reconnect with some of his closest friends she agrees to a long weekend at a French chateau.
When she arrives, hosts Cressida and Arlo are there with their two children, a teenage son and two year old daughter.
Nina and Leo are also there with their young twins, as well as Cressida's nanny, Becca, who will be looking after the children for the weekend. The final couple, Max and his new girlfriend are due to arrive later.

When Jo arrives there's already a strange atmosphere. We get some flashbacks to Jo’s marriage and how things perhaps weren’t as perfect as people thought.
The arrival of Max’s new younger girlfriend Storm, an attractive woman in her early 20s stirs everything and things soon start to spiral.
Jo spends time with Storm over the weekend and starts to realise that not everything is at it seems and then a murder takes place, a child goes missing and the police are investigating what happened.

The first part of the story is great: the characters are introduced and the scene is set as Jo tries to find her place in the friend group without Oliver.
Storm takes glee in stirring the pot and making members of the friendship group feel very uncomfortable.
I found the second half of the book more predictable and worked out the main twist very early on.
Nonetheless an enjoyable read.

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

<i>Storm</i> takes place in a beautiful French chateau where Jo, a grieving widow, is invited to a weekend house party with her late husband's three best friends, their partners, and children. But things get complicated when one of the men's younger girlfriend, Storm, arrives without him. She soon proves to be a disruptive guest.

The author does a great job of building the narrative and keeping the reader engaged through the conversations between the characters. There's a deep history between them, with layers of insecurity, secrets, and possibly deception. I wasn't enamored with Jo as the protagonist, I thought she had no conviction and in the end showed her true self. The other characters play their distinctive roles well, and I actually feel sorry for Storm when all is revealed. While I thought the ending could be more satisfying, ultimately this is a thought-provoking mystery suitable for fans of Jo Spain and Paula Hawkins.

I enjoyed this book, great characters that you really got a feel for.
I felt the ending was a little rushed though and it kind of grifted before getting back on track.
All in all a good read.

A good old mystery set around entitled old friends with a new person feeling uncomfortable but obliged to be with them. Really good book. Read it one long sitting.

Really enjoyed this - will definitely be recommending and looking forward to the next one by this author!

A very enjoyable read with plenty of despicable characters. The setting is just lovely and makes me yearn for a break to France. The story is good, demonstrating how money can hide even the most vile crimes.

I really enjoyed this book. Absolutely enthralling from the first chapter. Highly recommended. Will read books by this author again

When I saw the chance to read Storm I knew I needed to take it.
A good thriller and I liked the change when the unexpected guest turned up.
Some great characters and I liked how they progressed throughout.
A solid read

This is a heart stopping and nail biting read. The characters are well written and the plot is fast paced. The perfect thriller for a spring break!

I wasn't sure of this to start but as I got into it I really enjoyed this book. Not my first book by Stephanie and I hope to read more. I really enjoyed this and would definitely recommend.

This story has a strong plot with secrets, lies and deception from the past coming back to haunt a group of well healed men who studied and partied together in their student days. A stranger arrives at an anniversary get together and things begin to happen. The first half of the book is quite slow and I kept expecting some incident or accident to happen. When it gets going, it’s tense and there’s some action. The plot touches on sexual assault, domestic abuse and revenge.

My thanks to the author, the publishers and Netgalley for the complimentary copy to read and review.

I loved the beginning of this book but it started to drag quite quickly and by the middle I was reading just to finish.
The idea is fantastic and I loved the twist, but it felt like it went on way longer than it needed to.

This is the first novel I've read by the author, and I was drawn to it after reading good reviews of her previous work.
Jo, a widow, is grieving the death of her husband, when she is invited to spend the weekend at a French chateau with her husband's friends. Jo has never felt like a part of the group but attends out of loyalty to her deceased husband.
I felt that the novel started off well and it was well written, but unfortunately, I soon lost interest after the arrival of the unexpected guest, Storm. It was a slow paced read, lacking in tension for me and I didn't find the plot to be particularly original. I didn't feel drawn to any of the characters and soon lost interest in the outcome.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I quite enjoyed reading this book.
It was a great setting and you can really feel the tension between the friends and something is not right.
I liked it was easy to read and follow with the twists that unfold.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
Jo, the main character, is attending a celebratory weekend with a small group of friends but it is clear early on that she is not close to these friends of her late husband's. The arrival of Max's new girlfriend creates a different dynamic within the group and it is clear from the beginning that each person is far from honest. This is a complete rollercoaster of a ride through relationships and secrets / hidden truths and it quickly got to the stage where I had no idea how the book was going to end. I thought it was well-written, maintaining suspense throughout the complex and twisted plot, a very good psychological thriller.

I loved this ‘locked room’ style thriller. Storm is a gripping, twisty read that kept me reading late into the night. Plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. Thoroughly recommend! 5 stars from me.

One of the best, most unique books I've read in a long time. I enjoyed this story so much, I honestly didn't know what to expect, or what was going to happen with each page turn. Storm certainly lives up to her name. It's an interesting story with the different characters, and it builds up to twists and turns galore.

Enjoyable & well crafted. Kept me very well entertained & thoroughly enjoyed. Highly recommended, beautifully written and characters are brilliant.

Thanks netgalley for this terrific book, I really could not put it down and was sorry when I had finished it.
Jo recently widowed went to meet her husbands friends for an anniversary party at a Chateau in France.
Her husband Oliver had met his friends at university and stayed very close to,them for many years.
Jo was very nervous meeting them all but was determined to have a good time.
One of the guests was arriving late, but his girlfriend came alone and said he would be joining them very soon.
This girlfriend was called Storm and that is what she caused and secrets were exposed and deaths occurred.
This is an amazing book please read it.

With all the recent hot weather, it feels like a storm is brewing, and in this novel one certainly breaks over the entitled group of friends who meet for an anniversary party weekend held in a French chateau.

Characters are strong, there are lots of twists- who is this person thrown into the mix who so unsettles them all, and there are enough secrets to enable the reader to suspect everyone.

The final section ties up all loose ends nicely, though I did feel it dragged a little compared to the rest of the book- but overall this was an addictive read which I found hard to put down.
Perfect sunlounger material!