Mémoire d'une nuit d'orage (ROMAN)

by Nancy Pickard, Françoise Rose (Translator)

Baigné de violence et de sensualité, un superbe roman au cœur des vastes plaines du Middle West, à la rencontre des secrets et des drames d'une toute-puissante famille d'éleveurs.


Un orage s'abat sur la petite ville de Rose, fougueux, dévastateur. Dans cette ambiance électrique, un drame va se nouer qui verra l'assassinat de Hugh-Jay Linder et la disparition de sa femme Laurie. Seule survivante : leur fille Jody, trois ans.
Pour le très soudé clan Linder, et pour toute la bourgade, le coupable ne fait aucun doute : Billy Crosby, mauvais garçon notoire.


Vingt-trois ans plus tard, le meurtrier présumé sort de prison. Une libération anticipée due aux nombreuses failles du dossier. Pour Jody qui avait pris soin de tenir son tragique passé à distance, c'est toute sa vie qui est de nouveau ébranlée.


Mystères, mensonges et jalousies resurgissent ; la ville s'embrase. Pour la jeune femme, l'heure est venue de se confronter à des vérités dérangeantes...

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Book Club, Suspense, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 4, 2010

About the author

Nancy Pickard is an American crime novelist. She received a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri and began writing at age 35.

She has won five Macavity Awards, four Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, and a Shamus Award. She is the only author to win all four awards. Her novel The Virgin of Small Plains, published in 2007, won an Agatha Award. She also served on the board of directors of the Mystery Writers of America.

Reviews

[Trudi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was browsing in my library’s fiction stacks one day when I came across Nancy Pickard’s The Scent of Rain and Lightning. Let me just say I was smitten from the start as you’ll never meet a bigger sucker for a great cover or even better title. I’ve been cruelly disappointed using this method to ferret out books in the past, but I’ve also stumbled upon some real gems.

I grew up in the Maritimes of Canada – Newfoundland to be precise – a craggy, fogged in island rock that’s bathed in the sun’s rays about 15 minutes every year. I’ve since transplanted myself to the Canadian Prairies and oh how I’ve fallen in love with the never-ending blue sky that stretches uninterrupted as far as any ocean, and the rolling flat prairie lying out as far as the eye can see. This is where land and sky come together with dazzling results. A common joke from these parts is you can watch your dog run away for three days.

The cover of this book grabbed my eye because it immediately reminded me of any grid road in southern Saskatchewan on a sunny day (of which there are plenty). The title charmed me – calling up my favorite things. You live through enough prairie storms and it doesn’t take long to realize that rain and lightning do indeed have a scent. At this point, I didn’t even care what the book was about I just knew I wanted to read it. Once I started reading it I was drawn into the landscape (small town Kansas) and to the characters that populated it – strong, rough, country people, hewn from the soil and forged through hard work.

At the heart of this story is a murder that happens on a dark and stormy night, with the rain lashing the earth and lightning sundering the sky. A father is shot in cold blood, his wife is also presumed dead even though her body is never recovered. Their little girl – three year old Jody Linder – is left parentless, though not an orphan since her loving grandparents swoop in to raise and protect her, as well as three uncles who would do anything for her – Meryl, Chase and Bobby.

When the book starts, twenty-three years have passed since that horrible night and Jody is a grown woman about to embark on a career as a high school English teacher. She is looking towards the future until her past shows up on her doorstop one morning; it’s her three uncles with the news that the man convicted of killing her parents has been released from prison and is on his way back to Rose. The news is devastating and causes a ripple effect throughout the town’s inhabitants and shakes the Linder family to its very core. Because not everyone believes Billy Crosby is guilty of the crime he was sent to prison for – and now Jody’s life is shattered and everything she ever believed thrown into chaos, for if Crosby didn’t kill her parents, who did?

Once I started this story I couldn’t put it down. Not only did I have to know what the hell really happened that awful night, I became submersed in the lives of the people involved. Pickard has a way of writing that puts you into the story – I could see everything unfold as if it were a movie playing in my mind’s eye, and I love when a book can do that. Let’s just say more than once I could smell the scent of rain and lightning.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

2012 F.A.B. Bookclub pick # I.❤️. F.A.B.

A sad murder mystery, with a message of kindness. We can’t change the past but we can control how we treat one another.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Goodreads! --Another First Reads win!

I particularly wanted to like this book because it was a freebie from first reads. However, I found the plot trivial and predictable, the characters unbelievable and the ending wrapped up just a little too neatly without enough substance to warrant it. I’d be more specific, but I don’t want to ruin the plot line for those who haven’t read the book. But, just let me say this—Pickard’s story didn’t hold me in suspense like a good mystery should. She establishes early on why the suspected killer couldn’t have committed the crime, and yet her characters (or at least the main ones) seem oblivious. It was relatively easy to figure out who the real killer was by the process of elimination. No surprises here.

What I did like was her using the real fossil rich chalk lands of western Kansas known as Monument Rocks as a primary feature in her story, renaming them Testament Rocks. She gets kudos for that. I also liked the devotion the patriarch of her wealthy Kansas family, Hugh Linder, Senior, and his wife Annabelle had for each other and their efforts to extend a helping hand to young people from more unfortunate circumstances. However, the fact that they raised an alienated daughter and three sons, none of whom found a lasting or satisfactory relationship, didn’t ring true. You’d think at least one of the kids would emulate the love their parents had for each other.

The back of the book lists various accolades and awards Nancy Pickard has received for her writing, so I’m going to assume this book is the exception.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a FirstReads giveaway. Initially, I was drawn to the cover and the title - if you know me at all, you know that there's nothing I love more than thunderstorms and a good book - so I was thrilled when I won this one, even before really knowing what it was about. I knew it was a kind of cold-case mystery, and that was enough to get me to request the book. Well, along with the gorgeous cover, that is.

The edition I read is an Advance Reader's Copy, so there were some grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors, but I'm not holding those against the book, as it obviously hadn't gone through the final spit-shine yet. I imagine that all of those little errors and tweaks will be all gone or fixed by the time this is on the shelves in bookstores.

I enjoyed this story more than I thought that I would, to be perfectly honest. I will admit that I was a little concerned in the beginning that I wouldn't love the fact that it was about Kansas and cowboys, but I was so quickly drawn into the story that I forgot all about that. Rather than feeling like small-town Rose, Kansas and the cattle ranch were boring settings that I wouldn't be interested in, they actually came to feel like they had a personality of their own, as if they are living, breathing characters just as the human players are. I was pleasantly surprised by this when I realized it about 3/4 of the way through the book.

I loved the people characters, too. They all felt real, and fleshed out and true to themselves. I loved the way that the past and present times merged in them to form a full picture and to make them 3-dimensional people that I felt like I would actually meet in Kansas, should I make a trip out there. I loved that they felt true to their situations and not caricatures of the "Good Guy" or "Bad Guy". But I especially loved the family, and how they banded together to form this protective and impenetrable barrier when necessary, and the closeness and the trust and strength they both gave and took from each other. And, I even had Hugh-Jay pictured in my mind as Marlboro Man. No, not THE Marlboro Man, but this Marlboro Man from Ree Drummond's "Pioneer Woman" blog, which I LOVE, and highly recommend people read. She's witty, funny, and makes delicious creations in the kitchen.

I thought that I had this book figured out three or four times, and when everything was laid out and shown for what really happened, I was as shocked as anyone. I never guessed. I suspected everything BUT what actually happened. I love when that happens. Mysteries are the only books that I will allow to manipulate me, but if this one did, it was very tricksy, because I felt oh-so-smart coming to my conclusions... until I was proved wrong every time.

The romance bits were a nice break from the tension, and the relationships that were shown were pretty true to what I'd expect of the characters. Nothing really steamy here, but there were some sensual scenes that were welcome replacements for overly graphic sex-scenes that seem to be taking over these days.

I very much liked the writing style once I got into it. The first few pages struck me as a little rough, but it didn't take long for me to be absorbed in the characters' lives and the story, so that roughness didn't last long. Mainly it was a bit of choppiness and delay in the form of background information in the first couple of pages that I felt interrupted the story more than enhanced it. There were some pretty great quotes in the book, and even though the writing wasn't flowery or poetic (thank goodness), it still felt true and honest and wise, in a way.

I wouldn't mind owning a finished copy of this book, and I would definitely recommend it to my mystery loving friends. I am happy that I got a chance to read this. I have a feeling that I've just been introduced to an author I'll be reading more of in the future. :)

[M. Garzon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because it got starred reviews from both Booklist and Publisher’s Weekly, but after reading it I can’t help wondering at those accolades. The prose is not particularly poetic, the characters (though likeable enough) are not compelling, and the plot is not that engaging. I had no trouble setting it aside when it was time to go to bed, and I’m the type of person who is easily and thoroughly absorbed by a good story.

I wonder whether the reviewers at Booklist and Publishers Weekly were old fogeys, because there’s something a bit old-fashioned about the writing. Maybe it’s the leisurely pace or the sometimes-extraneous dialogue, but it’s not as brisk as we’re accustomed to seeing in ‘younger’ writing. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing, but be advised that if you’re looking for intensity you won’t find it here.

As some other reviewers have mentioned, the guilty party’s actions at the end weren’t terribly believable, but I could have looked past that. What I found most disconcerting were the series of small details that gave me pause—one of them on its own wouldn’t be problematic, but you can’t get lost in a story when unlikely details keep jarring you out of your state of suspended disbelief.

*****Spoiler Alert*****

For example (some of these are minor—it’s the cumulative effect):

-I’ve never heard of anyone wearing rubber gloves to muck out stalls, especially in the heat of mid-afternoon, and it’s even less likely on a ranch that is doubtless littered with leather gloves. And mucking out stalls—particularly those bedded with straw—is hard, heavy, dirty work. It seems highly unlikely that a woman in her 70’s would be doing it, even in an emergency. And it wasn’t an emergency, because the horses were already turned out to pasture.

-Does caller ID really work from a cell phone to a landline when the person’s never called before? It doesn’t, in my experience. The author could have avoided raising that doubt and just written, “Collin called”.

-Neither a blue heeler nor a Husky are hunting dogs (they are working breeds; the blue heeler, in particular, is a very fine cattle herder). Red, as a cowboy, would have known that.

-After the main character finds the dead body of her recent lover she calls someone she barely knows, in a motel in another town, rather than warning her own family, who are in grave danger a stone’s throw away. I personally thought that bordered on the ridiculous.

-The declaration of love near did not ring true to me. The author has led us to believe that, although they’ve lived in the same small town all their lives, these characters have shared about five minutes of actual conversation. Based on this, the man states ‘I’ve always loved you’? I can’t see it. Infatuation, yes. Wild attraction, certainly. But love? This is a 30-year-old lawyer we’re talking about, not a hormonal 16-year-old.

-Finding the bolo tie suddenly makes a wife of 20-odd years suspect her husband, and immediately connect his guilt with the hidden box? Which he hasn't gotten around to destroying in the intervening 23 years? That strains credulity.

You get the idea. Perhaps I would have enjoyed the book more if I’d known less about it, but this is a critically acclaimed novel by an award-winning writer. Frankly, I expected more.

[Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

MAY BE SPOILERS

Rose, Kansas, the Linder Ranch, and the Linder family.....

..............Jody Linder was left an orphan at the age of three, and the man who had been accused of killing her parents 20 years ago was being released from jail on this hot, muggy, rainless day in Rose, Kansas. Her uncles arrived together at her home to tell her the news.

The story then moves from the present back to the events that led up to the murder of Laurie and Hugh-Jay Linder. The Linder family owned a huge cattle ranch, and every family member except Belle along with hired hands, which included Billy Crosby, worked for them. Hugh-Jay Linder woke up one morning to broken fences and a dead, pregnant cow....he KNEW it had been Billy Crosby. Hugh-Jay planned a scenario to get Billy at the ranch and have him arrested for the crime.

As a thunderstorm is raging outside the tavern where the Linder children are enjoying their evening, along comes Billy Crosby saying there was no evidence that he broke the fences and killed the cow, and he was free and clear....he was also very drunk, crude, and loud, and was thrown out by the tavern owner. When everyone woke up the next morning, Annabelle Linder was rounding up her children to get some pancakes at a local restaurant. She had to go to her son's house to waken him and his wife but found the doors all locked, and that was unusual. She then found her son dead in an upstairs bedroom.....her screaming roused the neighbor, and he came running over to find the grisly scene. Billy Crosby was of course the sole suspect because of his previous actions and drunkenness from the night before and a trial took place.

The trial of Billy Crosby got him forty plus twenty years in prison for the murder....meanwhile the Linder family and the town of Rose, Kansas had to try to carry on.

It was always difficult when Annabelle Linder ran into Valentine Crosby and Collin Crosby....Billy's wife and son. Valentine and Collin were ostracized in the town, and poor Collin had a rough time at school as well.

Along with mourning their son and his wife, the senior Linders had to raise Jody and help her cope with the tragedy. It was a difficult ordeal for everyone. When things finally started getting back to normal, Billy Crosby is released from jail and the fear, memories, and pain all surface again. What made the release worse was the talk that some folks believed Billy never did kill Jody's parents, and that he had been framed.

Events lead to more trouble for the small town of Rose, Kansas, and the Linder family. The ending is a little predictable, but also a surprise. You will like the story. The ending is definitely a page turner. The love and the kindness the Linder family has for everyone draws you into the storyline. I am going to rate it a 4/5 because it was a little slow at times, but the mystery keeps you guessing.

[Vera (Estante da Vera) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars.
It was better than I expected, especially because it was not a recommendation, but an Amazon Black Friday bargain.

The Scent of Rain and Lighting was a fast read. The characters were not as rich as I'd preferred, but they managed not to ruin the story. The scenarios were wonderful, though. I could easily picture the places in my mind.

The solving of the mystery felt a little forced to me, and the ending (aside from the reveal), predictable.

In short, it was a good read but no masterpiece. And it didn't bore me, so yay!

Oh, and I just found out it's being made into a movie, so there's that.

***

Review updated on January 26, 2016.

Review now also posted on my blog. You can check it here.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Nancy Pickard's The Virgin of Small Plains: A Novel of Suspense, but this book is even better. Nancy is a magician at making you feel what her characters are feeling and at weaving enough suspense into her writing that you just know that something dreadful is going to happen on the next page, and you have to get to it to find out what. She uses different viewpoint characters who only see part of what's going on and understand even less, and lies, and hidden objects to draw you into a mystery that will lead you in many different directions until you're shocked by the surprise at the end.

This is a mystery that transcends its genre into mainstream, almost literary, fiction because of its beautiful prose, the spot-on descriptions of the Kansas cowboy country setting and life, the complexity and depth of the characters, and the masterful way that it's plotted. I don't want to give anything away about the story, because in no way do I want to diminish someone else's joy in reading it, and joy you will find!

[Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by Goodreads. They were wrong.

[L · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel reminded me a lot of the novels of Joshilyn Jackson (portraits of deep south, family mysteries and so on) and for a while I thought it would live up to Jackson's novels, but unfortunately, it doesn't. There's some good writing here, and the reveal did honestly surprise me, but it sort of falls apart at the end. I was raising eyebrows at the sudden reveal. Yes, a tie clip at the rocks reveals everything. No, maybe he didn't lose it just going out there, it obviously reveals he's a murderer. Obviously now is the time to check that one box which you've probably forgotten about which contains random person's files. Of course that's what she's going to think of and it's not going to be erased by the grief and you know, twenty odd years. Plus, the love affair between Collin and Jody just sort of...happened.

It's really a shame because if it wasn't at its core so contrived with the way it ended, I'd might be singing its praises. This aside, it does have a nice cast of characters, occasional good writing and an interesting mystery up until the disappointing end.

[Leona · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started out strong, but it just fizzled out towards the end. It was almost as if the author didn't know how to bring the story to a powerful close.

[🥀 Rose 🥀 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young woman (26) whose father was killed 23 years ago and whose mother went missing, presumed dead, finds out that the murderer has been set free and is coming back to town. We now go back in time to 1986 and learn about all the events that took place leading up to the infamous crime.

Once we have all the information regarding the events of the past, the author takes us back to the present to see how the story unfolds. This is a mystery so not too much can be said here. I am not one who reads the standard mystery and was happy to see that this was literary fiction with elements of a mystery thrown in.

I felt that the author did a wonderful job painting life in a small farm town in the heart of Kansas. The characters she created jumped off the pages. My only grumble about the main family in the story, the Linders, were that I kept having flashes of Bonaza and kept picturing the patriarch as Ben Cartwright :) I found it a bit distracting. Another grumble is that I wished the author would have fleshed out the character who was accused of the murder. Billy seemed like just a mean and nasty person all the way around and I guess that's what led to his troubles. However I found it very hard believe that his wife would have stuck with him all those years and waited for him in the end. There times when I was just lost in the people and found myself not trying to solve or figure out the mystery and I liked that I was able to just let that go and get lost in the story itself.
I felt the story weakened a bit when we back in time a second round to see how the events of that horrible evening really went and who committed the crime seemed a bit hurried and settled into a somewhat formulaic ending.

Not to say that I did not enjoy this book. I couldn't put it down! It was a very engaging read, well-written with characters you could care about. I only had a few grumpy moments. I would recommend it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several recent mystery stories from Laura Lippman have delved not only into the whodunnit aspect of crime fiction, but also the impact it has on the characters and the community. Following that trend is Nancy Pickard's "The Scent of Rain and Lightning."

On a hot afternoon, Jody Linder is visited by her three uncles to let her know that Billy Crosby is being released from prison. Billy was sent to jail 23 years earlier for the murder of her father and on suspicion of doing something to her mother.

Jody is shaken by the news, especially as she's just returned to town to teach English at the local high school. The mystery of who killed her father and where her mother disappeared to that fateful evening has haunted her for years and there are whispers in town that maybe Billy didn't really do it.

At this point, "Scent" flashes back to the fateful afternoon, showing the events that led up to the death of Jody's father and her mother's disappearance. But while the story leads up to the events, putting in place a variety of potential suspects, it avoids telling us who was killed, why and how until late in the story. Instead, the story looks at the nature of justice and how Billy Crosby probably deserved to go to jail for a series of other crimes but may or may not have been the one who killed Jody's father.

Pickard carefully introduces each character and then shows the fall-out and implications of the crime. The story develops in surprising ways with sympathetic and flawed characters. Even the suspected murderer Billy has his moments when you may feel more for him that animosity. Pickard also helps us understand that Billy's family suffers just as much as the Linders do when Billy is arrested, tried and convicted of the crime.

The story sets up a number of potential other suspects as well as a myriad of motives. When the big reveal comes, it's a satisfying resolution to the mystery, but also one that has some interesting implications for the characters we've got to know during the story. The novel looks at the nature of justice and forgiveness as the story unfolds.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was captured and enraptured by The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard. I haven't read anything by Pickard in years but perhaps it's time to fill in the gaps.

Nancy Pickard is an Edgar winning author so I think I was expecting more of a who-dunnit when I picked this up. There is a murder and you do want it to be solved and justice to be served in the end. Where the story really shines is in its exploration of family with all their flaws. Set in Rose, Kansas, we meet The Linder Family, well-known, powerful ranching family with strong leaders at their helm. When one of their married sons is killed, and his wife goes missing, the elder Linders take on the responsibility of raising their only granddaughter, Jody. A ne'er do well, Billy Cosby is charged with Jody's father's death and imprisoned but no one knows what became of her mother. Of course, this uncertainty at her mother's fate plagues Jody but much is kept from her by her protective grandparents, aunt and uncles. Secrets, manipulation, wealth, privilege, greed, tragedy and love are excellently handled in one fine story. Pickard was able to impart the gathering of an oncoming storm, thrill me with the scent of the rain, and had me holding my breath waiting for the lightning strike.

[Elizabeth Salom (elistar) · Rating 3 out of 5]

While on some levels I did like this book, as a whole I found it to be mostly disappointing. It started out as a typical "whodunnit" and while it could have actually been a good one, about three quarters in it felt like Ms. Pickard ran out of steam. It ended so abruptly, without any real sense of closure for any of the characters or any explanation of how their lives were affected by the unexpected ending. I just didn't feel satisfied. I kept expecting to gain some insight into the main character's mind, but Pickard spent more time developing the supporting characters than she did with the narrator. Given, some of the characters were lovable or memorable - I enjoyed the back story leading up to the murder much more than the ending itself - in those chapters, where Pickard was writing in ominscient narrative, I felt much more connected to the characters and to their stories. First person narrative just didn't work as well. I'll give Ms. Pickard credit for decent writing and suspense building.


But this book could have been so much better. Too bad.

Copied from my book blog, www.52bookschallenge.blogspot.com

[Linda Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story kept me involved with sustained suspense. I didn't expect the truth until the big reveal at the end. The plot, sub-plot and characters are all successfully developed. I felt the joys and the pains of each of the latter as their individual stories unfolded. The novel is a well written, stand alone mystery reminiscent of Mary Higgins Clark. It would have earned 5 stars from me were it not for the occasional f-bombs and some adult content. This is my first read from Pickard and won't be my last.

[Mike Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Scent of Rain and Lightning,” tells the story of the misfortune that strikes the Lindner family, the richest ranchers in a failing Kansas town and the impact it has on those who survived it. It is filled with secrets and anger and grief but still manages to find a little room for love and forgiveness.

It has a powerful, sometimes almost overwhelming atmosphere that raises it above a murder mystery into an experience of the damage done by violence, lust and selfishness and the possibility of hope that can be realised only by setting hate aside.

The story is woven between the 1980’s when a murder is about to take place and twenty-three years later when the man convicted of the murder is about to be released and returned home.

The first third of the book is heavy with foreboding and loss. You can see the storm coming in the first timeline and smell the pain-etched trail it will leave behind.

The Kansas landscape in which the book is set, with its vast skies and huge storms, is almost a character in the book. It drives the plot, colours the emotions and shapes the characters.

The language of the book is rich without being cloyingly lyrical. It’s an excellent book to read aloud, savouring the descriptions that evoke the place and the dialogue that makes each character distinct.

I’ve seen comments that the ending is anticlimactic, with everything tied up just a little too neatly but I thought the ending offered quiet, credible, continuity and the unrolling of the plot was satisfying if a little less credible.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think The Scent of Rain and Lightning can be called a western as it takes place on a ranch in Kansas and the family members dress like Cowboys, herd cattle and drive big trucks so therefore they are cowboys. It is also an exceptionally well written mystery. The eldest son of a wealthy rancher is shot and the town folk blame the local bad boy. There are clues to the identity of the killer in every chapter, a true who done it. What I liked most was the lack of horror or thrill factors. The writing is beautifully descriptive leading one to want to visit Kansas. The author Nancy Pickford is an award winner mystery writer.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some writers ease the reader into their story, but Nancy Pickard dives right in with The Scent of Rain and Lightning. By page six, she has set up the framework of her novel and by the end of the first chapter, the reader is hooked on a tale of murder, mystery, family and love.

Jody Linder is infamous in the town of Rose, Kansas. On a dark and stormy night 23 years earlier, someone shot and killed Jody’s father; her mother disappeared and is presumably dead. From that night on, three-year-old Jody Linder was a girl with a story. Now Jody’s three uncles have upsetting news: Billy Crosby, the man convicted of killing her parents, has been released from prison and granted a new trial, thanks to the effort of Billy’s lawyer son, Collin. After years of comfortably living with justice—knowing the man who killed her parents is behind bars—Jody’s world crumbles as everything she has believed is thrown into question.

If anyone can understand the notoriety surrounding Jody, it’s Collin. The same town that coddled Jody treated Collin like a pariah as the two grew up side by side. Despite avoiding each other for their entire lives, Jody and Collin have a connection, and with this new case, Jody begins to see that hers was not the only life affected by this tragedy.

Against the backdrop of a small town like Rose, the reader understands how one event can define both a town and its people’s history. The standout feature of this novel is Pickard’s creation of complex characters that are deeply tied to history and setting. The characters are flawed, possessing feelings that aren’t resolved and struggling with the idea of accepting a new version of the truth. Pickard constructs a puzzle of interlocking events into which, as the story progresses, we slowly see how each character fits. The Scent of Rain and Lightning grabs you from the beginning, and Pickard holds you until the end, keeping you guessing the whole way through.

[Susan's Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rate this slow, overly descriptive story set in rural Kansas a 3.5 out of 5.

My eyes started crossing at all the useless, unnecessary details. I would have stopped listening to this audiobook, except that I wanted to find out who had killed Jody's father, and all the other people who started showing up dead around their small town! And why had Jody's mother disappeared, never to be heard from again? Billy Crosby went to prison for her father's murder, but his son, Collin Crosby, became a lawyer and fought to have his father released from prison and granted a new trial. He was convinced that his father was innocent.

Collin and Jody had feelings for each other, but there was no way they could have a future together with all the acrimony between the Crosby and Linder families.

When the mystery was finally solved, and the true murderer revealed, I felt a little let down. The redeeming feature of this novel is that it actually had a nice HEA. Mind you, I wasn't buying the initial reason why the young star-crossed lovers had to remain apart. Collin and Jody were innocent bystanders. A movie by the same name was adapted from this novel. It didn't get great reviews. I won't be watching this movie: I had to suffer through the overly descriptive prose (which tended to douse any suspenseful atmosphere the author may have tried to create. ) This is a shame because the author does write very well.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in the first reads giveaway. I loved this book. I am a hard core mystery fan and this wasn't a typical mystery. They way that the book is laid out it starts out as more of a story about the murder and then progresses into a "who done it". The characters were very well described and you felt that you had a clear idea of who each person was and what they stood for. The story kept you hooked the whole time. Some people in their reviews said that the characters were not believable, but I would disagree with that. I think that the characters are very believable and dead on with some people that I know. I judge a good book by how many times I put it down. Seeing as how I read more than half the book yesterday I would have to say it was good. I would recommend this book to everyone and I look forward to reading her other books.

[JoAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book.....I had no idea until the very last chapter what had happened and who was responsible for this cold case.....one night and so many people in the small town of Rose affected in such awful ways Every bit as good as Pickard's last book, "The Virgin of Small Plains ".

I was hooked from the first page and was on the edge of my seat until the last page. I had no idea of who the villain was until the very end.....and cannot imagine why anyone would think this book was predictable.

Pickard has a wonderful "voice" and managed to foreshadow and do flashbacks that did not annoy me (I usually hate these two "devices"). I thought the character development and dialogue were very well done and the descriptions of Rose, Kansas and its environs and citizens was realistic and on-target. The slowly escalating tension was effective and real.

An outstanding book.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Won this on goodreads.
This was an enjoyable read. At first I thought the characters were pretty predictable and they kind of are, but there's some pretty surprising twists towards the end (even if they aren't totally believable).
There's not much to say without ruining the book.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jody's parents were murdered over 20 years out and now the killer is out of jail. Only maybe he didn't do it. The emotional struggle and depth of characters kept me hooked. I loved this book

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

felt like the end was a bit sudden. It was just wrapped up too neatly and very suddenly. Loved the rest though:)

[Sarah Ryburn · Rating 2 out of 5]

In accordance with FTC guidelines, I'll begin with the disclosure that I won a copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads program.

Review: Pickard's novel is my first "first-reads" selection. I was drawn to it by the description of Pickard's writing as "blurring the lines between mystery and literary fiction." To label this short novel as "literary fiction" stretches the definition of the term a bit.

She does have some nicely turned phrases: "...she trotted back to her truck, feeling as if something within her had both opened and focused, like a long-slumbering dinosaur waking up to turn its eyes toward dinner." Reminds me of Yeats, the final lines of "Second Coming," which maintains a nice, if loose, parallel with the plot structure. The "she" of the quote is young Jody Linder whose parents were killed when she was three. The man imprisoned for their murders has been released from prison after twenty-three years, and he's the "beast" slouching toward Rose, Kansas, the setting of the novel and scene of the murders.

A bit of a stretch, too, to think that Pickard had Yeats's poem in mind when she penned those lines; still, it was a good simile and much better than others like "tense as fresh-strung barbed wire" or the author's description of jody and her cowboy-lover after sex "sprawled on their backs like sated puppies who'd just had their bellies scratched for half an hour." Perhaps these early blunders signify a writer grasping too desperately for a "literary" way to establish exposition.

The use of simile improves a bit, it seemed to me, as the author relaxes more into the story, but the characters remain rather stock and uninteresting. The ending is vulnerable to two loathsome literary accusations: it is both cliché and predictable. The shame of it is that the book might have been more interesting if pickard had focused on the character of the murderer, written the novel around him as a sort of anti-hero, rather than simply revealing his identity at the end (remember, it's a mystery, right?). Instead, we learn of his crimes almost as an afterthought or, worse, as an ill-timed and thinly disguised Deus ex Machina serving entirely to remove the obstacles that threaten to keep our heroine, Jody, from a happily-ever-after romance with her father's formerly alleged murderer's son cum love interest, if you follow that. Exactly.

[Andy Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel starts with a 26 year old woman in a small Kansas farm town learning that the man who was convicted of murdering her father(the same night that her mother went missing, presumably also dead) was being released from prison, largely about concerns about the fairness of the original trial. The book then flashes back to 23 years earlier and details the events and the people involved in the death and disappearance.

The first half of the book was just great, Pickard does a great job creating full characters and creating suspense and incidents such as the murder victim's compassion for the convicted killer's wife and young son were truly touching. The son was one of the most interesting characters, growing up with poor parents, then a dad in prison, ostrasized from the town and school but studying hard and going to law school and eventually obtaining his dad's release from prison

The second half was a bit of a let down, as if Pickard reverted to her earlier style as a "mystery" writer. It sometimes read as a mystery with unnecessary and gratuitous killings and unrealistic changes in character attittudes. And to be honest, the ending which tied everything together was dumb.

But still, Pickard did a great job describing life in a small Kansas farm town and creating interesting and complex characters so all in all it was a good book though the end was a bit of a let down.

I did have some picky differences with the legal issues in the book, it is the prosecutor not the sheriff who is responsible for providing legal discovery to the defense, the description of legal and political issues of commutation procedures was not realistic.

[LORI CASWELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Pickard takes us to Rose, Kansas where a man’s conviction of murder has been overturned and he is returning back to the scene of the crime. That shakes up the whole town but especially the family of the man who was killed and whose daughter-in-law is still missing. Their daughter Jody takes us through her story and finds things may take her down a very unexpected path.

Colin Crosby, the son of the man convicted of murder had a very interesting story as well. His father treated him terribly but he still grew up and became a lawyer and he was the one that was able to get the man’s conviction set aside.

Pickard has woven a story that could have taken place anywhere but she makes Rose, Kansas come alive and draws the reader right in. The vibrant characters jump off the page, but the story evolves slowly unveiling the mystery and the truth. The family is very close, brought closer by tragedy. She explores family relationships and the secrets and lies that can either draw a family together or rip it apart.

I was so impressed with the easy flow. There were surprises and twists but I would not call this a thriller as other reviewers have. It has a totally different kind of feeling. In addition to the mystery there is also an underlying love story that added another element to an already fabulous story.

I am truly sorry it took me so long to read this story. It was getting great reviews when it first came out that made me buy the book and while a few years have passed it is still getting those great reviews. If like me you missed this story when it first came out it is one that shouldn’t be missed. Add to your reading schedule as soon as you can.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I get a lot of used books from my friends and family, but nothing is better than getting a brand new book. Similar to getting a new dress, which as the third girl in my family of six children did not happen very often when I was a child.

I enjoyed this book very much. I started reading and spent several nights up late to get past the next big event.

The story is written about a small town called Rose, Kansas. Jody Linder's father was murdered and her mother disappeared when Jody was a young child. Jody was raised by her grandparents and protected by her Aunt and Uncles. The man accused of killing Hugh-Jay Linder is being released after 23 years in prison. Billy Crosby's sentence has been overturned and he is being given a new trial.

This story has some great twists and turns, with fear and romance on the side. I believed, like a couple others in the story, that Billy didn't kill Hugh-Jay. And I was sure I knew who did. But it wasn't until the very end before another twist, and another turn, finally gave me some answers.

I can't wait to share this book with others.

[L.A. Starks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rare and perfect setting for a mystery, written with insight:

This book has a good plot and wonderful characters, but most of all, it has an amazing setting. I have never read a book that depicts rural Kansas-Oklahoma farming so perfectly. It felt as if Pickard was writing this just for me, that she lived the location and knows it in her bones.

A few phrases and sentences from The Scent of Rain and Lightning say it best: "The uncles usually wore their best hats only to weddings, funerals, and cattlemen conventions...Their trucks also looked suspiciously clean, as for making formal calls...tanned up to his hat line...the kind of weather that her husband called expensive...The clouds looked like a billowing curtain hung from heaven to earth and extending north and south for miles. Lightning flashed spectacularly throughout them ...looking up at constellations that couldn't be seen in any city, but only in places as isolated and dark as the ranch was as night...she felt as if she needed them in order to keep breathing; the way other people needed oceans or mountains, she needed the plains."