Rain Gods

A Novel

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

When Hackberry Holland became sheriff of a tiny Texas town near the Mexican border, he'd hoped to leave certain things behind: his checkered reputation, his haunted dreams, and his obsessive memories of the good life with his late wife, Rie. But the discovery of the bodies of nine illegal aliens, machine-gunned to death and buried in a shallow grave behind a church, soon makes it clear that he won't escape so easily.

As Hack and Deputy Sheriff Pam Tibbs attempt to untangle the threads of this complex and grisly case, a damaged young Iraq veteran, Pete Flores, and his girlfriend, Vikki Gaddis, are running for their lives, hoping to outwit the bloodthirsty criminals who want to kill Pete for his involvement in the murders. The only trouble is, Pete doesn't know who he's running from: drunk and terrified, he fled the scene of the crime when the shooting began. And there's a long list of people who want Pete and Vikki dead: crime boss Hugo Cistranos, who hired Pete for the operation; Nick Dolan, a strip club owner and small-time gangster with revenge on his mind; and a mysterious God-fearing serial-killer-for-hire known as Preacher Jack Collins, with enigmatic motives of his own.

With the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a host of cold-blooded killers on Pete and Vikki's trail, it's up to Sheriff Holland to find them first and figure out who's behind the mass murder before anyone else ends up dead. In this thrilling and intricate work, James Lee Burke has once again proven himself a master storyteller and a perceptive chronicler of the darkest corners of the human heart.

©2009 James Lee Burke (P)2009 Simon & Schuster Audio

Rain Gods

Great in every repect. Great story and Great Narration.

Mark - Road Warrior

I listen to books as I travel, and as a guy I loved story-line. I had to re-listen to the first few hours over again. I did not realizing there is a great deal of information that is necessary to know for the remaining chapters of the book. Will Patten does a great job narrating the book. I was able to tell what character was before he said it. It was a little deeper than I usually listen to, however, once I got through the details, I just could not put it down.

Great Book

I truly enjoyed the story as well as the narration of this audio version. Once I began to listen I could not stop

A little different

This is the he first book I have read with Sheriff Holland as the main character. Not sure I like him as much as Dave Robicheau. The story was very good and all the loose ends came together at the end . Just not one of my favorite Burke books.

One of the best

I just loved this story. It captured my attention early on and just kept me focused to the end. I wish it just kept going. The characters were great and the narrator did a wonderful job with different voices representing the different characters. This is one not to miss.

The Rain Gods parts one and two

Great book and story. It had many different plots to the story and I thought Preacher was going to get caught but he got away many times. I enjoyed the reader also.

One of my favorite Burke titles

It held such promise of intrigue. And it delivered. A captivating cast of characters, deep life experiences, insights between every twist of the serpentine plotting, and Will Patton’s ever-brilliant narration make for yet another unforgettable Holland family experience.

Too much information

The author effectively paints each scene for us with words, but I'm not certain why he's doing it. I don't need to have every blade of grass or bead of sweat described. I find myself too often saying, "Just get on with the story."

I won't purchase any other book by this author. I would have given it a lower rating, but the plot, once one extracts it from all the fluff, isn't bad.

Thanks for Will Patton

I'm ordinarily a huge fan of James Lee Burke, the man's way with a sentence is thrilling, his main characters human, vulnerable, fallable, and loveable, his "bad guys" the worst and yet still understandably humans scarred by humans. These characters are no exception but something was missing, I kept going, but I wasn't compelled to continue, it wasn't the page turner that I've become accustomed to. If I'd been reading I might have stopped. Will Patton saved the book for me. HIs voice is the voice of Burke regardless of whether he is Dave Robicheaux, or one of the Hollands. I will look forward to anything that Mr Burke writes just to read or listen to his turn of phrase, and the unique way he strings words together. However this one just didn't do it for me.

Another Great Story by Burke

Drove extra miles just so I won't have to stop the story. Burke is one of the best writers around, and Will Patton is one of the best narrators...