August 15, 2010: The Scent of Rain and Lightning

The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard

One beautiful summer afternoon, from her bedroom window on the second floor, Jody Linder is unnerved to see her three uncles parking their pickups in front of her parents’ house—or what she calls her parents’ house, even though Jay and Laurie Jo Linder have been gone almost all of Jody’s life. “What is this fearsome thing I see?” the young high school English teacher whispers, mimicking Shakespeare. Polished boots, pressed jeans, fresh white shirts, Stetsons—her uncles’ suspiciously clean visiting clothes are a disturbing sign.

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

Now Billy Crosby has been granted a new trial, thanks in large part to the efforts of his son, Collin, a lawyer who has spent most of his life trying to prove his father’s innocence. As Jody lives only a few doors down from the Crosbys, she knows that sooner or later she’ll come face-to-face with the man who she believes destroyed her family.
 
What she doesn’t expect are the heated exchanges with Collin. Having grown up practically side by side in this very small town, Jody and Collin have had a long history of carefully avoiding each other’s eyes. Now Jody discovers that underneath their antagonism is a shared sense of loss that no one else could possibly understand. As she revisits old wounds, startling revelations compel her to uncover the dangerous truth about her family’s tragic past.

Engrossing, lyrical, and suspenseful, The Scent of Rain and Lightning captures the essence of small-town America—its heartfelt intimacy and its darkest secrets—where through struggle and hardship people still dare to hope for a better future. For Jody Linder, maybe even love. -- from Amazon.com

Nancy Pickard shocked me with this book!  I enjoyed the first chapter and when the book flashed back, I expected to hate it.  Instead, I was hooked on every word and wanted to know what happened that fateful night.  Let me tell you, I was shocked by the twist (in a good way).  I believed Bill Crosby may be innocent, and I had several theories of my own but the twist was one I never expected, so kudos to Ms. Pickard!  I love when that happens.  '


I only had one problem with this book and it was the ***SPOILER*** random romance between Collin and Jody.  They had very few interactions throughout the book, however at one of the more meaningful (and the most they may have ever spoken to each other) Collin confesses his love for Jody - um, okay?  I would have liked more of a build-up on that one.  Overall, it was a fabulous book and I will definitely be checking out her other two books.