Dawn of the Storm

A Raina Storm Action Thriller

By: Kim Cresswell

Narrated by: Sarah L. Colton

A jihadist pledges his allegiance to al Qaeda with an unthinkable act...and the terrorist cell is just getting started.

Raina Storm, the CIA's most lethal operative, is off the grid, leading a secluded and comfortable life with her six-year-old daughter in Barstow, California. But peace is short-lived when a former FBI agent and an ex-intelligence officer track Raina down and blackmail her into helping them stop a new threat.

In a race against the clock, the team must hunt down the terrorists before a dirty bomb is smuggled out of Colombia and into the United States.

A new action-packed crossover series featuring Raina Storm and characters from Kim Cresswell's award-winning Whitney Steel romantic thriller series.

©2018 Kim Cresswell (P)2018 Kim Cresswell

Dawn of the Storm

Raina is a deadly assassin/operative. She is always in hiding because of past cases and the danger to her life. A team is sent in to get her to help out against a jihadist group. One that she actually angered. This was a fun fast paced action thriller. The narration was nice and easy to listen to.

Love it

I loved this book! Strong female character was great. The background to the story was well rounded, action packed, and the narrator's voice was great! Will listen to again

Enjoyable read

Dawn of the Storm (Raina Storm Action Thriller #1), my first read from author Kim Cresswell. Well-written thriller with captivating, well-developed main characters, I’ll be reading more by this author and look forward to reading Dawn of the Enemy, book 2 in the series! Narrator Sarah L. Colton adds greatly to the listening enjoyment with a wide variety of entertaining voices & inflections. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

nonstop action for Raina and her team

One of the CIA's deadliest operative, Raina Storm is taking a break from her job to raise her young daughter. But life is never quiet for this operative...when a former FBI agent and ex intelligence officer track her down to help stop a terrorist plot, Raina refuses...at first...but then is blackmailed into helping. When the team, who is moving them to a safe house, is attacked, Raina accepts that she must put an end to the terrorist group before it's too late. What follows is nonstop action as Raina and her ragtag team travel to Columbia to deal with the group. You are never bored with any book by this author...on the contrary, you will be salivating for more. Like right now...I am dying to know what's Raina's next adventure...the ending of this book gives us a bit of a teaser!
I voluntarily accepted a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Quick and to the Point

I had never heard of Kim Cresswell before picking up Dawn of the Storm, but I will be seeking her out in the future, especially the continuation of this series.

Dawn of the Storm tells the story of a terrorist plot and how we plan on stopping it using one of our best operatives. We are quickly introduced to Raina Storm and we’re not sure why they want her and only her for this mission. But, we also quickly find out that she’s the exact person we need.

Raina was a likable character who did everything almost right (she is human, of course). Cresswell writes her as this sort of perfect shadowy assassin (in numerous meanings of those words). And we’re treated to numerous showings of just what she can accomplish. I could tell that we were being introduced to a character but the plot and story made the introduction interesting and action-packed. Cresswell was able to write action in a way that was fast, brutal, and to the point without sacrificing much.

Overall, I thought that Dawn of the Storm was a good intro book with action, intrigue, and a no-nonsense approach to a terrorist thriller. Short, and to the point, Storm is the first book in a series and I’m curious to see what happens next.

I did not read any of the books where some of these characters were from, but I don’t think it took anything away. It was a shorter book that did skimp on some details, but it didn’t stop me from understanding who they were, why they were there, and what was going on.

Good Book!

The story line was very interesting. I enjoyed the book. The narrator done a great job telling the story.

Action-packed from the first to the last word.....

Dawn of the Storm is hopefully the first in a new series by Kim Creswell. In this book, Hal and Angela, covert, freelance agents, recruit/blackmail former CIA assassin, Raina Storm, to help them stop the detonation of a dirty bomb. The book starts out with an Al Qaeda sleeper agent blowing up a nuclear power plant, and the organization for which Hal and Angela work assigns them the task of preventing the delivery of a nuclear bomb through Columbia, the second planned attack of the Al Qaeda terrorists. As a former CIA assassin, Raina Storm has extensive contacts in Columbia, and her skills and contacts prove invaluable to Hal and Angela. Although truly action-packed from almost the first to the last word, this story also gives the reader some background on the three main characters and sets the groundwork for future collaborations between them. I hope to see additional stories in this series soon.

Sarah L Colton does a terrific job with the narration. She differentiates well between the characters, and her accent for the Columbia natives is excellent. She uses just the right amount of emotion to increase the suspense without sounding over-the-top. I would definitely listen to another audiobook narrated by Colton is the future.

I received a copy of this audiobook at my request in exchange for this honest review.

Dawn of the Storm

Very fast paced audio book. Acton filled and doesn't disappoint. Lot of information bit not packed to the rafters where it can't be taken in. I totally enjoyed listening.

Special Ops in Columbia

When Muslim extremists team up with the Colombian cartel to smuggle a dirt bomb into the United States, a retired CIA assassin gets drawn back into the world she thought she'd left behind to take on one more mission with the Feds. Lots of suspense, fancy guns and high-tech toys plus a kick-ass heroine and a couple of sidekicks who can definitely hold their own.
A great read with some fairly current themes and plot points.
If you're a techno-thriller fan, you'll probably like this one. I certainly did.

Action in every word

I really enjoyed this action thriller by Kim Cresswell. Having read other book by this author O knew I was in for a good one. The action starts pretty much with the first word and continues through the entire book. It’s the first in the Raina Storm series and sets the series up really well.
The narration was just ok, I had a hard time distinguishing between Raina and Angela and just didn’t feel the story the way I’d like to. I kept thinking this is a great story but would be even better if so and so did the narration. I narrates are a matter of personal choice so don’t let my opinion on the narration stop you. The story is great but with a different narrator I would rate a straight 5