I can't say enough good things about Nancy Pickard's new book, "The Scent of Rain and Lightning." Like her previous mystery, the setting is Kansas - this time the stark landscape of Gove County in the northwest. She writes of Kansas as only someone intimately familiar with the state could. Pickard is a Johnson County resident, but her heart seems to be with the wide open spaces of the western reachs of the state. Like "Virgin of Small Plains," this newest book is marketed as a mystery but it is the sense of place as well as the depth of the characters that keep the pages turning. In this case the mystery was also quite a tasty one indeed. I can almost promise you that you will think you have it figured out at halfway, but take my word for it...you don't.
I'm also recommending "Bloodroot" by Amy Greene. The setting is Appalacia and the story takes us inside the lives of those who have called the mountains and "hollers" home for generations. I listened to this one on CD and the full cast presentation...a different reader for each character...was exceptional.
I'm also recommending "Bloodroot" by Amy Greene. The setting is Appalacia and the story takes us inside the lives of those who have called the mountains and "hollers" home for generations. I listened to this one on CD and the full cast presentation...a different reader for each character...was exceptional.