Devil Sent the Rain

According to my Goodreads Reading Challenge, I'm eleven books behind so I've got to step up my game if I want to meet my challenge of 100 books this year. The pressure!

Devil Sent the Rain - Lisa Turner

Fresh from solving Memphis’ most sensational murder case, Homicide Detective Billy Able and his ambitious new partner Frankie Malone are called to a bizarre crime scene on the outskirts of town. A high society attorney has been murdered while dressed in a wedding gown. Billy is shocked to discover he has a very personal connection to the victim. When the attorney’s death exposes illegal practices at her family’s prestigious law firm, the scandal is enough to rock the southern city’s social world.

In a tale of the remnants of Old South aristocracy and entitlement, twisted by greed and vengeance, Billy must confront the secrets of his own past to have any chance at solving the murder of the girl he once knew. But as he seeks the truth, he’s drawn closer to an embittered killer bent on revenge—and eliminating the threat Billy poses.

Full disclosure, this is the second book in the Detective Billy Able series, but it really is a stand alone. I haven't read the first book and I didn't feel like I missed anything that is relevant to this story, so no worries, lambs! Secondly, I don't know why I assumed Billy would be a guy because the book description clearly states it's a guy, so I don't know what my problem is, but Billy is a guy. 

My favorite parts of this book are obviously the mystery theme, which is done VERY well, but I like southern feel of the book. (Which made me reflect on some of my favorite books and they are all set in the south and I wonder if I'm drawn to books just by that.) And what is it about the south that automatically gives you deep roots and feuds that never end? The story is Billy on the case of the death of Caroline Lee, who is found murdered after calling off her wedding and still in her wedding dress. Why would anyone want Caroline dead and in such a manner? We go through all of the obvious suspects, but we quickly walk into family secrets, cover ups, connections that run deep, a revenge twist, and the ending has a really good bang that I didn't see coming. I think I watch too many episodes of crime shows because I struggle with mystery and thriller books because I can see the ending coming, but this one wasn't like that for me and that I very much appreciated. My only complaint is that there are a LOT of characters. Most aren't important and you only have them in passing, but it's a peeve of mine because I'm that reader who doesn't want to read what I don't need. I don't want fluff, I don't want added things for the sake of filling pages of possibly giving the author another way to take the story should their original plan not work out, it's just too much and I feel like I'm wasting my time. So if I have to give you a negative, that would be it. 

If you are a fan of mystery and you need a good read to get through the crappy, rainy days of fall, I highly recommend this one! You can find it on Amazon as well as the HarperCollins website. You can even catch up with author Lisa Turner on her website as well as Facebook. 

Happy reading, lambs!