Ill Wind by Rachel Caine

Title: Ill Wind
Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: Roc
Publication Date: December 2, 2003
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 352 pages
Age Group: Adult
Series: Weather Warden (Book 1)

Joanne is running for her life. She stands accused of using her powers as a Weather Warden to commit murder but no one knows the full story or how much trouble she is truly in. As she runs away from those who would judge her toward the one man she believes can save her, Joanne discovers that even she does not fully understand the powers that are currently in play.

Ill Wind is fast paced and chaotic. The story zooms from present to past and back again as Joanne attempts to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. The writing mirrors Joanne's frantic emotional state and I could strongly feel the sense of urgency that she was facing. At the same time, Joanne seems to take time out of her flight for survival to indulge her sexual nature by fantasizing about the man she picked up by the side of the road or remembering past encounters with various men. These fantasies seem trivial considering the gravity of her current situation.

Although Joanne has some control over the weather, she believes that a storm is following her with malicious intent. Until some very specific evens occur, she is unsure if this is a natural storm or one created by another Weather Warden to end her life. I think I was expecting Joanne to have much more control over the weather than she seemed to at times based on her title of Weather Warden.

Without giving anything away, I will say that the ending confused me a bit because I am unclear how it is going to lead the story into a series.

Overall, I found Ill Wind to be an enjoyable read, although not one of my favorites. I am interested in continuing the series to see where it is going.

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