THE STORMCHASERS is an exquisitely rendered novel, one that draws you deeply into the lives of fraternal twins, Karena and Charles, and refuses to let you go. As a reader, you’re swept into a long-track tornado of emotional angst. Though twins, Karena and Charles are very different--Karena, the caring sister, to a fault; and Charles, the bipolar brother, whose manic episodes are both frightening and dangerous.While the title of the book would lead you to believe it’s primarily about storm chasing, it’s not. The pursuit of the monster tornado-producing thunderstorms that stalk the Plains and Midwest serves only as a background against which the tightly intertwined fates of Karena and Charles play out. The descriptions of chasing “Big Weather” are gripping and factually accurate, but it’s the stormy relationship of the twins that’s the real drama. Blum’s deft touch and lyrical prose carry the novel and are well worth the price of admission.So why not five stars instead of four? Probably it’s my background/bias as a thriller reader and writer that dictated that decision. I started and stopped the book a couple of times before I really got sucked into it. I’m used to novels beginning at the point of action and grabbing me by the throat within the first page or two. It took about 30 pages for that to happen with THE STORMCHASERS, but once I got past that point, I was hooked. I’m glad I persisted. It’s a great book. It had been a good while since I had read something that I literally could not put down, thought about during the day, wished for rain so that I could pile in and finish it off in one sitting - and for the first 3/4 of this book, this was it! The story was gripping, page-turning, fun, different, exciting, interesting... and then she lost steam. Something happened towards the end. Things became predictable, trite, and by the final pages just plain dull. So disappointing! She was on such a roll!
What do You think about In Tweestrijd (2010)?
A very good book. I was a new subject for me. Great all around book.
—rogue
I couldn't put this book down. It was a real page turner.
—manduhh
Too much love story, but other than that, a quick read.
—jazzy800
