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The Scent of Rain and Lightning
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
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Publisher's summary
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.
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Editorial reviews
Looks can be deceiving in The Scent of Rain and Lightning, Nancy Pickard’s entertaining, Midwestern murder mystery. And don’t be fooled by Tavia Gilbert’s twangy Kansas accent. Her voice may sound straightforward as she reads Pickard’s tale of murder, betrayal, and redemption, but don’t believe everything you hear. First impressions are not always correct.
That’s the beauty of Gilbert’s performance of this novel; you want to believe everything she says. We’ve been trained to trust that all Midwesterners especially characters from a small Kansas farming town like Rose mean exactly what they say. But like David Lynch’s disturbing film Blue Velvet or Grace Metalious’ scandalous novel Peyton Place, Pickard’s tale reminds us there’s often a hidden, darker side to some seemingly picture-perfect Norman Rockwell-esque towns.
The Scent of Rain and Lightning revolves around one fateful, stormy night 26 years ago. That night, someone brutally murders rancher Jay Linder in his home and Linder’s wife, Laurie, vanishes forever like one of the streaks of lightning flashing across the sky late that evening. Immediately, all the clues and fingers point to Billy Crosby, the violent ranch hand harboring a grudge against the Linder family. Crosby insists he did nothing wrong, but he’s soon sent to jail for the Linder murder. And for decades, Jay and Laurie’s orphaned daughter, Jody, grows up believing justice was served when Crosby was sent off to prison.
Then one morning, Jody’s uncles tell her that Crosby has been released from prison and will soon be returning to town. And worst of all, Crosby got out of jail thanks to the help of his son, Collin, a quiet, intelligent, determined lawyer nearly the same age as Jody a person she feels repulsed by and yet inexplicably drawn to at the same time. And as the novel further unfolds and more details come to light, Jody must confront the past and question everything she thought was true in her life.
The Scent of Rain and Lightning starts off slowly. But like the smoldering embers of a forest fire, the story quickly bursts to life, grips your attention, and keeps you guessing right up until the final, fateful scenes. Ken Ross
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Story
Supermodel Annabelle “Annie” Clementine is back in Whitehorse, Montana. And there’s nothing cowboy Dawson Rogers wants more than to see his ex-lover’s backside…on the road out. He’ll even risk his heart again and help sell her late grandmother’s house so Annie can leave ASAP. Except along with the house, Annie inherited a mystery. And if they don’t solve it soon, someone’s willing to kill for the answer.
By: B.J. Daniels
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Sinister
- The Wyoming, Book 1
- By: Lisa Jackson, Nancy Bush, Rosalind Noonan
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Twenty years ago, a fire ravaged the Dillinger family's old homestead, killing Judd Dillinger and crippling his girlfriend. Most people blamed a serial arsonist who'd been seen around town. But strange things are happening in Prairie Creek, Wyoming, again. Ira Dillinger, the family's wealthy patriarch, has summoned his children home for his upcoming wedding. Eldest son, Colton, and his siblings don't approve of their father's gold-digging bride-to-be. But someone is making his displeasure felt in terrifying ways, setting fires just like in the past. Only this time, there will be no survivors.
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ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE
- By amber on 02-11-14
By: Lisa Jackson, and others
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Nowhere to Run
- Rafferty Family Series, Book 1
- By: Nancy Bush
- Narrated by: Kate Udall
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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When Liv Dugan ducks out of work for lunch, it's just an ordinary day. When she returns, she stumbles onto a massacre. All her colleagues at Zuma Software have been shot. Only luck has left Liv unscathed, and that might be running out....
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Complex storyline
- By Cathy Wade on 09-28-24
By: Nancy Bush
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Hour of the Hunter
- By: J. A. Jance
- Narrated by: Gene Engene
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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A brutal, psychopathic murderer is released from prison - and stalks his prey with intent to kill.
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Hour of the Hunter
- By Marion Burke on 03-01-08
By: J. A. Jance
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Sit! Stay! Speak!
- By: Annie England Noblin
- Narrated by: Joell A. Jacob
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Addie Andrews is living a life interrupted. Tragedy sent her fleeing from Chicago to the shelter of an unexpected inheritance - her beloved aunt's somewhat dilapidated home in Eunice, Arkansas, population very tiny. There she reconnects with some of her most cherished childhood memories. If only they didn't make her feel so much!
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It was okay
- By SMJ26 on 08-18-16
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The Lost Husband
- By: Katherine Center
- Narrated by: Amy Rubinate
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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"Dear Libby, It occurs to me that you and your two children have been living with your mother for - Dear Lord! - two whole years, and I'm writing to see if you'd like to be rescued." The letter comes out of the blue, and just in time for Libby Moran, who - after the sudden death of her husband, Danny - went to stay with her hypercritical mother. Now her crazy Aunt Jean has offered Libby an escape: a job and a place to live on her farm in the Texas Hill Country.
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wonderful story. narrator kind of a sad sack.
- By Susan Reynolds on 07-24-19
By: Katherine Center
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High Country Bride
- By: Linda Lael Miller
- Narrated by: Jack Garrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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One ranch. Three sons. Only one will inherit...and on one condition. Tired of waiting for his sons to settle down, Arizona-territory rancher Angus McKettrick announces a competition: the first son to marry and produce a grandchild will inherit Triple M ranch. Now, three distinctly different, equally determined cowboys are searching high and low for brides.
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good book but not what was in the summary:
- By Zandra Zavalza on 01-30-16
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Family Sins
- By: Sharon Sala
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Felled by a cowardly shot to the back, Stanton Youngblood has just enough time before he dies to leave a single clue to his killer's identity: the word Wayne, scrawled in his own blood. That word means everything to his widow. Leigh Youngblood was once Leigh Wayne, but she left her wealthy family behind thirty years ago when she fell in love with Stanton, a betrayal the Waynes have never forgiven. Now she publicly vows to discover which of her siblings thinks money and power are enough to cover up a murder.
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great story
- By Amazon Customer on 08-08-18
By: Sharon Sala
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A Thousand Acres
- By: Jane Smiley
- Narrated by: C. J. Critt
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Three daughters and their husbands are pulled into a tangle of love, jealousy, and fear when their father, Larry Cook, grows too old to manage the family's fertile thousand-acre farm. As each couple struggles with their own tragedies and challenges, they know their father is judging them in light of the weighty inheritance that hovers within their reach.
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good book bad reader
- By C. Carlson on 08-07-08
By: Jane Smiley
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Kentucky Rich
- By: Fern Michaels
- Narrated by: Susie Berneis
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Josh Coleman left SunStar, the thoroughbred horse farm he'd built from nothing, unfinished when he took to his deathbed. But his family's unfinished business cannot be ignored now that his long-lost daughter has come back to settle an old score. No longer resembling the teenage waif who slipped away in the middle of the night with her illegitimate child 30 years ago, Nealy is rich, sophisticated, and renowned in the racing world-a woman to be reckoned with - and her shocking return changes everything.
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Don’t force reviews
- By Bev weaver on 05-24-21
By: Fern Michaels
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Emory's Gift
- By: W. Bruce Cameron
- Narrated by: W. Bruce Cameron
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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After 13-year-old Charlie Hall’s mother dies and his father retreats into the silence of grief, Charlie finds himself drifting lost and alone through the brutal halls of junior high school. But Charlie Hall is not entirely friendless. In the woods behind his house, Charlie is saved from a mountain lion by a grizzly bear, a species thought to be extinct in northern Idaho.And this very unusual bear will change Charlie’s life forever.
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Wanted to believe it was real
- By Carianti on 03-02-15
By: W. Bruce Cameron
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Summer of Two Wishes
- By: Julia London
- Narrated by: Natalie Ross
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Macy Lockhart’s life shattered in a moment with the news that her husband, Finn – serving in the military overseas – has been killed in the line of duty. Their ardent marriage is over, leaving Macy alone, empty, directionless. But while she tries to sustain herself with memories of Finn, who made her and their small Texas ranch the center of his life, it is wealthy Wyatt Clark who slowly brings joy back into her life - until the day that Finn, miraculously spared from death, returns home to claim his bride….
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Excellent!
- By Lady M on 05-01-13
By: Julia London
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One Summer
- By: Karen Robards
- Narrated by: Kate Fleming
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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hnny Harris is home again, his too-tight jeans and damn-your-eyes belligerence honed to perfection by a ten-year stretch in federal prison for murder. Now he’s out on parole and ready for the job Rachel Grant has promised him to help him begin a new life. Unlike the rest of the town, Rachel has always believed in her former student’s innocence. But one thing has changed. The sullenly handsome boy she remembers is still sullen, still handsome - but no longer a boy.
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A Classic Robards! A must buy
- By Empress Karen on 02-10-14
By: Karen Robards
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Our Story Begins
- New and Selected Stories
- By: Tobias Wolff
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Wolff here returns with fresh revelations - about biding one's time, or experiencing first love, or burying one's mother - that come to a variety of characters in circumstances at once everyday and extraordinary. A retired Marine enrolls in college while her son trains for Iraq. A lawyer takes a difficult deposition. An American in Rome indulges the Gypsy who's picked his pocket.
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Great
- By chris on 04-11-08
By: Tobias Wolff
What listeners say about The Scent of Rain and Lightning
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Vi Beadle
- 12-24-12
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.
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- Kat
- 07-08-15
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.
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- MaryAnn Woelfel
- 03-09-15
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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- K P
- 05-05-15
Great mystery...held you from beginning to end.
Loved the book, great ending. The reader not so much. The accent was off for Kansas.
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- hesmom
- 05-08-17
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!
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- Angela
- 06-30-15
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.
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- Gail Caldwell
- 04-08-17
Kansas accents ??
Narrator was great.
But the characters would have been good,
but those were NOT Kansas accents.
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- Katelyn
- 04-15-18
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!
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- sheliakay
- 06-18-15
I now have a new favorite author and narrator!
I was completely spellbound and could not stop listening! I highly recommend this book!
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- Maddie
- 07-02-10
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.
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9 people found this helpful