“Beautifully captures the devastation of the land and people in the Dust Bowl.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Description
When a rainmaker is bludgeoned to death in the pitch-blackness of a colossal dust storm, small-town sheriff Temple Jennings shoulders yet another burden in the hard times of the 1930s Dust Bowl. The killing only magnifies Temple’s ongoing troubles: a formidable opponent in the upcoming election, the repugnant burden of enforcing farm foreclosures, and his wife’s lingering grief over the loss of their eight-year-old son.
As the sheriff and his young deputy investigate the murder, their suspicions focus on a teenager, Carmine, serving with the Civilian Conservation Corps. The deputy, himself a former CCCer, struggles with remaining loyal to the corps while pursuing his own aspirations as a lawman.
When the investigation closes in on Carmine, Temple’s wife, Etha, quickly becomes convinced of his innocence and sets out to prove it. But Etha’s own probe soon reveals a darker web of secrets, which imperil Temple’s chances of reelection and cause the husband and wife to confront their long-standing differences about the nature of grief.
Praise
“Beautifully captures the devastation of the land and people in the Dust Bowl.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Loewenstein’s sensitive treatment of these dark days in the Dust Bowl era offers little humor but a whole lot of compassion.” New York Times Book Review
“Laurie Loewenstein’s vivid Death of a Rainmaker is at once an engrossing yarn, an elegant inquiry into human desperation, and a portrait of Depression-era America so searingly authentic that the topsoil practically blows off each page.” Louis Bayard, author of The Pale Blue Eye
“Reading Death of a Rainmaker is like slipping through time right into a 1930s black-and-white movie…Laurie Loewenstein has a knack for writing the early twentieth century. I sure hope this is a series, because I’m smitten.” Robin Oliveira, author of The Winter Sisters
“An authentic tale of the drought-stricken southern plains, and a lovingly and eloquently told murder mystery. It is not only the unfolding plot and the metaphorical obscuring of truth by dust, but Loewenstein’s masterful prose—with its tender language and skillful resonance—that will captivate readers and keep them enthralled. Death of a Rainmaker is both a gripping tale of murder and a glimpse into resilience and love in a time of savage loss, scarcity, and fear.” Leslie Schwartz, author of The Lost Chapters
Details
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Release Day | Jan 28, 2019 |
| Release Date | January 29, 2019 |
| Number in Series | 1 |
| Series Display String | The Dust Bowl Mysteries |
| Release Date Machine | 1548720000 |
| Imprint | Blackstone Publishing |
| Provider | Blackstone Publishing |
| Categories | Bestselling Mystery, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Women Sleuths, Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, Police Procedurals, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Historical, Bestselling Mysteries, Fiction - All, Fiction - Adult |
Author Bio
Laurie Loewenstein is the author of such novels as Unmentionables and Death of a Rainmaker, the first in the Dust Bowl Mystery series and a finalist for a 2019 Oklahoma Book Award. She teaches at Wilkes University’s Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing and is a fifth-generation Midwesterner.
Narrator Bio
Emily Sutton-Smith has appeared in several films, including The Butterfly Effect 3 and Nevermore, as well as several television programs. An award winning audiobook narrator, she has read titles by Iris Johansen, Kendra Elliot, and Shéa MacLeod, among others.
Overview
When a rainmaker is bludgeoned to death in the pitch-blackness of a colossal dust storm, small-town sheriff Temple Jennings shoulders yet another burden in the hard times of the 1930s Dust Bowl. The killing only magnifies Temple’s ongoing troubles: a formidable opponent in the upcoming election, the repugnant burden of enforcing farm foreclosures, and his wife’s lingering grief over the loss of their eight-year-old son.
As the sheriff and his young deputy investigate the murder, their suspicions focus on a teenager, Carmine, serving with the Civilian Conservation Corps. The deputy, himself a former CCCer, struggles with remaining loyal to the corps while pursuing his own aspirations as a lawman.
When the investigation closes in on Carmine, Temple’s wife, Etha, quickly becomes convinced of his innocence and sets out to prove it. But Etha’s own probe soon reveals a darker web of secrets, which imperil Temple’s chances of reelection and cause the husband and wife to confront their long-standing differences about the nature of grief.
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