Devil Sent the Rain audiobook

Devil Sent the Rain by Lisa Turner is a 2016 William Morrow Paperback publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.This is book three in the Billy Able detective series, but it can read as a stand alone. However, now that I’ve read this one, I am hoping to squeeze the first book into my reading schedule. When Caroline Lee, an attorney who ditched her fiancé, is found dead in her car, still wearing her wedding dress, it soon becomes apparent she is a homicide victim. Billy Able must determine who would want Caroline dead, and why. Well, I have to say, I am impressed with this mystery and found I really like Billy Able, the southern atmosphere, and the Gothic tones, which are NOT supernatural, but are pure in the sense that the book features delusional and damaged characters- and that’s putting it mildly.When Caroline Lee, a lawyer and member of a prominent southern family is found dead in her car after calling off her wedding, the suspects pile up in a hurry, giving detective Billy Able a lot to work on. As the saga unfolds, he discovers a personal connection to the case and the family. But, as he digs deeper he uncovers a world of shady dealings and the closer he comes to unmasking the killer, the closer he comes to putting himself in grave danger. This story is a twisted family saga and crime story that perfectly captures the tones and overlays of the south, which always appeals to me. I love those deep roots, family secrets and lies, competition, revenge, backstabbing, the melodrama and desperation that usually suck a reader into its lethal steaming pot of poison, but add in a good murder mystery, a complex detective, shocking twists and mind blowing revelations, you the makings of, not only a good detective story, but good literary novel as well. While the story is certainly dark and pretty heavy, it’s not packed with graphic violence, but instead is character driven, focusing on the scheming, various crimes and motives, and has more of psychological edge, which is another plus in my book. I can see this series becoming a favorite of mine, so I will catch up with the first book, which will hopefully keep me pacified while I impatiently wait for the third release. 4 stars

Devil Sent the Rain is the third book in the Detective Billy Able series, but reading this one without having read the previous two was no problem. Honestly, I was so thrilled with this book that I'm glad that I have book two to read as well. As a big fan of books with a story that takes place in the American South was I instantly hooked with this story about a young woman in a wedding dress that is found murdered in a car. For Billy Able is this case a real shocker, the women in question, Caroline Lee, was his old sweetheart from when he was young. The typical Romeo and Juliet romance, a poor boy meets a rich girl. Now he must solve her murder. I found Devil Sent the Rain to the kind of book that is hard to put down and the investigation into Caroline Lee's life. She recently left her fiance, so why was she dressed in a wedding dress? And the members of her family is acting odd, from her cold-hearted mother to the crazy aunt who never got over the disappearance of her son Finn. Billy and his new partner Frankie Malone has to really dig to find the answers. I really liked this book and I can't wait to read more books in this series!I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review!

This was actually the third book about the main character, Billy Ables. I enjoyed it. I will definitely go back and read the first two books of this series.

Received in exchange for a review.I really liked the book and the story was well paced. While my copy was an uncorrected proof, I saw no glaring flaws. It is the story of Caroline's murder. A former high school summer love is the lead detective on the case and he has lots of suspects to investigate.I will read other books by the author

Detective Billy Able and his new partner Frankie Malone are assigned to an unusual case of a would-be bride found dead dressed in her wedding gown at an isolated animal refuge. If this isn't strange enough, the case gets even more complicated when Billy discovers he has a personal connection to the victim, high-society attorney Caroline Lee. Although Billy had known Caroline and her family for years, he tries to remain objective while seeking justice for Caroline. Frankie is just as determined to solve the case even though she didn't know Caroline, but she does have hopes that doing a good job on the investigation will help advance her career. The two detectives must learn to trust each other while solving a difficult, high-profile case involving the secrets of a wealthy, powerful Memphis family.This is the first time I've read anything by author Lisa Turner, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I found the book to be well-written and intriguing. I enjoyed the Memphis setting and getting a glimpse of modern society there and seeing how the old South still plays a part of what goes on in that area. The characters have depth and the plot is more complex than it originally appears, as the victim’s personal and professional life come to play in the case. While the investigation moves forward at a steady pace throughout the book, the central questions of the investigation, why was Caroline wearing her wedding gown and who murdered her, remain unanswered until the end. This keeps the tension level high until the very end. When the killer is finally revealed, it isn't who I was expecting and I enjoyed being surprised.I like both Billy and Frankie as main characters. They have different backgrounds and are at different stages in their careers, but both are good people and good detectives, and their partnership works. In the beginning, I thought Billy could have given more credit to Frankie, but I was glad to see he seems to appreciate her more by the end of the book and could see how good of a team they could be. The characters, plot, and steady pace combine for an interesting novel that will appeal to a wide range of readers. I would definitely love to read more by this author.This review was originally written for Smitten by Books site and blog. (4.5 stars) The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Detective Billy Able and his partner Frankie Malone, hot off a press-heavy case, are called to the scene of a dead woman in a bridal gown. Billy takes one look and 25 years of his life drop away. He knows this victim. She is the daughter of a very old Southern family. Once upon a time, when he was from the wrong side of the tracks, they had been in love. But that was childhood and the only contact he has had with her has been regarding his uncle's estate. She had had taken over the legal work, joining her parents old and established legal firm. Her brother runs the family's venerable bank. While his boss questions Billy's ability to be impartial, he also knows he is the only one with the background and the insider knowledge to handle this case. But he isn't sure if what he uncovers was worth the cost. Well read, though I sometimes had trouble remembering who was talking, it was overall very enjoyable with a snappy pace that kept me wanting to know more.

I'll admit it - I'm a sucker for stories about old southern families. Devil Sent the Rain does not disappoint. It begins with the murder of a bride, in her wedding dress, on her way to a secret ceremony with an unknown groom. Was her death related to her nuptials, or does her powerful family have other secrets someone would kill for? That's what Memphis detective Billy Able is determined to find out. There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until (almost) the end, and the secondary characters are numerous and interesting. The book is the third in a series, but totally stands alone. I have not read the first two installments and had no problems at all following the story. It lost one star for being just a wee bit too stereotypical, but is still a definite recommend.

Liked ItI've read Bosch Davenport Flower and about a half dozen other detective series. I grabbed this book because it was available. I'm glad I did. It had great lead characters and a good story line. It was a little hard to follow in some places but that didn't take away from the plot. If you like good detectives and murder mysteries you will like this book. Didn't know it was the third in the series. Will try to get the others.

Great Southern MysteryI have to confess that I'm from Memphis and enjoyed being familiar with the setting . However. the characters and story were excellent . The traditions and cultural of the South were as much a part of the story as the characters. I'm happy I have always lived in the South so it made perfect sense . I plan to read more from the author.

A clear and concise police procedural with strong characters and a setting familiar to me- Memphis and the Mississippi Delta. It's not classic literature, but I am now looking for the first two titles in this series.Kind of book you can read on the porch listening to the summer rain, which is just what I did.

Couldn’t put it downThis book is a real page turner. I could not put it down. The suspects kept jumping out at each turn of the page. First one, then another. I was right all along, but of course, the true killer couldn’t be exposed until the end.

Another Good Able/Malone MysteryThe third story in the Billy Able series may be the best one yet. Lotsa atmosphere, good complex characters, and a clever but fairly played-out plot.

A very complicated murder mystery with the killer being mentally unstable.Would have liked to have more romance included and a heroine who played a more important role. A good book.

Well crafted Whodunnit in "New" Old SouthComplex but believable plot, likable protagonists, strong representation of place, millieux, tradition. Also a reminder that most families are dysfunctional, some murdeously so.

Above-average page-turning thriller Finished it in 3 days. Lots of fun. Lisa Turner kept me guessing until the end. Excellent summer beach kind of read.

‘Devil Sent the Rain’ is TrickyBy Arelya J. Mitchell“Billy drove away from the diner thinking detective work was fairly basic: ask smart questions, take good notes, and follow the trail to the end. The tricky part was hearing what wasn’t being said.” The above is from the first paragraph of Chapter 35, but I appreciated it because it sums up this whodunit by Lisa Turner set in Memphis and the ‘Mid-South’, an area which consists of West Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas—or some call it the Tri-State area. But whatever term you prefer, if you’re from the area you know that the author uses real places to move both characters and plots along to solve this murder mystery in a Post Antebellum 21st Century Memphis-Mississippi-rooted scenario. The family plantation is not Tara but Airlee, with the ‘lee’ portion denoting an Old South Lee family. The ‘Billy’ is Billy Able who is a detective in the Memphis police department. He is the main protagonist with his own checkered history where he was born in the right family on his mother’s side but landed on the wrong side of the tracks on his father’s side and after some ‘S-happens’ he ends up living with his uncle and growing up working in his uncle’s diner until he goes off to college. But he still has a pedigree which legitimizes his involvement with prominent Lee family members. The author writes: “His mother had taught him about sugar shells, pickle forks, and asparagus servers. He knew the proper placement of the fish knife, a pastry fork, and dessert spoon. The afternoons she’d been sober, she would lay out the family’s sterling flatware and instruct him on its proper placement for formal meals…” Turner harshly defines Billy’s socio-economic dilemma: “The poor whites bought acreage from struggling plantations. They started their farms but couldn’t compete with the big planters who still had cheap labor from sharecroppers. Most of the poor whites lost their farms. They had to go into government work or sell burial insurance to the blacks. They ended up living in tenant houses or trailers. That’s where the term ‘trailer trash’ comes from…” Okay, so this is a bit of side history but it plays into the storyline in defining other characters and landscape; it further defines what Billy is up against in this southern whodunit. This review could be riddled with spoiler alerts, so I am going to be very, very careful as I thread through this minefield of an entertaining and well-written whodunit. Yes, as I like to do with any mystery novel I am reading, I had pen and paper in hand to write down clues and make a list of the ‘usual suspects’. I figured this one out midpoint, but all the while I was leaning to where I was leaning I was hoping Turner wouldn’t go there, but she did. But it was still fun getting there through the detective work of Billy Able, his fellow female detective partner, Frankie Malone, and the rigmarole of other characters, leads, dead-end twists, and subplots. Turner also presents the reader with comprehensive inner workings of what goes on in detective work, and, more importantly, she hones in on the political mechanizations inside a police department when dealing with a high profile case and a filthy rich family. Among the suspects are the victim’s nutty avant-garde cousin Zelda; the would be humiliated former DA Highsmith; the nervous breakdown driven aunt; the sickly but southern gentlemanly ala Rhett Butler-like father; the weak but manipulative greedy gay brother; the domineering politically astute strong-will equally manipulative bitchy mother Rosalyn Lee; the bedraggled grieving obstinate cousin; and the Middle-Eastern hot-headed doctor whose status is fixated on saving face; the Italian housekeeper; a two-bit career criminal; the ambulance chasing lawyer—and a few others thrown in maybe for the heck of it to rattle your brainwaves. What I would like to see are some of these characters, especially Rosalyn Lee, exploited more extensively in another novel, because I am a strong believer that when characters are exploited deeper you go up another level as a writer whether you want to or not and that presents even more complicated problems for both author and reader to solve. This was a good, fast read, but Turner knew when and where to slow it to bring in more of the suspects’ back stories and/or idiosyncrasies. Notice I did not reveal who the victim was. I did not because even though it doesn’t take you long to find out who it is, Turner has written it so artfully that if I were to reveal it, it becomes a quasi-mini spoiler alert. The novel gets its title from the following passage: “This crazy-looking woman in line got in my face and whispered, ‘The devil sent the rain’. Then she crossed herself. It was creepy.” The rain is symbolic and serves as a vehicle for clues. Turner further uses the symbol of ‘rain’ to effectively define Detective Billy Able’s history, his character, his rebellion. This one is that proverbial page ‘turner’, and let’s hope the ‘Turner’ who wrote it will revisit these characters in another book. END

Fun page-turner. Enjoyable characters and setting.

Good mysteryAn interesting story line. I liked the hero and his partner. It gave a good picture of southern hierarchy and how evil can be below the surface.