Author: whatcathyreadnext

#BookReview A Stranger from the Storm by William Burton McCormick @MannisonPress

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A Stranger From The StormAbout the Book

The year is 1900. The port city of Odessa on the Black Sea is being terrorized by a brutal killer called the Specter. With five people already dead, the murderer promises more.

One family, the Karadopoulinas, run a boarding house. Sisters Tasia and Eleni feel certain the killer is a scarred, shambling Londoner who took lodging with them one night during a thunderstorm. Furtive and threatening, Henry Humble, stalks Odessa’s labyrinth of interlocking courtyards and foggy docks at night, armed with weapons and skeleton keys. As the body count rises, so do the questions…

Who is the mysterious figure haunting the catacombs below the streets of Odessa? Why won’t Eleni’s police constable sweetheart investigate? Who will be the next to die?

Format: ebook (110 pages)                  Publisher: Mannison Press
Publication date: 4th November 2021 Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Find A Stranger From the Storm on Goodreads

Purchase links
Amazon UK
Link provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

I was first introduced to the writing of William Burton McCormick when I read and reviewed the CWA Anthology of Short Stories: Mystery Tour back in 2017, to which William contributed a story. Therefore I was delighted when he offered me the opportunity to read his latest book, A Stranger from the Storm, which is published today (4th November 2021).

Odessa proves an ideal setting for a historical mystery with its dark streets and network of tunnels that lie beneath the city. Sisters, Eleni and Tasia, make engaging central characters. Eleni is impetuous and something of a risk-taker whilst Tasia is thoughtful and more inclined to think things through before acting, although that doesn’t stop both of them getting into some scrapes. I enjoyed the light-hearted banter between the sisters. For example, this exchange when a telegram arrives addressed to their mysterious guest. ‘”Don’t you dare open that envelope, Eleni.” She opened the envelope. “Eleni, don’t you dare read that telegram!” She read it.’

There are some chilling and dramatic scenes as the sisters close in on the murderer – those tunnels again – but there are also moments of humour. For instance, when the search for an item they are convinced is hidden in a particular place proves unproductive, Tasia remarks “I hate red herrings” and Eleni replies, “I prefer boiled cod”.

Talking of red herrings, there are plenty dotted throughout the book and the author also creates a number of false trails in an attempt to outwit the reader. If you work out the person behind the murders before the final reveal you must definitely have been taking notes.

A Stranger from the Storm is a perfect one sitting read, preferably on a dark winte night when you’re in the mood for a chilling tale. Do check the doors and windows are locked first however – oh, and you might want to look under that rug.

In three words: Atmospheric, intriguing, suspenseful

Try something similar: Betty Church and the Suffolk Vampire by M.R.C. Kasasian

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William Burton McCormickAbout the Author

William Burton McCormick was born in Maryland and grew up in Nevada. He has lived in seven countries including Latvia and Russia where he researched and wrote his first novel Lenin’s Harem.

William graduated from Brown University with degrees in Ancient Studies and Computer Science and earned an MA in Novel Writing from the University of Manchester. He has won awards in the production of computer games and educational software, co-owned a company to reduce junk e-mail, and worked as an executive recruiter in the Washington D.C. area. He also studied at Lomonosov Moscow State University.

William’s short fiction has appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine and included in the CWA Anthology of Short Stories: Mystery Tour. (Orenda Books). He is a four-time Derringer Finalist. William is a member of Mystery Writers of America, the Crime Writers’ Association, International Thriller Writers, and the Historical Novel Society. He was elected a Hawthornden Writing Fellow in 2013. (Photo/bio credit: Goodreads author page)

Connect with William
Website | Twitter

A Stranger from the Storm

#WWWWednesday – 3rd November 2021

whatcathyreadnext4 Comments

WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

Currently reading

The Quiet People CoverThe Quiet People by Paul Cleave (Orenda Books)

Cameron and Lisa Murdoch are successful crime-writers. They have been on the promotional circuit, joking that no-one knows how to get away with crime like they do. After all, they write about it for a living.

So when their 7 year old son Zach goes missing, naturally the police and the public wonder if they have finally decided to prove what they have been saying all this time – are they trying to show how they can commit the perfect crime?

Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller (Sceptre via NetGalley)

One rain-swept February night in 1809, an unconscious man is carried into a house in Somerset. He is Captain John Lacroix, home from Britain’s disastrous campaign against Napoleon’s forces in Spain. Gradually Lacroix recovers his health, but not his peace of mind – he cannot talk about the war or face the memory of what happened in a village on the gruelling retreat to Corunna. After the command comes to return to his regiment, he sets out instead for the Hebrides, with the vague intent of reviving his musical interests and collecting local folksongs.

Lacroix sails north incognito, unaware that he has far worse to fear than being dragged back to the army: a vicious English corporal and a Spanish officer are on his trail, with orders to kill. The haven he finds on a remote island with a family of free-thinkers and the sister he falls for are not safe, at all.

Gods of RomeGods of Rome (Rise of Emperors #3) by Gordon Doherty and Simon Turney (Aries)

For one to rule, the other must die.

312 AD is a year of horrific and brutal warfare. Constantine’s northern army is a small force, plagued by religious rivalries, but seemingly unstoppable as they invade Maxentius’ Italian heartlands. These relentless clashes, incidents of treachery, and twists of fortune see Maxentius’ armies driven back to Rome. Constantine has his prize in sight, yet his army is diminished and on the verge of revolt. Maxentius meanwhile works to calm a restive and dissenting Roman populace. When the two forces clash in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, there are factors at work beyond their control and soon they are left with carnage.

There is only one way Constantine and Maxentius’ rivalry will end. With one on a bloodied sword and the other the sole ruler of Rome… 

Recently finished

Sergeant Salinger by Jerome Charyn (No Exit Press)

A Stranger from the Storm by William Burton McCormick (Mannison Press)

The Vanishing Half  by Brit Bennett (Dialogue Books)

The Girl from Bletchley Park by Kathleen McGurl (HQ Digital)

A Memory For Murder (Selma Falck #3) by Anne Holt (Corvus)

What Cathy (will) Read Next

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How far would you go to save your child?

Claire is living every mother’s worst nightmare. Her daughter, Jess, has been diagnosed with a rare illness and desperately needs a bone marrow transplant. With no match on the registry, Claire turns to a charismatic geneticist for help and embarks on a Genetic Journey to seek a familial match for her daughter. On the other side of the country, Marianne suffers her eighth miscarriage. Her perfect life is rotting underneath, but she is determined to do whatever it takes to have a baby.

When DNA test results reveal that Claire and Marianne are half-sisters, Claire must face the dark lies of the past and make impossible choices about the future. Is her secret sister the answer to her prayers, or will she cost her everything?