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The Scent of Rain and Lightning
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The Scent of Rain and Lightning (2010) (edit title/settings)

by Nancy Pickard (Author) (edit contributors)

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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.

Summary edit see section history

One beautiful summer afternoon, from her bedroom window on the second floor, Jody Linder 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 Jay and Laurie Jo Linder have been gone almost all of Jody’s life.... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

One beautiful summer afternoon, from her bedroom window on the second floor, Jody Linder 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 Jay and Laurie Jo Linder have been gone almost all of Jody’s life. “What is this fearsome thing I see?” the young high school English teacher whispers, mimicking Shakespeare. Polished boots, pressed jeans, fresh white shirts, Stetsons—her uncles’ suspiciously clean visiting clothes are a disturbing sign. 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 twenty-six years since that stormy night when, as baby Jody lay asleep in her crib, her 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 on that catastrophic night. Now Billy Crosby 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. As Jody lives only a few doors down from the Crosbys, she knows that sooner or later she’ll come face-to-face with the man who she believes destroyed her family. 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 had 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.

Characters edit see section history

  • Jody: Jody is the main character
  • Hugh Linder Sr.: The patriarch of the family, a rancher and Jody's grandfather. He is married to Annabelle Linder.
  • Annabelle Linder: The matriarch of the family, Hugh Sr.'s wife and Jody's grandmother.
  • Chase Linder: Son of Annabelle and Hugh Linder Sr. He is the middle son between Hugh-Jay and Bobby.
  • Bobby Linder: Son of Annabelle and Hugh Linder Sr. He is the youngest son.
  • Hugh-Jay Linder: The eldest son of Annabelle and Hugh Linder Sr. He was considered to be one of the nicest guys in town, always doing the right thing. He is Jody's father and is married to Laurie Jo.
  • Belle Linder: Daughter of Annabelle and Hugh Linder Sr. Sister of Chase, Bobby and Hugh-Jay.
  • Valentine Crosby: Wife of Billy Crosby, mother of Collin
  • Red Bosch: A cowboy and ranch hand at the High Rock Ranch and Jody's lover.
  • Billy Crosby: The local drunk, trouble-maker
  • Collin Crosby: Son of Billy and Valentine Crosby
  • Bailey: Owner of Bailey's bar and grill.
  • Meryl Tapper: Husband of Belle Linder, uncle to Jody Linder, a lawyer.
  • Laurie Linder: Laurie Linder is a spoiled brat. Her goal in life was to marry rich, with the fancy house and clothes. She loves men falling over her, and uses that to her advantage.
  • Hugh Senior: Hugh Linder, father, grandfather, rancher
  • Byron George: Owner of the town's grocery
  • Grandma: Annabelle Linder
  • Grandpa: Add a description of this character.
  • Phyllis Boren: Friend of Annabelles
  • Mrs. Davidson
  • Sam Carpenter: Neighbor to Hugh-Jay and Laurie
  • Don Phelps: The county sheriff
  • Laurie Jo: Hugh-Jay's wife, Jody's mother
  • Miles
Show all 24 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Her master's degree in English literature was a happy achievement, which, upon attainment, she had automatically shaded with doubts that she could ever find a job for teaching it.”
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • “Don’t ever let anybody tell you that happiness has to be earned.”
    Highlighted by 26 Kindle customers
  • “Life is short. If you have something to say, either spit it out or forget about it.”
    Highlighted by 19 Kindle customers
  • There were so many things that could go wrong after something went right.
    Highlighted by 13 Kindle customers
  • Happiness was fragile, precious, and suspect. “No peak not followed by a fall,”
    Highlighted by 11 Kindle customers
  • “Men of principle, both of you. It can cause a lot of grief.”
    Highlighted by 10 Kindle customers
  • The only thing you should soften by pounding is steak, Annabelle thought. Children were not cuts of beef, and parents shouldn’t be meat mallets.
    Highlighted by 10 Kindle customers
  • “Rain doesn’t smell!” “Oh, yes it does.” He didn’t try to explain ozone to her, or how raindrops hit rocks, releasing the fragrance of oils that plants had rubbed on them, or how spores in the ground give up their own earthy scent in the rain.
    Highlighted by 9 Kindle customers
  • Uncle Chase was supposed to be in Colorado, running the family’s ranch on the high plains east of the Rockies; Uncle Bobby was supposed to be in Nebraska, where he ran a third ranch the family owned, in the Sand Hills. Uncle Meryl was supposed to be at his law office in Henderson City, the county seat, twenty-five miles away.
    Highlighted by 8 Kindle customers
  • If you don’t get down off that high horse, you’re going to have a very long way to fall, young lady.
    Highlighted by 8 Kindle customers
  • She felt shocked, albeit without being surprised at all, since she believed that bad events followed good as inevitably as death followed life, and as frequently. The secret, she had decided when she was younger, was to try to anticipate it, so as to mitigate the blow. The problem with that philosophy was that it never worked; she was always surprised; no matter how far ahead she tried to look, bad news still hurt, shock still left her shaken.
    Highlighted by 5 Kindle customers
Show all 11 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Rose, Kansas -- a small struggling town in the midwest prone to natural disasters
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First Sentence edit see section history

Until she was twenty-six, Jody Linder felt suspicious of happiness.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Nancy Pickard (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-345-47101-7
Page Count: 336

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

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