The Scent of Rain and Lightning

"The Scent of Rain and Lightning", by Nancy Pickard, is the story of murder, secrets, love and lies. It is the story of a young lady, Jody Linder, who at a very early age, losses her father to death as a result of murder, and at the same time her mother disappears at the same time of the murder.

The Linder family, a prominent well to do family of Rose, Kansas, where they have a large ranch and employee many young men. Hugh and Annabelle Linder also have kind hearts when it comes to trouble youth. They take them in as employees and offer guidance to assist the trouble youth in getting their lives straightened out. Many of these young men have turned their lives around, but one, Billy Crosby, is the exception to the rule. For some reason, he just doesn't get it. He in turn, becomes the prime suspect in most everything that goes wrong in the town and county, and he is also suspect in the murder and missing case. But did Billy have anything to do with the murder of Hugh-Jay and the disappearance of Laurie Linder?

The question right from the beginning is who murdered Hugh Jay and where is Laurie? It takes a span of twenty plus years for the Linder family to find out the true story. As you read this story, there are many ups and downs in the lives of the characters, throughout, and you will find yourself cheering on many of the characters. Each character is unique in their own way.

As the title "The Scent of Rain and Lightning" suggests, there are storms, literal and in the lives of the people involved in this novel, which have great impact on the story.

Pickard has a wonderful knack of grabbing the reader right from the start, and pulling them into the story and keeping them there. You will find yourself in the lives of each of her characters, and you will not be able to let go throughout the story.