Squall Line (The Forgotten Coast Florida Suspense Series Book 9)

I really enjoy all the characters, BUT her stories are so short I feel like I'm reading a condensed version. Also, she leaves you hanging at the end. What happened to the kids, and the deputy? It seems she is so rushed to get the book out, she doesn't finish it.

Squall Line: The Forgotten Coast Florida Suspense Series Book 9 is by Dawn Lee McKenna. This is the ninth book but I can assure you I will be going back and reading the first eight books. This book was absolutely fantastic. As a suspense, it definitely kept the suspense building throughout the book. The situations were definitely realistic and could happen anywhere in the US at any time. The characters jumped off the page and you could see and feel them next to you as you read. The descriptions of the area in Florida where this takes place are wonderful. Having been in that area, I felt like I was back there watching this take place.
Ryan Warner wanted only to finish his last year of school and get out of this place. He didn’t mind the area and he did have family nearby; but he didn’t like the high school. Since the day he arrived he had been bullied but in such a way that the school was unable to do anything about it. There were never any witnesses so it was his word against the bully’s. The day before, the bullies caught him in the science lab where he was feeding the mice and ganged up on him. In the process, he wet his pants and they caught it on tape. They put it all over the Internet on YouTube just to embarrass him. This was the last straw, he took his Dad’s pistol to school to scare those bullies. He didn’t use it until he got off the bus and they began harassing him again. He then brought it out to scare them. A police officer came upon the scene. He was meeting his small daughter when she got off the bus. Instead, he found himself trying to calm the scene down. As he was talking to Ryan to put the gun down, one of the other boys threw his backpack and hit Ryan’s arm and the gun went off. The officer was hit; but managed to get the bus driver to drive the bus away with his daughter on board before he fell.
In the ensuing commotion of getting the officer to the hospital, Ryan ran away and the other boys went home. Later, Adrian took his car and left home. Now the police had two boys missing. One had just accidentally shot a police office and the other was involved. Was Ryan holding Adrian hostage? Did Ryan shoot Adrian? Were they even together?
The police are trying to find the boys while the officer is fighting for his life. Will the police find them in time?

This is the most powerful storyline Dawn McKenna has shared in any of her Forgotten Coast series. If I were a teacher in any high school anywhere in the country I would be contacting the head of the English department to make sure this would be required reading the first week of school and that discussion groups would spend at least a week sharing their thoughts on this topic. I am literally blown away by the way she has handled this most sensitive of topics and shared her heartfelt hopes in Sky's Valedictorian address. Were it possible to actually go back in time I would want it to be the summer of 1998 and to have the means to make this book the most important one ALL the kids in every high school would be reading and talking about and pledging to make a difference in their world for every student they encountered each day. Dawn, I love reading your books, but if this were the last one you ever chose to write I would understand that you had put all your heart,soul, spirit and love into this one and there was simply no way to top this. ( Yes there were some misspells, but those will get corrected as promised. I could picture you racing to get this finished and posted so perhaps one more heartsore and downtrodden soul could read this, sigh, and decide there must be some other way to deal with the pain they face each and every day.

This is one very powerful book. Yes, all my favorite characters appeared and gave outstanding performances. Sky's valedictorian speech was superb. But, it is a very powerful statement about kids, guns, social media, bullying, families, lives affected and the horrific consequences all the way around. It is also a sad statement of what so many kids have to deal with today. Yes, a very powerful book.

A story for today told with understanding. So much to love in this series with, now, old friends keeping Apalachicola as safe as they can. Searching for a kid with a gun & a hostage while not knowing the fate of fellow officer Dwight keeps everyone tense but Maggie & Wyatt have to keep it together. Tense, funny, loving & worth every minute reading!

Had my calendar marked so I wouldn’t forgot the release of the latest in the Forgotten Coast series. It was released today, I downloaded it today and finished it just a few minutes ago. As usual, it is suspenseful, funny, heartbreaking, terrifying and infuriating all at the same time. Infuriating because I rushed through it and now I’ll have to wait another while to visit with Miss Evangeline and Stoopid again.

Miss Evangeline makes only a cameo appearance in this one, but she’s still her old self - unforgettable. She is my role model. Why I wait for ‘nother book, me? Be wanting it now!!

Dawn Lee tackles some tough social issues in this latest addition to the series and I believe she’s spot on. Great job, keep,writing!

I loved this book. I bought a paperback copy from Books and Purl in Apalachicola at a book signing by Dawn McKenna. The book deals with the timely subject of school bullying and guns in school. It is well told and wonderfully thought out.

At the book signing, Ms. McKenna apologized profusely and explained that the first run of books contained errors due to a corrections file from her editor being overlooked and not included in time for the first printing. She graciously offered to exchange any of the flawed books, at her cost, for the corrected version. If you have the e-book and it has flaws, just erase it from your device and re-download it from your "Content and Devices" section on the store to get the new file.

Another great book - couldn't put it down!! A shooting occurs at a school bus stop and the roller coaster ride begins. Ryan is being bullied at high school by a group of boys determined to make his senior year completely miserable. He has been looking forward to graduating and then going to school to become a veterinarian with a full scholarship to UCF. What happens next brings us all into a "story of today" happenings and the emotional and mental stress of young people and what they are facing with You Tube and Facebook and other media outlets. A very compelling, insightful look into what our younger generation is facing in this day and age.

What a remarkably straight-forward look at the upsurge that is bullying in today’s society. In this day and age, bullying has become commonplace everywhere from the home, to schools, to the workplace, and even to the innocuous online poker table. Abusive parents do it, students AND teachers do it, co-workers AND bosses do it, and I have even found it while trying to play a fun game of poker in the form of players that will put an exorbitant number of chips into the pot, just to scare off other players and win a very small amount of chips. In my opinion, this has been the best book in this series.

McKenna’s Forgotten Coast Series is one of my favorites, book 9 does not disappoint. All our favorites characters are back and the suspense is palpable.

Squall is powerful, timely and gripping in regards to bullying and gun violence. Handled with the utmost sensitivity, Squall Line delivers.

Please note: the author acknowledged an editing malfunction that should only affect early copies.

Teresa Gabelman
Recently, Kelly Clarkson stated that we needed action because a moment of silence wasn't working. Well, I believe Dawn Lee McKenna may have heard that plea. I love this series, actually, everything by this author. I dove into this expecting to enjoy a great fictional story. However, the more I read, the more real the story became. I love this series and appreciate how Mckenna used the characters we love so much to address a growing crisis. I wish everyone would read this. I wish the commencement speech could be given at every graduation.

Another great visit to Apalach!
I found this book to be so bittersweet in many ways. The plot covers bullying in social media and in person. An officer is shot trying to break up a fight at the bus stop. The shooter runs and later kidnaps one of the bullies.
If you've been reading the series, you will want to know what Maggie does and how the situation is resolved. You will try to decide if the shooter is good or bad and the mixed emotion involved. And you will want to know how Sky handles a coming of age.

These characters whom I have gotten to know, yet never met. These places I can picture in my mind eye, yet have never visited. The sense of humor, way with words, and storytelling from Dawn... This is great stuff, at least to me. Can't wait for the next book.
And thanks for addressing a topic that needs to be addressed, and without making the gun the enemy for once. Sky's speech was right on! Tame the internet behavior and a great deal of the problem will go away on its own. How? Get off your butts parents and get in your kid's lives!

Dawn Lee McKenna continues to show why she earns her high rankings! In Squall Line she takes a subject from the headlines and shows not just one side of it, but how the events affect everyone concerned. I'm guessing that this book would have been her hardest to write, and it's definitely one of, if not THE best she's written.

Another terrific Forgotten Coast book in the series. Great writing and storyline. Not sure why some reviewers thought there were loose ends at the end of the book. I found it satisfying. And, of course, you are left knowing another book is coming! And, of course, Stoopid has his place in the story!

This was another book I found difficult to put down. While it dealt with a kid who takes a gun to school it didn't "preach" about gun control. I have a granddaughter who has been bullied in middle school. Her family has also experienced the zero tolerance policies when she stood up for herself. Dawn Lee McKenna made some excellent points in Sky's Valedictorian address.
Can't wait for the next Forgotten Coast Florida book so I'm going to start on her new series!

This is a well written storyline about bullying and internet exploits. This series is very good and has wonderful characters. Even the sheriff does something good in this book. I'm always excited when a new installment comes out because they are always entertaining.

I love these characters and the place they live. You won’t be disappointed in the story and will probably not be able to put it down until you finish. The only part that lacks is a true finish to Ryan’s story. You don’t get any idea how his story will end.

Another superb story by Ms. McKenna. Timely story (unfortunately) and sometimes a real tear-jerker. Sky' s graduation speech should be required reading for every preteen and teen with a cell phone which I assume (also unfortunately) is all if them.

Good read. Why kids do what they do. So different then when we grew up. They pack guns and don't use judgement. A very outstanding read hated to see it end. Keep up the good work. We need more books like this.

Once I started reading this series I couldn't stop. Without a few of the characters these books would be a good read. There are two characters that make these books, in my opinion, exceptional. Miss Evangeline and Stoopid are just a little something extra that shouldn't be missed. I'm anxiously awaiting the next book.

Ms.McKenna brings to life small town, big issues. In her ongoing series she brings today's world into a different point of view that gives the reader pause to look at it from a different perspective.

Dawn's take on current social problems among us all, but specifically on our children is right on point and beautifully written. Alas, so many of us have been overwhelmingly affected by school violence, and Dawn shows us the real root of the problem -- and it isn't gun control -- its people taking responsibility for their actions and realizing life is real.

Aside from some editing issues, I enjoyed this book as much as I have the rest of the series. It is completely relevant to the world today. Love that as serious as this book was, that it still had a lot of the humor and great characters as the previous books. I laughed (and cried) a few times. Looking forward to the next book.

I've read this whole series and enjoyed each installment immensely, although I do wish they were a bit longer. Having vacationed in the "Apalach" / Cape San Blas area many times, a lot of the locations mentioned in the series conjure up vivid mental images and fond memories. As the series has progressed, the characters have become more familiar and real and well-defined, and, for the most part, more lovable, even (or especially) Stoopid. I have to admit that loving this little bit of Florida as I do, I'm pretty biased and not so prone to critiquing things like plot/character development and flow. In those matters, even if problems do exist, I tend to subconsciously give grace as I go, leaving all that sort of stuff to someone with a more critical eye than my own. That said, this installment in the series did have one serious, annoying flaw, absent from its predecessors, that other reviewers have already pointed out. The Kindle version, which is essentially all I read, is in need of some serious proofreading, with an overabundance of misspellings, words randomly placed, misused homonyms, typos, etc., etc. Hence, four stars instead of five. Looking forward to Book 10 in the series, Overboard, due out in August 2018, I'm hoping for considerable improvement in that area.

I love the series and enjoyed reading this installment. I only gave this book 4 stars because the editing was not good. There were several misspelled words and incomplete sentences. I know that doesn't change the story, but it's very distracting.

The first books in the series were so intriguing with Maggie building her relationship with B.B. Wyatt is dull and ordinary. And worse, he’s very controlling. The books are better when Maggie is independent with Wyatt only a small part of the storyline, and when Maggie has more interaction with B.B.

Aside from some editing issues, I enjoyed this book as much as I have the rest of the series. It is completely relevant to the world today. Love that as serious as this book was, that it still had a lot of the humor and great characters as the previous books. I laughed (and cried) a few times. Looking forward to the next book.

I've read this whole series and enjoyed each installment immensely, although I do wish they were a bit longer. Having vacationed in the "Apalach" / Cape San Blas area many times, a lot of the locations mentioned in the series conjure up vivid mental images and fond memories. As the series has progressed, the characters have become more familiar and real and well-defined, and, for the most part, more lovable, even (or especially) Stoopid. I have to admit that loving this little bit of Florida as I do, I'm pretty biased and not so prone to critiquing things like plot/character development and flow. In those matters, even if problems do exist, I tend to subconsciously give grace as I go, leaving all that sort of stuff to someone with a more critical eye than my own. That said, this installment in the series did have one serious, annoying flaw, absent from its predecessors, that other reviewers have already pointed out. The Kindle version, which is essentially all I read, is in need of some serious proofreading, with an overabundance of misspellings, words randomly placed, misused homonyms, typos, etc., etc. Hence, four stars instead of five. Looking forward to Book 10 in the series, Overboard, due out in August 2018, I'm hoping for considerable improvement in that area.

I love the series and enjoyed reading this installment. I only gave this book 4 stars because the editing was not good. There were several misspelled words and incomplete sentences. I know that doesn't change the story, but it's very distracting.