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Red Rain: A Novella of War, Friendship and Loss: A Prequel Novella to the Liz Danger Series
Before Vince Cooper ended up in Burney, Ohio and Liz Danger drove into his life, he was an Army Ranger. Which is where he met Rain Still, who helps Liz and him when trouble comes to Burney. This is the story of how they met.
(Cover is not final)
A Ranger squad leader and the medic attached to his squad become, over the course of six months, the thing two people become when they have seen each other be good at the worst work human beings do — and neither of them comes home the way they went in.
Raina Still arrived on a Tuesday, on the same Chinook as the supply pallets to the FOB in Afghanistan. Six feet tall, head shaved close, a full med kit over one shoulder and the walk of someone who intended to understand a place fast. Sergeant Vince Cooper watched her cross the FOB, just another Fobbit, and filed her under things that were not his concern. Forty-eight hours later she was attached to his Ranger squad as their medic, and the deployment became a thing neither of them had planned for.
Red Rain is a novella in two voices — a squad leader who plans obsessively because planning is what keeps his men alive, and a medic with time to serve before medical school. It is a book about the particular intimacy of shared competence, about the things two people come to know about each other without saying, and about what a deployment asks a person to carry home. Six months of ops, one friendship built on mutual respect, and an afternoon on a landing zone that neither of them will finish being inside of.
Vince Cooper and Raina Still are a small city cop and forensic scientist in the bestselling Liz Danger series of books. This is the story of how they first met years before.
(Cover is not final)
A Ranger squad leader and the medic attached to his squad become, over the course of six months, the thing two people become when they have seen each other be good at the worst work human beings do — and neither of them comes home the way they went in.
Raina Still arrived on a Tuesday, on the same Chinook as the supply pallets to the FOB in Afghanistan. Six feet tall, head shaved close, a full med kit over one shoulder and the walk of someone who intended to understand a place fast. Sergeant Vince Cooper watched her cross the FOB, just another Fobbit, and filed her under things that were not his concern. Forty-eight hours later she was attached to his Ranger squad as their medic, and the deployment became a thing neither of them had planned for.
Red Rain is a novella in two voices — a squad leader who plans obsessively because planning is what keeps his men alive, and a medic with time to serve before medical school. It is a book about the particular intimacy of shared competence, about the things two people come to know about each other without saying, and about what a deployment asks a person to carry home. Six months of ops, one friendship built on mutual respect, and an afternoon on a landing zone that neither of them will finish being inside of.
Vince Cooper and Raina Still are a small city cop and forensic scientist in the bestselling Liz Danger series of books. This is the story of how they first met years before.
176 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 30, 2026
About the author
Bob Mayer
578 books47.8k followersI'm a West Point graduate, former Green Beret and a New York Times Bestselling Author. I've sold over five million books.
I love using history and science in my books. My Area 51 series pretty much had me rewriting our entire history of civilization.
I also collaborate with Jennifer Crusie on our unique brand of suspense thrillers with humor.
I love using history and science in my books. My Area 51 series pretty much had me rewriting our entire history of civilization.
I also collaborate with Jennifer Crusie on our unique brand of suspense thrillers with humor.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 4, 2026
An interesting new prequel to the Liz Danger trilogy. I loved author duo Jennifer Crusie/Bob Mayer's Liz books. So I knew I wanted to read this one.
Red Rain written by Bob Mayer takes on a somber tone. This is a quick account of characters Vince and Rain's time in Afghanistan with the Rangers, before they both later wind up in small town Burney, Ohio and meet Liz.
The author does a great job of making you feel like you're right there. Even though I read/listened to the Liz books back in 2024, as I read this novella I could still hear Eric G. Dove and Cris Dukehart's narration.
Red Rain written by Bob Mayer takes on a somber tone. This is a quick account of characters Vince and Rain's time in Afghanistan with the Rangers, before they both later wind up in small town Burney, Ohio and meet Liz.
The author does a great job of making you feel like you're right there. Even though I read/listened to the Liz books back in 2024, as I read this novella I could still hear Eric G. Dove and Cris Dukehart's narration.
August 6, 2026
This was a hard one to write. I can honestly say it was well worth the read.
I read and listened to this story after finishing the Liz Danger series. This book is about Vince and Rain, but I would tell readers not to expect it to be like the Liz Danger books if they've already read that series.
This isn't a romance...hard stop. It's a story—sometimes an intense, heavy one. I liked the way it was written. The writing was straightforward and to the point, even while dealing with difficult emotions and painful events.
I think that direct writing style actually made the book easier to read in spite of the emotional weight it carried.
More than anything, this story gave me a much deeper understanding of the bond between Vince, Rain, and Dave. It also left me feeling that unless you've served in the military yourself, it's probably impossible to fully comprehend the depth of that bond. I have never served, but my father did. Somehow, this book helped me understand him a little better, and that may have been the most meaningful part of the entire experience.
I read and listened to this story after finishing the Liz Danger series. This book is about Vince and Rain, but I would tell readers not to expect it to be like the Liz Danger books if they've already read that series.
This isn't a romance...hard stop. It's a story—sometimes an intense, heavy one. I liked the way it was written. The writing was straightforward and to the point, even while dealing with difficult emotions and painful events.
I think that direct writing style actually made the book easier to read in spite of the emotional weight it carried.
More than anything, this story gave me a much deeper understanding of the bond between Vince, Rain, and Dave. It also left me feeling that unless you've served in the military yourself, it's probably impossible to fully comprehend the depth of that bond. I have never served, but my father did. Somehow, this book helped me understand him a little better, and that may have been the most meaningful part of the entire experience.
August 9, 2026
The prequel I didn't know I needed
I adored the The Liz Danger series for all its fun small-town charm, wonderfully quirky well-developed characters, and a storyline that kept me turning pages. While much of the dialog in those books was lively banter, the conversations between Vince and Rain carried a more solemn tone, one worth explaining. We learned some of their backstory in the first book (as well as Dave's), but in "Red Rain" it becomes real, heartbreakingly so. I don't read a lot of combat drama, maybe because it carries so much weight; this prequel novella is no exception. This could have been any soldiers' story, I suppose -- the missions, the unspoken camaraderie, the wariness, the waiting -- but knowing their futures made all the difference. So good, and so well written that you feel like you're one with the platoon. A fitting punctuation mark to the series.
I adored the The Liz Danger series for all its fun small-town charm, wonderfully quirky well-developed characters, and a storyline that kept me turning pages. While much of the dialog in those books was lively banter, the conversations between Vince and Rain carried a more solemn tone, one worth explaining. We learned some of their backstory in the first book (as well as Dave's), but in "Red Rain" it becomes real, heartbreakingly so. I don't read a lot of combat drama, maybe because it carries so much weight; this prequel novella is no exception. This could have been any soldiers' story, I suppose -- the missions, the unspoken camaraderie, the wariness, the waiting -- but knowing their futures made all the difference. So good, and so well written that you feel like you're one with the platoon. A fitting punctuation mark to the series.
August 13, 2026
You put life in the characters.
Some characters are 2 dimensional despite the author's best efforts. These characters were alive for me, fully realized. That's a gift to your readers.
I wish you had expounded on what gave Rain her unusual strength. I appreciated her chapters and how she added to the fullness of the other characters. She was exactly as I would have expected her to be from the subsequent novels.
Vince was more stoic than I expected, but the basic strength of character held.
Thank you for writing this book.
Some characters are 2 dimensional despite the author's best efforts. These characters were alive for me, fully realized. That's a gift to your readers.
I wish you had expounded on what gave Rain her unusual strength. I appreciated her chapters and how she added to the fullness of the other characters. She was exactly as I would have expected her to be from the subsequent novels.
Vince was more stoic than I expected, but the basic strength of character held.
Thank you for writing this book.
August 1, 2026
How is this a novella and not a book?
I still have tears. I'm going to have to reread the Liz Danger novels.
Bob - please please please include a glossary of terms and acronyms for those of us who did not serve. My dh has been gone for 3 years now and my Da (who was RAF so the slang was different) for 5, so my source for translations are gone.. I'm left googling.
I still have tears. I'm going to have to reread the Liz Danger novels.
Bob - please please please include a glossary of terms and acronyms for those of us who did not serve. My dh has been gone for 3 years now and my Da (who was RAF so the slang was different) for 5, so my source for translations are gone.. I'm left googling.
August 9, 2026
Good
One thing I love about BobMayer is that he writes about people not just events. Some action authors seem to fit their people around a situation, Bob Mayer writes about the people who handle those situations. I've been reading his stuff for at least twenty years. It's only getting better.
These are real people in real situations. They are the story.
One thing I love about BobMayer is that he writes about people not just events. Some action authors seem to fit their people around a situation, Bob Mayer writes about the people who handle those situations. I've been reading his stuff for at least twenty years. It's only getting better.
These are real people in real situations. They are the story.
August 1, 2026
I don't read military much at all. Maybe some sci-fi, but not the realistic kind, but I liked the Liz Danger books. This is a short, so I thought, what the hell. It was great. Really enjoyed it a bunch. Makes me wonder if I might like some of his other military-type stuff. Have to think about it.
August 26, 2026
Great read.
Bob Mayer has a brevity of words that make us understand the feelings and actions of the characters . It was a hard read because it made me understand what our service people bear the cost of political decisions. I highly recommend this book.
Bob Mayer has a brevity of words that make us understand the feelings and actions of the characters . It was a hard read because it made me understand what our service people bear the cost of political decisions. I highly recommend this book.
August 2, 2026
packs a punch
Mr Mayer writes most books humorously. This one was a lovely but sad piece. Well worth reading.
Set in Afghanistan at a Ranger FOB.
Mr Mayer writes most books humorously. This one was a lovely but sad piece. Well worth reading.
Set in Afghanistan at a Ranger FOB.
August 5, 2026
thought provoking
Thought provoking window on Rain and Vince’s past. I really enjoyed it. I think I will reread the Liz Danger books next.
Thought provoking window on Rain and Vince’s past. I really enjoyed it. I think I will reread the Liz Danger books next.
August 7, 2026
Nice background for Vince Cooper and Rain Still.
August 16, 2026
Wow. Powerful. Very powerful!
August 12, 2026
I could see a mental movie due to the superb visual writing by Mr. Mayer. The ritual of the mocha making and sharing a cup. The emotive ending with Vince, Dave, and Rain each doing what they needed to do to. No spoilers, go read the book.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews