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Kate Kennedy is a widow living in South Florida in the Ocean Vista Adult Condominiums. Her late husband was a policeman and because she learned how to question and listen from him, Kate has found that she has a talent for solving crimes. When local weatherman Uncle Weatherwise tells the community not to worry about a hurricane that is traveling towards them but then they are evacuated when the storm hits them hard, people are angry. Many residents of the condominium are seen arguing with him. Kate has never liked Uncle Weatherwise. Something about him strikes her as familiar and devious. She feels as if she knows something bad about him, but hard as she tries she can't remember what it is. After the hurricane the people from the condominium all return to their homes to clean up the mess. Kate goes out to walk her beloved dog Ballou and while on the walk, Ballou starts to dig in a pile of debris. Kate sees a foot in the garbage and uncovers the dead body of Uncle Weatherwise. He has a weather vane stuck through his heart. Kate calls 911, and the police arrive, in the form of detective Nick Carbine, an acquaintance of Kate's. When another detective is given the case, he doesn't want Kate's help, but soon Kate can't help but be involved as clues start to unearth memories from her past. Along with her best and oldest friend, Marlene, who is also her late husband's sister, Kate discovers a strangely familiar woman had already bought Uncle Weatherwise's condominium before he was killed. They decide to investigate and before long a clue comes up that reverberate in Kate's mind and ties her past to the present danger. HURRICANE HOMICIDE has many flashback chapters that deal with Kate's girlhood. Little by little the reader is introduced to Kate's world of the late 1950s, when fear of communism and spies permeated the lives of the people. Just as she was getting to be an adult she meets an exotic girl with a mysterious family and we follow the innocent Kate as she becomes more involved with her new friend. Writer Nora Charles includes a fascinating history lesson about life in the late 1950s and early 1960s as we live through the times with Kate. The clues are scattered well and the solution to the mystery and murder is first-rate! I liked this book on many levels. The main character, Kate, is a level-headed woman with an interest in life and her friends. Kate grew up in New York in the late fifties and though she's a bit older than I am, I remember many of the things she mentions. The way she describes her home, the location and her relatives is wonderfully well written. And the scenes set in the present, when a second hurricane hits the community simply quiver with tension. More than just a great cozy with a fine cast of characters, HURRICANE HOMICIDE manages to include a history lesson about a little-known incident in US history. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am eagerly awaiting the next in the series.
Reviewed by A. L. Katz, March 2007
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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