The Night of the Storm
Nishita Parekh
Dutton
Jia Shah hoped the move to Houston would put distance between her and her cheating ex-husband Dev for the sake of herself and their twelve-year-old son Ishaan. Ishaan isn’t coping well with the transition to Texas. He’s suspended from school after a fight which left a classmate injured. Jia has to contend with this and unwelcome approaches from her brother-in-law, Vipul. Now Hurricane Harvey is barreling toward the city, bringing violent winds and torrential rain. With her apartment block under a mandatory evacuation order, Jia’s forced to accept her sister Seema’s offer of sanctuary at her fancy home in the upmarket Sugar Land area, even if it means facing Vipul.
Tension fills the air from the start, much of it fueled by Vipul’s aged mother, Grandma. Even so the mansion seems a haven of safety in the storm as Harvey is upgraded to a Category 5. Vipul’s younger brother Raj arrives with his Anglo wife Lisa, followed by a neighbor seeking sanctuary as his home floods. Jia can see the hostility between him, Grandma and Vipul, but she can’t identify the reason. When the neighbor dies it appears an accident, but Jia’s not so sure. As the floodwaters rise the tensions increase. Her ex is sending her threatening texts, and following another death, Jia realizes to her horror that she and Ishaan may be trapped with a murderer in the house. Can she keep her beloved son safe until the storm passes?
Written with a unique perspective on an immigrant family’s struggles with traditions and New World morals, in The Night of the Storm Nishita Parekh racks up the pressure to the sticking point. A great read for lovers of murder-mysteries with a shocking twist at the end.
