Book Review: A Brewing Storm by Richard Castle

One could argue that A Brewing Storm is kind of a hybrid for our era, since it’s the first volume in a serialized novel in eBook format. The second volume A Raging Storm is already out, while the final A Bloody Storm will be published in August.

A Brewing Storm starts with its main protagonist, Derrick Storm, sitting on the shores of a stream in Silver Creek, Montana, and trying to fish.  Storm is a retired CIA agent, who, according to the official records, is dead. His death apparently is the only thing that keeps him alive, since during his time at the Service he’s managed to create a lot of enemies.

However, something will happen that will make him return to Washington, whether he likes it or not. His ex-boss Jedidiah Jones, the head of the National Clandestine Service needs him, and Derrick knows all too well, that if he invited him that’s only because he had no other option.

At the beginning though he declines to follow the agents who’ve been sent to pick him up and lead him to the country’s capital; that until they tell him a word that changes everything: Tangiers. He owes his life to Jedidiah, he’s reminded, so now he’s called in to return the favor.

Thus he follows the agents and upon his arrival in Washington he finds out that his return to action has to do with the abduction of the stepson of a very powerful senator called Thurston Windslow. The FBI which was heading the investigation has messed-up badly, the life of Matthew Dull, the missing man, seems to be in eminent danger and they all expect Storm to save the day. And everyone, with the exception of his ex-boss, seems to be suspicious of him, with FBI agent, April Showers, as leader of the pack.

So Storm will find himself coming back to action with a bang and then a few more. As he starts investigating the case, he comes to realize that there’s more to it than what they let on. For starters both the CIA and the FBI have him followed, then he finds out that there’s more than a suspect involved in the kidnapping, while a lot of other people seem to be circling around, trying to find out something; a secret that he himself would love to know.

The more he gets into this cat and mouse game the more he feels that he can’t really trust anyone, even Jedidiah. He only has his instinct to depend on, but even that will not prove enough to help him through the hard times to come. If he wants to understand the game he has to get ahead of it, and that won’t be such an easy thing to do.

There’s plenty of action and twists and turns here to keep the reader alert and asking for more. Every end is a new beginning, the author seems to say, and the end of this volume promises exactly that.