James Arlen Anderson
James Arlen Anderson is the author of 20-plus nonfiction books for early readers, published as Jameson Anderson. A career journalist, James lives in suburban Minneapolis with his wife and dog.
The Storm Next Door
Sheriff Darrell Halvorson is barely holding the rural town of Hayford, Minnesota, together when a registered sex offender moves into the trailer park. A community divided between born-and-raised locals and the migrant worker trailer park population now threatens to tear at the seams. As policing and personal tensions push Halvorson to the brink, a tornado tears through the trailer park with little warning. When the dust settles, two people are missing: 14-year-old Luciana Rodriquez, and her neighbor, Ray Albee, the sex offender. Thrust into a desperate search, Halvorson races against time and a swelling tide of fear and suspicion. Can he find Luciana before townspeople take matters into their own hands? The Storm Next Door is a gripping, slow-burn crime thriller that explores the boundaries of forgiveness, justice, and vengeance.
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Praise for James Arlen Anderson
“Part rustic examination of rural towns and part thrilling suspense, The Storm Next Door is a novel that sticks with you long after the last page.”
Scott R. Welvaert
author of Grayduck.
“The Storm Next Door has everything I look for in a good crime novel—a troubled hero, real characters I care about, and a rising tension that keeps the pages turning. Anderson is a first-rate storyteller. This is a fantastic debut.”
Joshua Moehling
USA Today bestselling author of And There He Kept Her and A Long Time Gone.
“Tension fills every page. Anderson knows small town Minnesota, and his scene setting and diverse characters are reminiscent of William Kent Krueger’s. The story is rich in important, character-revealing details.”
Chris Norbury
author of the Matt Lanier thriller series
“The Storm Next Door gathers force and energy on the page before unleashing the whirlwind. A harrowing work of small-town suspense about the darkness that brews in unexpected places and people, this thrilling novel had me turning the pages well past midnight.”
Thomas Maltman
2025 Minnesota Book Award Winning author of Ashes to Ashes
“James Arlen Anderson’s remarkable writing invites us on a journey deep into the essence of community and the beauty of vulnerability.”
Midwest Book Review