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A review by ebonyutley
Black Rain Falling by Jacob Ross
4.0
Reading Black Falling Rain is like savoring a meal. Each dish has been carefully prepared for maximum savory experience. Ross’s ingredients are his descriptions. When I’m reading, I feel like I live on the imaginary island of Camaho. Granted, I read his books while I’m in the Caribbean, but his descriptions are so precisely intricate. I can see the sun setting over the sea. I can feel the oppressive midday heat. I can hear the rough waves of the Atlantic. When Digger interrogates someone, the descriptions Ross gives the characters are so adroit even when they’re vague and frustrating the team. Ross’s word choice compels you to enter not only into the characters’ world, but also their minds.
As is not uncommon in the Caribbean, people say more with less and when Stanislaus and Digger or Chilman and Digger or Malan and Digger argue without arguing, Ross still gives you a sense of what’s at stake because each main character has a fully developed backstory. We understand their motivations. We learn where de hole is, why it exists, and what the character has been doing to fill it. The only characters who don’t get this grace are the bad guys, and I can forgive Ross for this. Black Rain Falling is a crime novel. Unraveling the mystery was entertaining, but for me, the novel is really about how people survive not knowing and then the aftermath of their actions once they can’t unknow what they do know.
His descriptions of food and music and bars and limes are so lively. Again, I feel like I’m there. Digger’s music is the book’s soundtrack. When he put on a song, I played it too and let Ross’s world swallow me whole. While this world is dark and dangerous, it’s also smart. I stayed Googling forensic terms I didn’t know. I would “aha” at the plot twists and turns that made sense but I didn’t entirely see coming. I enjoyed the sensory experience of reading the book and the conclusion left me full.
As is not uncommon in the Caribbean, people say more with less and when Stanislaus and Digger or Chilman and Digger or Malan and Digger argue without arguing, Ross still gives you a sense of what’s at stake because each main character has a fully developed backstory. We understand their motivations. We learn where de hole is, why it exists, and what the character has been doing to fill it. The only characters who don’t get this grace are the bad guys, and I can forgive Ross for this. Black Rain Falling is a crime novel. Unraveling the mystery was entertaining, but for me, the novel is really about how people survive not knowing and then the aftermath of their actions once they can’t unknow what they do know.
His descriptions of food and music and bars and limes are so lively. Again, I feel like I’m there. Digger’s music is the book’s soundtrack. When he put on a song, I played it too and let Ross’s world swallow me whole. While this world is dark and dangerous, it’s also smart. I stayed Googling forensic terms I didn’t know. I would “aha” at the plot twists and turns that made sense but I didn’t entirely see coming. I enjoyed the sensory experience of reading the book and the conclusion left me full.