Rating: 
Summary: Excitement Galore!
Review: If you're in the mood for a book that will keep you glued to the edge of your seat from beginning to end, do yourself a favor and read Boris Starling's latest thriller, Storm. If possible, I would have awarded this book 4 1/2 stars.Only the fact that I felt the very end was a little weaker than the rest of the book kept me from giving it a 5 star rating. Putting this very minor detail aside, Storm has it all -- a slam-bang plot, lots of surprises,and very interesting characters. As good as Storm is, however, it's not as good as Starling's first book, Messiah; which I thought was great. If you haven't read Messiah, do so fast. As a matter of fact, you might want to read Messiah even before reading Storm. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: SILENCE OF THE PARROTS
Review: It pays for not only a writer to read widely, it also benefits the reader. In this case, it's enormously amusing to see from whence Boris Starling, a talented but still-developing new novelist, derived his inspiration in STORM.Readers of John Douglas's and Mark Olshaker's MINDHUNTER will chuckle and recall Edmund Kemper when they read the flashback chapter in which Blackadder kills and dismembers his mother. Down to the larynx popping out of the garbage disposal and Starling commenting that "even in death she still wouldn't shut up", we see just how bereft of inspiration the author was in giving his serial killer some validity. On a more conspicuous level, even the most cursory reader will see just from the back cover blurbs of how much STORM owes THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (and this parallel is made even more irresistible when one recalls the author's last name): Female detective with a painful relationship to her father in a sequel seeks the advice of a convicted killer, and implausibly springing him from prison, in order to catch another one. A near-irresistible plot device, yes, but one that should not be overdone or perhaps even done again, not even by the great Thomas Harris. Not being well read in Greek mythology, however, actually benefits the reader, as Blackadder derives *his* inspiration from a trilogy of ancient Greek dramas that uncannily (too much so) parallel his tormented childhood. Only in the last chapters in the book do we see and appreciate how much life is imitating art and recycled back into the twisted art of ritualistic serial murder. Starling's prose is brilliant, especially in the opening chapter aboard the doomed Amphitrite. The writing is graceful, loaded with ingenious metaphors and similes, marking Starling as a new voice that demands to be heard and respected. The only thing of which I am judge is Starling's insistence on writing in present tense. This does not necessarily give immediacy of action or make him a more unique voice nor more successfully integrate the reader into the story. As it is, the ceaseless present tense is a distraction if not an irritation. The penultimate chapter redeems the rest of the book and provides the reader with one of the most gut wrenching, visceral denouements in recent thriller fiction. The obligatory red herrings that are a staple to many murder mysteries successfully throw off the reader until the final 20 pages when Starling adroitly lets us know the identity of Blackadder. There are many knockoffs of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and this is one of the better ones. However, the loose ends (Kate's and her beau's relationship, Kate's and her Dad's relationship, Leo freaking out at police HQ), unrealistic resolutions, the improbable connection between the sinking of the ferry and the Blackadder killings, the lack of page space given to Red Metcalf (who strikes me as being vastly more interesting a character than the washed-out Kate Beauchamp), unoriginality, and the overall sluggish pace of STORM makes me rate it with three stars. Hopefully, Starling will write a standalone thriller next time, one that invigorates him to the point where he doesn't have to raid the annals of true crime for his inspiration. Give Beauchamp a vacation and think of a new hero(ine).
Rating:
Summary: Messiah was _much_ better
Review: Not as exciting as the first book of Starling. Messiah deserves 5 stars more than Storm deserves 3 of them. Still a good reader though.
Rating: 
Summary: As good as Messiah
Review: On the ferry heading to Aberdeen, the captain learns that a bomb has been located inside a car. He and some of his crew move the vehicle into the sea. They believe the threat has been handled. However, later two explosions sink the Amphitrite with 352 casualties. DCI Kate Beauchamp, on leave after an ugly serial killer case, survives. Kate returns to work to investigate the torture death of a female reporter. As Kate digs into her grisly case, her estranged father makes inquiries into the ferry incident. Meanwhile the Blackadder leaves a calling card when he brutally kills an elderly person. Struggling with her near watery death and poorly coping with her detested father, Kate personalizes the Blackadder case even challenging the brutal killer on TV. Not getting any closer, Kate adapts the adage that ?it takes a thief to catch a thief?, by using a killer to catch the Blackadder. Boris Starling?s novel compares with Thomas Harris? works due to the hypnotic evil genius reminding readers of Lechter. Kate is a complete person fighting traumas and family feuds, while going about doing her job. By escorting the audience into the minds of the heroine and the villain, Mr. Starling makes the comparison complete. STORM is one hell of a thriller. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Messiah but still worth reading
Review: Storm failed to live up to Boris Starling's previous bestseller. It is, however, still a reasonable read. The story tells of detective Kate Beachamp leading the hunt for a serial murderer. As a second thread, Kate is one of a party caught in a sinking ship and her estranged father is leading the investigation into that. There are some excellent descriptive scenes of how it feels to be aboard a sinking ferry. The hopelessness of the situation - the fear and panic - the fight for survival (at the expense of others). I can't say that this book was gripping in the way that Messiah gripped me, but it was a decent read all the same.
Rating:
Summary: OK BUT NOT AS STRONG
Review: STORM TRAPS ITS READERS IN THE REALM OF KATE(REDS SIDEKICK FROM MESSIAH) THERE ARE MANY TWISTS AND TURNS AND NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS. IT IS A FAST READ AND AN OK CONCEPT ON WHY THE KILLER DOES WHAT HE DOES. I LIKE STARLING'S METHOD OF FLASHING BACK AND FORTH FROM KILLER TO BOAT TO KATE. THE ENDING IS NOT NEARLY AS STRONG AS MESSIAH LEFT ITS READERS. THIS PIECE IS A MUST HAVE IN THE COLLECTION BUT ITS TURN IN THE END MAKE IT A WASTE OF TIME. I WAS UNSATISFIED BY THE END.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: Storm was not as good as Starling's first book Messiah but i enjoyed it very very much!! It had a big surprise and I loved the detail that he went into explaining the things that were done to the people in this book! This was a great book!
Rating:
Summary: slow but the action gets on
Review: This book was great to read. I will admit it was slow at first but then it took off with a bang. It twists and turns and you never know who the killer is until Boris tells you. The twists are done by a true master.
Rating:
Summary: Passes the second-novel test with enviable ease...
Review: This is another excellent thriller from Boris Starling, who has really proved himself to be a guy invested with huge amounts of talent. It opens with the discovery of a bomb on a ferry travelling from Norway to England, and then the sinking of that ferry. Over 300 people die in the tragedy. On board was DI Kate Beauchamp (who y ou may remember from his last book, Messiah). Fortunately, she is one of those that escapes. Back on land, and relatively unharmed, she throws herself into work, taking on the toughest case she can conceive of... A young woman has been found dead. She has been mutilated, tortured, her feet have been removed. And, lying on her body, a poisonous snake... This, to her relatively trained eye, looks like the definite beginnings (if not even continuings) of a serial killer. Then, shortly after, another body is found, and the urgency increases further. Add to that further complications, such as Kate's estranged father Frank, who she has not spoken to since he left her as a child, who is in Glasgow to conduct an inquiry into the ferry disaster, and you have one thrilling thriller. Storm is not quite as good as Messiah, but only because it doesn't contain such wonderful depth and detail that his first book did. Storm is more streamlines, more geared toward the direct movement of the central plot, which is fine, because that makes for an exciting, really quick read. The plot itself is probably equally as good as that of Messiah. But, if it had that wonderful detail, then it might have made the whole book another one to leap and shout about. Starling's prose has a great forward thrust that carries you through the book. And its a book that has many twists and turns through, and a heap of great characters. It's particularly interesting to see Frank, Kate's estranged father, and to read about their troubled relationship. I'd reccomend this serial killer thriller to any fan of tthe genre, anywhere in the world, but with a little warning agaisnt expecting it to be *quite* as good as "Messiah*.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Sequel
Review: This is not as good as Messiah, but is excellent in its own right. I have only two complaints: one, Starling practically gives you a list of suspects, making it obvious it is one of 4 people. Two: Starling brings Red Metcalfe back and brings Silver Tounge up so much that the book cannot stand on its own. Other than that, an excellent novel. A good thriller which ties two stories together very well. I was surprised how well he got into a woman's head. I didn't expect a whole book about Kate, only a minor character in Messiah. Anyway, read this book definetly, but read Messiah first.
| 
