Fans of the Robichaud and Fontenot clans, be they new or old, will be thrilled to finally have the story we’ve all been waiting for – Cami’s tale – in Sins of the Storm. 

After fourteen years in self-imposed exile to protect her family, Camille Fontenot can finally come home. Her father’s murderer has been arrested at last and now maybe people will believe her story. She has returned as Cameron Monroe, true crime writer extraordinaire, to tell the truth in her latest book. But all is not as it seems, when she discovers maybe it still isn’t safe in the bayou.

Sheriff Jacques “Jack” Savoie spent several years in the military, at war, until an injury ended his military career. Now his goal is to keep his sleepy hometown of Bayou d’Espere safe from crime. He also came home to forget… to forget his failed marriage, his lost career as a soldier. Unfortunately for him, coming home also means facing memories of his past, not the least of which appears out of nowhere one rainy night, after fourteen lost years.

Thrown into each other’s paths once more, Cami and Jack find those long buried emotions come storming to the forefront, like the hurricanes that often strike the coast. Powerful enemies do not want the truth to come out and will go to any lengths to bury their secrets. Cami and Jack must team up to ensure justice is served and mysteries unveiled. Maybe the real mystery… that of a fabled miracle-working stained glass window that is at the heart of everything… will finally be answered. And maybe Jack and Cami can finally put their demons to rest and rejoice in the love they’ve always shared but long denied.

Be prepared to be emotionally swept away upon the Sins of the Storm. Suspenseful, mysterious, romantic and pulse pounding, this book is a pure adrenaline rush from beginning to end. We may have known some of the story from as far back as Killing Me Softly, but finally here, we get all the answers. My biggest question all along, even more so than what happened to Cami (after all I had faith Jenna Mills would give us a book worthy of this wounded heroine), was what really happened to that piece of stained glass, referenced at least a tiny bit in each story. I am happy to report I knew at least part of that answer all along. There are also a few twists thrown into the mix, which made me gasp in surprise as they were revealed.

Jack and Cami make quite a team as they face the past and present together to see the truth set free. Jack has his own personal ties to that long ago horror and he too needed to find the answers before he could ever be free of the stigma he imagines on his family name. He also has more recent struggles to face, like the destruction of his marriage and the later death of his wife. His wife never belonged in Louisiana and he felt as though he let her down by abandoning her there to go off to war in Iraq, only to come home a broken man. It is only Cami’s acceptance of what has gone before, and the man he is now, that saves him from his personal hell.

Of the entire family, Camille’s emotional scars are the deepest. Horrified at witnessing her father’s murder as a young girl, she’s been threatened and manipulated to keep the truth hidden. Worst of all, no one, except the perpetrator of the crime who used his power to keep her silent and chase her away, would believe the word of an obviously traumatized child when she tried to tell everyone what happened to her father. Now she finally has a chance to seek justice and nothing will stand in her way. As Cami finally gets vindication, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed as each little piece of the past is tied up. Be forewarned though, you may need a few Kleenex at the end of the book. The final scene before the epilogue (and no this isn’t a spoiler since we knew it would happen) where Cami and her brother Gabriel are finally reunited, I could not stop the tears from welling up at the heart wrenching joy of the moment.

Jenna Mills has written a powerful tale of justice long denied and love lost then found in Sins of the Storm. I doubt anyone can read this story and not get lost within the pages as we are sucked into the life and love of the Robichaud/Fontenot family.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, September 2007. All rights reserved.