The Scent of Rain and Lightning

by Nancy Pickard

Twenty-six years ago, when she was only three months old, Jody Linder's father was murdered as she slept in her cot. Her mother vanished, presumed dead.

Local trouble-maker Billy Crosby confessed to the murder and was locked up, leaving his wife and son to face the consequences in the small Kansas town of Rose. But his son Collin, now a lawyer, has successfully petitioned for a retrial, which means that - for now - Billy is back in town.

Jody is horrified - the man who tore her family apart is living just a few streets away. So why does she find herself wondering if Collin is right? What if Billy was innocent, and her close-knit family has been hiding a terrible secret all these years?

Haunting and powerful, this is Nancy Pickard's finest achievement to date.

• ISBN10: 0345471016
• ISBN13: 9780345471017
• Publish Date: 4 May 2010 (first published 1 January 2010)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Ballantine Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 319
• Language: English

Reviews

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

The Scent of Rain and Lightening is the story of Jody Linder, who's parents were murdered under strange circumstances with her mother's body never being found. Even though a suspect was found and convicted, there is still a group who believes him to be innocent. After the convict's release Jody's world goes topsy-turvy and will never be the same.

The tragedy of waiting too long to write a review is that you are given time to forget, so forgive my vagueness. This was a very surprising read, I was not expecting much more than supermarket fluff and was pleasantly surprised by the intensity and depth the book entailed. Jody is a little girl lost, despite her loving Grandparents who raised her she walks around with the question "what if?" always in the back of mind. Her three uncles all keep to themselves in itself very mysterious and the well thought of Grandparents who always ask What Would Jesus Do? This band of characters equal a perfect storm. Which one is the butler? Because the butler always did it.