Sunday, September 25, 2016

Book Review: Devil Sent the Rain



Lisa Turner's third novel is the Billy Able series, Devil Sent the Rain, is the subject of Sharon Long's review here today.Devil Sent the Rain is being published by William Morrow and will be available September 27th

Lisa's second novel, A Little Death in Dixie, was nominated for an Edgar award from the Mystery Writer's of America. 


As the book begins, Caroline is driving a red Camaro, wearing her wedding dress and thinking about life and her unborn baby. For the first time, she is happy. That is until she is shot by a .22. As she takes her last breath, Caroline’s last thought is: I thought you loved me. The police are called when her overturned car is discovered and the first officers on the scene are Billy Able and his new partner, Frankie Malone. While Frankie is busy interviewing the person who discovered the car, Billy takes a closer look at the vehicle. He immediately recognizes Caroline in the driver seat and is stunned. As Frankie approaches, her initial reaction is, “The ruined face and bloody gown made the shots look like a Wes Craven Movie poster. Billy obviously cared about this women. No wonder he was so upset.” 

Billy and Frankie begin their investigation, which leads to Caroline’s ex-fiancĂ©, a local surgeon whose attorney will not allow any questions. Billy can’t help but take this as a sign of guilt, “She agreed to wear the dress. Instead of happily-ever-after he killed her. Revenge runs deep. This murder stank of it.” As time goes on, questions arise surrounding Caroline’s wealthy family, the highly respected Lees, and their law firm. It becomes apparent that the firm is linked to illegal activities and scandal, and that this could be much more than a murder investigation. 

I was drawn to this book by the title and the Memphis setting. Calling a detective by the last name of Able is genius but 
what I enjoyed most were the well-developed characters and the description of the old south. In the Lee family, we have the matriarch, Mrs. Lee, who leads the business and her family with an iron fist and her husband, the formidable Mr. Lee, who is in the throes of dementia. On the side of law enforcement, we see Billy, who is coming back from a difficult time, and Frankie, the ever eager to please female detective trying to make a name for herself. Add in the sweeping, graceful mansion, several suspects, and a crazy aunt. Billy and Frankie definitely have their hands full with this crime. The reader also learns more about Billy’s past relationship with Caroline and her father.

The story is fast paced and enthralling with great twists. I found myself immersed in the setting and eager to learn the identity of the killer. This was my first Billy Able novel. The author does an incredible job of giving the reader enough details from the previous two books so that the reader doesn’t feel as if anything is missing. Devil Sent the Rain is thoroughly entertaining and I highly recommend it. I am now going to read the first two books in the series.



This book was provided by the publisher. This is a fair and independent review.

No comments:

Post a Comment