Stuff I Read: Eye of the Sh*t Storm by Jackson Ford

Everyone’s favorite psychokinetic agent is back! After sustaining serious losses over the previous couple of months, Teagan Frost and her China Shop crew are tasked with investigating an electrical disturbance at a warehouse. But when Teagan finds a terrified little boy with shocking powers at the center of it, she risks her team and her freedom by going AWOL to protect him. Trouble is coming from all sides in Jackson Ford’s 2021 sequel, Eye of the Sh*t Storm.

Eye of the Sh*t Storm by Jackson Ford

After unnatural earthquakes turned Los Angeles into a disaster zone and cost the China Shop’s field leader his life, Teagan Frost’s government-sponsored band of misfits are on high alert for people with special powers. So, when the get the call about weird electrical happenings at a warehouse in town, Teagan and friends rush to the scene. They are surprised to learn that the source of the disturbance is a scared, lost little boy, who says he’s waiting for his father, and when the kid speaks of the special school and other children with powers, Teagan can’t bring herself to detain him. She instead absconds with the kid, trying to bring him to his father. Enlisting Nic Delacourt—her former best friend and almost-lover—to help her navigate an earthquake-ravaged landscape, Teagan finds her group hunted by a man who can manipulate someone’s senses and induce maddening hallucinations as well as a meth-trafficking biker gang. Can she get to safety without the China Shop’s help?

Eye of the Sh*t Storm is another sharp-witted and well-plotted outing in Jackson Ford’s Frost Files series. Thus far, each entry has seen the recurring characters and the world they inhabit become further solidified, as the effect of each entry lingers in the next. The trauma they endured in Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air informs every decision these characters make and the relationships in the group as a whole. Teagan has come to a détente with her co-worker and former frenemy, Annie, who lost her boyfriend—and the China Shop’s field leader—during a confrontation with the earthquake kid. The team’s driver, Idriss “Africa” Kouame has gone from being homeless in the first entry of the series to dependable muscle and reliable team member at this stage. Teagan’s relationship with Nic has devolved into a loose friendship after an argument about responsibility, and she owns her culpability in it. Holy crap, the main character has grown over the course of the series, and she’s even likeable at this point! The overall story moves pretty quickly, like a well-tuned performance vehicle, and there’s never a point where the characters become grating or the villains’ threat seems disproportionate.

My only complaint is that the kid with the electric powers is reduced to being a living MacGuffin as Teagan and friends wind up playing a high-stakes game of keep-away. But when things are done so stylishly, it’s hard to be mad about it for long.

With its cool premise, tight plotting, and exciting storytelling, Frost Files is steadily climbing up the favorite list for me as a series. Each entry has been fun, fast-paced, and incredibly readable, and Eye of the Sh*t Storm is no exception. You should definitely check it out.

Pros: Fun, exciting plot. Character growth and development continued from previous entries, and makes you invested in the relationships.

Cons: The kid in question is reduced to being a MacGuffin.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.