Review - Sunrise in a Storm by Crystal D. Budy

Spoiler alert: This review of the second Polaris Mysteries book may contain spoilers for the first story.

Nick and Carter are trying to figure out what they want to be to each other. They’re definitely attracted to each other, but their lives are experiencing a lot of turmoil right now, so it doesn’t seem like the best time to start something, especially with Max’s soon-to-be ex-husband in the background. When one of the young men the pair encountered previously comes asking for help to find his boyfriend, the pair reluctantly agrees to help, which puts them back on the trail of Carter’s brother, who disappeared months ago.

In “Sunrise in a Storm,” our amateur detectives get new clues in their hunt for the people behind the Appalachian Order, a cult-like organization behind the drug trade in their North Carolina county. The leaders may include Nick’s father, the mayor. While the books in this series focus on a specific mystery, there’s an over-arching plot to the series that means you need to read each of the books, in their published order, to know what’s going on.

Carter and Nick make an interesting pair. They’re opposites in many ways, but they prove complementary as they dig into the mystery. Carter remains the “steady” partner in the relationship, helping to balance out Nick’s tendency to be a loose cannon. The desire to find his brother drives much of the drama in this story. It’s an understandable need, and it makes for some difficult reading.

Nick is a very interesting character. He displays quite a talent for digging up information on the people involved in the case. We know from the first book that Nick has been a con man, which explains his skills to some extent, but I suspect that there may be more about the man that we don’t know yet.

The drama definitely ramps up in this second book, pushing this mystery into thriller territory.

“Sunrise in a Storm” is available from Smashwords or see BookBub for links to other sites where you can purchase it.