What readers think of The Scent of Rain and Lightning, plus links to write your own review.

Jody Linder, a young woman of 23, lost her parents to murder 20 years ago. Now the convicted murderer is out on a technicality and we are looking at this crime from many different angles. This is a well-written and easy to read book loaded with all sorts of possible outcomes and it is a pleasure to ruminate on how this crime will be solved and who is actually involved. Great characterization and it keeps you in suspense til the very end. I thoroughly enjoyed it!!!

I had previously read and enjoyed greatly The Virgin on Small Plains by Nancy Packard and loved the book. I had expected the same level in this novel but for the first 100 pages I felt disappointed as no character really seemed to attach themselves. I felt unconcerned with the events that happened and everyone seemed too good to be true or evil in the extreme. However, after the main character became more developed, the story progressed well with unexpected turns that still held believability. I rated the book a 5, but it is a step below the Virgin of Small Plains.

With all the fury the title conveys, this book thrusts the reader into a story of one family's power over a small town. The Linder family members are the pillars of the community. But now their past history races against the coming storm, which will once again impact the whole town.

As with most small towns, the Linder's lives are intertwined with people's misconceptions of good and evil, have and have not, and love and betrayal. As the storm clouds begin to gather, Jody Linder's world is rocked by the news that the man who murdered her father twenty three years ago, has been released from prison on a legal technicality and is headed directly for her.

As Jody struggles to understand what really happened that night when her father died and her mother went missing, she is faced with the fact that she must re-evaluate her family and herself. The town, long silent about what they witnessed, must also own up to the truth about themselves and how they see the Linders.

This was a book I found hard to put down. It is written with beauty and symbolism. The austere plains allow a coming storm to be viewed from a great distance and not fully comprehend its magnitude. Thunder and lightning give only glimpses of enlightenment, and Nancy Pickard use of how we perceive what we want to see, make this book intriguing and give us much to think about. Her characters have depth and allow us to understand their actions even while we question their motives. This book should be well received and passed on from friend to friend. It would be a good book club read.

Nancy Pickard never disappoints, and this new mystery is engaging and hard to put down. She develops the characters slowly, shifting your suspicions and yet surprising you at the end. She's a wonderful writer, moving the plot and the characters along, shifting the pace and the focus to keep painting the picture of relationships in a small town. Wonderful. Just write more like this Nancy!

The book begins with Jody discovering that her parents' murderer is being released after 27 years from prison to receive a new trial because of the police withholding crucial evidence at the trial. The book immediately goes back to the past and relates the story up to the present. The mystery is intriguing and the descriptions of Kansas are very real. The ending is a little pat but very satisfying.

I could not put this book down. It is a mystery read with so many questioning angles. I liked how the author developed the characters, especially the relationship between the grandmother and grand-daughter. If you like mysteries this is a five star one. I know my book club would not care for the violence and language, but if you can tolerate that, it is a very entertaining read.

A beautifully written story of a small town, a powerful family and a long ago murder that continues to effect the lives of those involved

Jody Linder has spent most of her life thinking she knew who killed her father and longing to know what happened to her mother that stormy night 26 years earlier.

One beautiful summer Kansas day events begin which reveal new truths and which compel Jody to uncover the dangerous truth of her family's past.

This will be a Store Pick when it is released and would make a great book club book.

The ending is a little predictable, but also a surprise. You will like the story. The story 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.