The Storms of May — Edward Hower

Ruth Sullivan, an idealistic young woman with a troubled past, runs a group home with her artist-husband, Mike, caring for five at-risk teenage girls as volatile and erratic as they are appealing. Her heart goes out to the troubled kids, but as she struggles to help them turn their lives around, a mysterious girl who calls herself May Royale arrives like a typhoon, noisily upsetting the home's fragile peace. Soon May introduces to the scene her boyfriend, Paco, a flashy former gang member desperate to escape his family's criminal legacy. Paco, like May, is not all he seems at first, as Ruth discovers to both her delight and terror. Her involvement with him pushes her courage to the limits as she tests both her convictions and her marriage.

Hower's characters are totally engaging, and the reader is quickly caught up in their lives. The Storms of May is charged with suspense and full of surprises.