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jadeeby's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published at my blog Chasing Empty Pavements
I read Scent of Rain and Lighting by Nancy Pickard. Okay, firstly I did enjoy this book. It was a mystery book and it was written cleverly enough to keep my attention...especially while walking on the tread, but it also kept me curious for the "whodunit" aspect. In fact...I'm usually pretty good at determining who dun it but the twist at the end caught me. I liked the characters but my big critique is that they weren't very developed. She could have spent much more time delving into the characters and giving me a real sense of who they were. By the end of novel I didn't really feel invested in them because I didn't know them. Secondly...the writing was a bit juvenile. There were some chapters that I literally laughed out loud and wondered if my little sister had written it. Lastly... the minor love story that happens is not at all believable. In fact..it is not executed well at all. Like I've said many times before in regards to the advice I received from a brilliant professor: If you are a great writer..you can make your audience believe anything. They will eat up whatever concocted story you've made because you're writing is just THAT good. And that's the problem with a lot of writers these days. They aren't writing the unbelievable things well enough...so their readers don't believe them, thus leaving the reader disappointed. So overall I would probably give this book a C+.
I read Scent of Rain and Lighting by Nancy Pickard. Okay, firstly I did enjoy this book. It was a mystery book and it was written cleverly enough to keep my attention...especially while walking on the tread, but it also kept me curious for the "whodunit" aspect. In fact...I'm usually pretty good at determining who dun it but the twist at the end caught me. I liked the characters but my big critique is that they weren't very developed. She could have spent much more time delving into the characters and giving me a real sense of who they were. By the end of novel I didn't really feel invested in them because I didn't know them. Secondly...the writing was a bit juvenile. There were some chapters that I literally laughed out loud and wondered if my little sister had written it. Lastly... the minor love story that happens is not at all believable. In fact..it is not executed well at all. Like I've said many times before in regards to the advice I received from a brilliant professor: If you are a great writer..you can make your audience believe anything. They will eat up whatever concocted story you've made because you're writing is just THAT good. And that's the problem with a lot of writers these days. They aren't writing the unbelievable things well enough...so their readers don't believe them, thus leaving the reader disappointed. So overall I would probably give this book a C+.
sdb27's review against another edition
4.0
The Scent of Rain and Lightning takes place in a small, sleepy Kansas town, the kind you might see romanticized by Hollywood, complete with sprawling ranches and cowboys, horses and herds of cattle. Everybody knows everybody, no one locks their doors, and large crimes like murder are simply unheard of. Unheard of, that is, until the tragic killing of Hugh Jay Linder, Jr., and the disappearance of his wife, Laurie. All signs point to the local town black sheep and alcoholic wife-beater, Billy Crosby, and he is swiftly tried and convicted, locked away until the jail rots above his head.
Left behind is three-year-old Jody, Hugh Jay and Laurie’s only daughter, who grows up in Rose, KS under the constant shadow of her tragic past. When her three uncles show up on her doorstep one balmy summer afternoon and break the news that Billy Crosby has been freed from jail, her life is shattered, as are her previous perceptions of the man who murdered her father as new developments and secrets come to light.
I devoured this book in two days. Pickard’s prose is flowing and smooth, simple and beautiful, much like the landscape she describes as the backdrop for this novel. The characterization is all but flawless, particularly within the Pickard family: the rapport Jody has with her uncles and grandparents is lighthearted and homey, genuine but masking the hurt they still obviously feel because of the events so long ago.
The pace of the story was excellent, and the two different narratives were well balanced and engaging. The plot is woven from two separate strands, one taking place in the past and following the events leading up to the murder, and one in the present day which shows Jody coping with the news of Billy Crosby’s arrival and her subsequent attraction to his lawyer son, Collin, to whom she has always felt drawn. The “past” chapters are something like a murder mystery, setting up the suspects, the motive, and waiting until the penultimate chapter for the shocking twist that left me completely blindsided, due to the fact that I thought I had already figured out the real story.
While the buildup was nice, and the mystery surrounding the murder compelling, I felt that the ending was a bit too rushed and anticlimactic. With it came very little closure, which left me feeling a bit disappointed. However, the final chapter is a bit redeeming, and gives hope to the situation that perhaps after all these years of feeling broken, Jody, her family, and the town can finally start moving on.
Left behind is three-year-old Jody, Hugh Jay and Laurie’s only daughter, who grows up in Rose, KS under the constant shadow of her tragic past. When her three uncles show up on her doorstep one balmy summer afternoon and break the news that Billy Crosby has been freed from jail, her life is shattered, as are her previous perceptions of the man who murdered her father as new developments and secrets come to light.
I devoured this book in two days. Pickard’s prose is flowing and smooth, simple and beautiful, much like the landscape she describes as the backdrop for this novel. The characterization is all but flawless, particularly within the Pickard family: the rapport Jody has with her uncles and grandparents is lighthearted and homey, genuine but masking the hurt they still obviously feel because of the events so long ago.
The pace of the story was excellent, and the two different narratives were well balanced and engaging. The plot is woven from two separate strands, one taking place in the past and following the events leading up to the murder, and one in the present day which shows Jody coping with the news of Billy Crosby’s arrival and her subsequent attraction to his lawyer son, Collin, to whom she has always felt drawn. The “past” chapters are something like a murder mystery, setting up the suspects, the motive, and waiting until the penultimate chapter for the shocking twist that left me completely blindsided, due to the fact that I thought I had already figured out the real story.
While the buildup was nice, and the mystery surrounding the murder compelling, I felt that the ending was a bit too rushed and anticlimactic. With it came very little closure, which left me feeling a bit disappointed. However, the final chapter is a bit redeeming, and gives hope to the situation that perhaps after all these years of feeling broken, Jody, her family, and the town can finally start moving on.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
2.0
Jody's parents were murdered when she was three. Twenty-three years later she's a teacher living in the house her father died in, when she hears that the man who went to prison for the murders has had his conviction overturned and will be released pending a new trial. Pickard then returns to 1986 and tells the story leading up to the killings before returning to Jody and her quest to discover why people in her small town think the wrong man was sent to prison. There is a bit of a romance here and quite a bit of atmosphere. Life in a dying town in Western Kansas is vividly described.
Pickard writes ably enough. The people in the book sometimes felt as though they had been pulled from a collection of stock characters but the location was a living, breathing entity. The story had a lot of potential, but in the end it never strayed from its comfortable path, making it an excellent choice for a vacation read.
Pickard writes ably enough. The people in the book sometimes felt as though they had been pulled from a collection of stock characters but the location was a living, breathing entity. The story had a lot of potential, but in the end it never strayed from its comfortable path, making it an excellent choice for a vacation read.
lanfisch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
greenogal's review against another edition
3.0
This has been a very quick read, well written and quite enjoyable.
carolpk's review against another edition
4.0
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.
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.
sandin954's review against another edition
4.0
Very satisfying suspense tale set in rural Kansas. The plot was my favorite type, the characters were well drawn, and Pickard's writing style made the entire book compulsively readable.
seachell1's review against another edition
2.0
This book went from a 3 star read to a 2 star read because:
a) The first part leading up to Hugh Jay's murder was sort of long and drawn out and not in a suspenseful way. You know its coming and all I was thinking was "get on with it already!"
and
b)The second half of the book when we find out who the murderer actually is was very rush rush. When I read the part where Jody shows the artifacts she found to her aunt I was dumbfounded! How did the aunt go from that's my husbands bolo tie clasp to remembering the box stored 20+ years ago to my husbands a murdering, cheating SOB in a matter of minutes? It just didn't make any sense!
I almost went back up to 3 stars because the author did surprise me with who was the murderer. I did not see that coming!
a) The first part leading up to Hugh Jay's murder was sort of long and drawn out and not in a suspenseful way. You know its coming and all I was thinking was "get on with it already!"
and
b)The second half of the book when we find out who the murderer actually is was very rush rush. When I read the part where Jody shows the artifacts she found to her aunt I was dumbfounded! How did the aunt go from that's my husbands bolo tie clasp to remembering the box stored 20+ years ago to my husbands a murdering, cheating SOB in a matter of minutes? It just didn't make any sense!
I almost went back up to 3 stars because the author did surprise me with who was the murderer. I did not see that coming!
caraheard's review against another edition
4.0
This was a mystery. I am not really a mystery reader but had picked this up at the library. It was on the New shelf and I was drawn to the cover and title. Silly reason to pick up a book, but it's what I did. I enjoyed it and read it within 24 hours. And I was completely shocked at the ending. And I hadn't expected to be.