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Tamara Ward

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Storm Surge (A Jonie Waters Mystery) Kindle Edition

by Tamara Ward (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 146 ratings

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Storm Surge, A Jonie Waters Mystery is a cozy mystery set in Wilmington, NC. Defeating odds and ignoring well-meant advice is her specialty, so when fledgling reporter Jonie Waters follows a news tip and discovers her girlhood friend’s mangled body, nothing can dissuade her from setting out to find the murderer.

Though Jonie attracts the suspicions of local police as she finds herself in the middle of other related crimes, she continues her investigation, risking her job, tentative family ties, and the chance of romance with the alluring lead investigator.

**Now with bonus excerpt from Silver Flashing, A Jonie Waters Mystery - Book 2**

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tamara Ward has always has enjoyed writing. In high school, she often cut class to deliver columns to local newspapers and was called into the principal's office for interviewing teachers about how sports programs received more funding than academics, which resulted in an article that mysteriously never was published after she submitted it. Finally, while an undergraduate, Tamara received her first paid writing job as a sports reporter. Since then, she has held jobs incorporating writing and editing for the North Carolina Museum of Art, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, the North Carolina Department of Parks and Recreation, and the town of Holly Springs. Tamara's writing has appeared in various magazines and newspapers, as well as in Windhover, the literary and visual arts journal of North Carolina State University, where she graduated in English with a minor in music. Today, her writing regularly appears in the Holly Springs Sun as she covers the town council beat. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and Cape Fear River Watch. Tamara enjoys wrangling with her two young boys, writing as a freelance journalist, and working on her next Jonie Waters mystery novel. She can't believe the trouble Jonie is in this time!

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004TAVGT6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Peak City Publishing, LLC; 2nd edition (March 21, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 21, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 669 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 319 pages

Customer Reviews:
4.1 146 ratings

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Tamara Ward

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Tamara Ward’s storylines and characters combine for fun, fast-paced, can’t-put-it-down reads. Her bestselling novels include Private Deception, Hidden Betrayal, Storm Surge, and Silver Flashing. In her mysteries, you’ll find characters who keep readers hooked, strong-willed sleuths, and a sprinkling of humor.

For more information, visit Tamara Ward’s website at http://authortamaraward.com.

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4.1 out of 5

146 global ratings

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Linda A

An Author and Series to Watch

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2011

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For a compelling environmental mystery and a spunky heroine in the best tradition of women's fiction, look no farther than Tamara Ward's debut novel - Storm Surge.

Jonie Waters is the prodigal daughter forced to return to her home town of Wilmington, North Carolina after more than a decade away. Wearing her independence on her sleeve, Jonie faces the wounds and the wounded that she left behind in the wake of her dramatic teenage exit. But youthful indiscretions quickly take a back seat, when murder, suspicion and a handsome cop start complicating her life on her first day home.

Ms. Ward writes with a practiced eye for detail and builds her connection to the reader with moments of breathtaking clarity and emotional honesty. In Jonie, Ms Ward has created a true heroine -- a practical woman of action who takes responsibility for herself and doesn't wait around for anyone else to bail her out, but who is still emotionally vulnerable to the ones she loves.

As an environmentalist, I wish Ms. Ward had presented greater depth and insights into the various environmental issues that arose in Storm Surge. But as a lover of mysteries, I was more than satisfied. There is the occasional rough patch which is not unexpected in a debut novel. But, overall, the writing is strong, the plotting is solid, and the main character both appealing and compelling.

Bottom line, Tamara Ward is an author you'll want to remember and Jonie Waters is a heroine and a series you'll want to see grow and develop.

5 people found this helpful

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Carrie J. Bylina

Surf's Up for this Debut Novel

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2012

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You want a summer beach read? I got your summer beach read, right here! "Storm Surge" by Tamara Ward is an intriguing debut novel with a well-developed plot that touches on many issues: violence against women, stalking, industrial pollution, professional ethics in research, sibling rivalries in dysfunctional families, and, of course, murder. One nice thing about this book, she keeps you guessing who the real culprit is far into the book.

Some of the twists are sharp and well-formed; some go down a little hard, but overall, my head kept turning, looking in different directions for the final clue right along with heroine Jonie Waters. Most major characters are well-drawn and some of their background, incomplete, but I'm sure that's because this is the beginning of a series that has a lot of promise, and we will find out more as time goes by. I intended to come back for a second swim in these waters. Tamara's background as a reporter shines through the trials and tribulations encountered by Jonie as she returns to her hometown of Wilmington after a decade-long, self-imposed exile. Finding a dead body on her first day back doesn't help reuniting with her estranged family.

I want to give this book a "5," but I just can't pull the trigger. It's that close to a must read for mystery readers. Although this is a romantic mystery, some of Jonie's flip-flopping, sometimes moment-by-moment, between the possible romantic entanglements bugged me. A few of the important secondary characters were a bit flat. And though it didn't affect my rating of the story, her publisher needs to take much better care of the formatting of Tamara's next book. As an indie author myself, I understand the arduous task of formatting and publishing a book. A professional publisher needs to treat the products of their rising star better. This is "4" with the surf rising.

One person found this helpful

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Monnie Ryan

Storm Surge More of a Bluster

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2013

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When this book was offered free for a limited time at Amazon.com through Ebook Impresario, I snapped it up for a couple of reasons. First, it takes place in what is perhaps my second favorite state, North Carolina (my favorite being my own state of Ohio). Second, the heroine, Jonie Waters, is a newspaper reporter - and journalism is a career that's been near and dear to my heart for the past 18 years or so and counting.

These reasons outweighed a bit of skepticism from finding just 44 reviews at Amazon - but then this is the author's debut novel in what's expected to be a series. And, the majority of those reviewers gave it 5 or 4 stars, so I figured it wouldn't be truly awful. And in large part, it wasn't; if it were possible to give it 3-1/2 stars, I would have.

Admittedly, things got off to a bit of a rocky start, as I ran time and time again into analogies that almost made me cringe: ..."measuring me like a jeweler examining a gem of dubious quality"...a job that "was as stable as a stack of ice cubes in my father's glass of sweet tea"...and the woman was "so proper that her business suits looked like they were ironed while on her body."

Then there was my personal favorite (choke!), ...her stepmother and step-sister "were as inseparable as cat fur in a hairball." Yikes!

Mercifully, though, the analogies soon began to dry up like sun-dried flowers on a cactus - and from that point on, it wasn't at all bad. Jonie has returned home to the city of Wilmington, it seems, after having some "issues" with her previous job - despite having even more "issues" with her family that resulted in her leaving in the first place. Not long after she's home again and getting a pre-employment tryout with the Wilmington newspaper, she gets a phone tip and discovers her former best friend has been murdered.

Hiding her close relationship to the victim from her boss, Jonie sets out to find the culprit. That puts her at direct odds with the local cops, one of whom is Jonie's step-sister Kimmie - with whom she's been at odds most of her life. Actually, it's no wonder; it's been a long time since I've seen a character like Kimmie, who comes across as having no redeeming social value whatsoever (although some of the things Jonie did to her way back when, even if in self-defense, don't make her sound much better). Things get even more complicated when Jonie and Kimmie's partner Daniel hit it off on a personal level.

Mixed in between are a friendly but conflicted step-brother, a college professor with dubious morals and an issue of what's killing fish in local waters - the topic of a research project the victim was conducting at the time she was killed. And from then on, the plot moves along fairly quickly. Who did the dirty deed isn't revealed until the end (although I freely admit I was pulling for that nasty Kimmie who, with any luck, would get the death penalty and never be heard from again).

Of course, I won't say whether I got my wish or not, but I will say that if you're looking for a fairly light, easy-to-read whodunit, give this one a try. The author's next book in the series, "Silver Flashing," was published last year, and I hope to read it as well.

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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer

Okay for a freebie

Reviewed in Italy on March 9, 2013

Verified Purchase

To be honest, I wouldn't have bought this book. The basic story was good, with a few plot twists, but I found the writing irritating. The writer should revisit her characters' names, for one thing. I felt like I was in a preschool class! Perhaps this book would be enjoyed by young teenagers, and that should be made clear in the synopsis.

Elizabeth Day

Good!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 2, 2013

Verified Purchase

Ticked all the right boxes. Kept me entertained and involved, Jonie is a great heroine. Interesting and complicated but not squeaky clean which made her real to me. Nothing too special about the story line (maybe I've read to many mysteries!), but a good solid story and well worth the read.