The Scent of Rain and Lightning

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By Nancy Pickard

Publisher Description

One beautiful summer afternoon, Jody Linder receives shocking news: The man convicted of murdering her father is being released from prison and returning to the small town of Rose, Kansas. It has been twenty-three years since that stormy night when her father was shot and killed and her mother disappeared, presumed dead. Neither the protective embrace of Jody’s three uncles nor the safe haven of her grandparents’ ranch could erase the pain caused by Billy Crosby on that catastrophic night.

Now Billy Crosby is free, thanks to the efforts of his son, Collin, a lawyer who has spent most of his life trying to prove his father’s innocence. Despite their long history of carefully avoiding each other in such an insular community, Jody and Collin find that they share an exclusive sense of loss.

As Jody revisits old wounds, startling truths emerge about her family’s tragic past. But even through struggle and hardship, she still dares to hope for a better future—and maybe even love.

BONUS: This edition contains a The Scent of Rain and Lightning discussion guide.

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549 Reviews

3.5

Cheri

Created about 1 month ago

Tonja H

Created about 2 months ago

“This book was emotional and has you thinking at every turn trying to figure out what's the truth and what's skewed by character prejudice. The author does an amazing job at making you feel everything that Jody feels as she comes to terms with Billy being released and what those around town say about how his case was handled. The ending is not one you can guess until the instant it's revealed which makes this an amazing read.”

Renee

Created about 2 months ago

Emily W

Created 3 months ago

Michele

Created 3 months ago

“This book was the latest book club book pick from my group. I'm glad it was picked because I don't think i would have read it if it hadn't been suggested. I'm glad I read it, though. It was entertaining, and the twist at the end was not what I expected. Things I liked: The characters: Normally, there are one or two who don't really vibe with me. But the characters were all really well done. Each character was different and believable. Even the side characters, who didn't play a big part of the story, acted in a way that perfectly fit their role in the story. And the characters were all real. You could relate to any of them. We all know someone like the town gossip, the strong but silent type, the pretty mean girl, etc. They were all here, and you could like them or hate them, just like you would in real life. Collin and Jody: I'm putting these two together because, in my mind, they are two different sides of the same coin. Granted, we don't get as much of Collin's story since this is mostly about Jody. But the parts we do see are so similar to Jody's. They both had to struggle with what happened to their parents. They both had to deal with being the object of morbid curiosity. I found it completely believable that they ended up together. After all, who could understand what the other person went through better? It just shows how well the author crafted the story to have the outcome fit so well. The mystery: I'm not going to lie. For the first part of the book, I felt like I was watching an episode of Yellowstone. I love Yellowstone, so that was fine with me. But the story really did make me think of the show. There was enough intrigue and enough characters that kept the story moving. I have been getting tired of the whole dual timeline trope in books. But I think it fit this book because it wasn't a true dual timeline. We were able to read about the past as it was happening. It was much better than just finding out about it through other people's conversations. All of the things that happened and how they happened were well done. And the whole mystery about what happened to Laurie permeated the book. It was easy to see that there were doubts about Billy being the murderer, even though I could see he was a bad person. So, the past storyline taking us up to the day that Hugh-Jay was found and then bringing us back to the present was great. By the time we got back to the present, we still had questions. I have to say the ending was not what I expected. I knew Billy hadn't been the murderer, but finding out who was and what really happened was a bit shocking. I could completely relate to all of the characters and how they felt after the revelation. This was a solid story with good characters. It's pacing was fast enough that you didn't feel any drag once the story really got going. It did start off a little slow, but once it got going, it kept going. My rating: 4.5 rounded up to 5.”

About Nancy Pickard

Nancy Pickard is a four-time Edgar Award nominee, most recently for her Ballantine debut, The Virgin of Small Plains. She is the winner of the Anthony Award, the Macavity Award, and three Agatha Awards. Her short stories have also won numerous accolades. Pickard has been a national board member of the Mystery Writers of America and president of Sisters in Crime, and she is a member of PEN. She lives in Merriam, Kansas.