The Scent of Rain and Lightning

By: Nancy Pickard

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Written with the wisdom and grace devoted readers and listeners have come to expect from the award-winning author of The Virgin of Small Plains, here is a brilliantly moving tale of family, murder, and redemptive love.

One beautiful summer afternoon, Jody Linder, a young English teacher, 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 they have been gone almost all of Jody’s life. 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 26 years since that stormy night when Jody’s 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 that night. Now Billy 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.

Jody knows that sooner or later she’ll come face-to-face with the man who she believes destroyed her family. But 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 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.

©2010 Nancy Pickard (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Pickard shows her storytelling skills, weaving elements of deception, revenge, and romance into a novel with full-bodied characters who deal with tragedy as best they can; Annabelle Linder’s encounter with Crosby’s wife is particularly moving. From an award-winning author, this is engrossing fiction with an eminently satisfying denouement.” ( Booklist)

“With exquisite sensitivity, Edgar-finalist Pickard probes a smoldering cold case….” ( Publishers Weekly)

“This stand-alone story—set in rural Kansas—is a dramatic view into the lives of the Linder family….Highlighting the ripple effect of people’s actions, The Scent of Rain and Lightning is an in-depth tale of unraveling lies and deceit in perfect Pickard fashion.” (Shannon Raab, Suspense magazine)

suspenseful with unusual narrative structure

This is a good story alternating between the past and present in major segments. It's highly descriptive and provides a realistic view of what it's like to live in western Kansas. I found the narrator's efforts to distinguish speakers annoying, especially the accent used for the young farm hands.

Story is great, but the performance was not.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was a good story, interesting and intriguing enough that I was able to make it to the end even though I was irritated by the narration.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bobby's son was my favorite character....Clint, I believe. He reminded me a bit of myself, I guess. He played a very stabilizing role in the book.

How could the performance have been better?

CHANGE THE ACCENTS USED!!! Tone it down. The accents were just over the top and so very, very annoying. If I were from Kansas, I would be offended. The narrator's voice got a little bit high pitched trying to do the accents and it was just not pleasant. Often times, less is more.When the narrator was just narrating and not doing dialogue with an accent she was excellent. Those parts I did enjoy.

Did The Scent of Rain and Lightning inspire you to do anything?

No. It was not an inspiring book. It was entertaining.

Any additional comments?

The story line itself was really good and very interesting. That is what helped me make it through the narration. I would consider this author again, but if this narrator is doing an accent I would have to forego it.

Hang in there

What did you love best about The Scent of Rain and Lightning?

I really enjoyed the surprise ending! I never expected it!

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

I felt the narration left much to be desired. I was annoyed at the child voices the narrator used. It was like a badly failed attempt at reading to small children in my mind.

Any additional comments?

This was a difficult story to listen to. I really lost interest around Chapter 15 and there are 42 chapters. I drudged through and am glad I did. Part of it for me was the narration - but not all.

Great mystery...held you from beginning to end.

Loved the book, great ending. The reader not so much. The accent was off for Kansas.

Good book, bad reader

I enjoyed the story overall but I wish I had simply bought the actual book instead of listening to it. The narrator was annoying and I really didn't like the accents or the attempts to "be" each character. It would have been far better had she just read in the normal voice, since most even average readers would be able to tell who was talking!

Slow start

I honestly skipped a few chapters. Too much dragging it out. Jumped around in the years and story line. I wouldn't recommend it.

Kansas accents ??

Narrator was great.
But the characters would have been good,
but those were NOT Kansas accents.

LOVED!!

Nancy Pickard did phenomenal with this one. I could not stop listening. It was suspenseful and detailed. This was my first audio book to listen to and it did not disappoint! The narrator did wonderful! Definitely recommend!

I now have a new favorite author and narrator!

I was completely spellbound and could not stop listening! I highly recommend this book!

Really good book; poorly chosen narrator

I would probably give this book a 5-star rating if it weren't for the narrator. While she did her darndest to give an interesting and gripping telling of the story, her seeming complete lack of understanding of western Kansas accents and pronunciations was disconcerting to me. Were I a resident of the area, I would be insulted at the interpretation -- especially of the men's voices and accents. She would probably be excellent in other, more urban book settings. She is out of her league with this one.