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Title: In this Rain
ISBN: 0385339240
Author:
S.J. Rozan
Publicate Date: 2007-12-26
Publish: 2007-12-26
List Price: $12.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $5.01
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $1.96
Amazon Merchant Price: $9.60
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Disappointing
I found this book very confusing and improbable. The heroine was not very likable and did some very dumb things. She certainly had no objectivity about this case she was supposed to be investigating, deciding first who was guilty and then trying to make the evidence fit. Bring back Lydia and Bill. I've bought all of her books about them, but I got this book at the library and was glad I didn't waste my money on it.
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2: A very good, one-sitting suspenseful read
First Sentence: "It surprised him, how light she was."
Joe Cole, is newly paroled and just wants to lead a quiet life after having been wrongfully imprisoned for a child's death near a construction site. Joe's former partner in the New York Department of Investigation, Ann Montgomery, has been languishing in a backwater position but has now been moved front-and-center. A new construction site accident results in a death, a teenager falls off a rooftop and sabotage on sites make Ann suspicious. With a major who wants to be Governor, a community activity who wants the best for his people, and a borough president who wants to be major, there is a lot at stake for a development under construction and a piece of property everyone wants even at the price of murder.
Rozen knows how to take the reader on a curvy, suspenseful ride. As with Ann, every time you think you know where the story is going, the direction changes. Rozen also knows how to take two seemingly unconnected threads and twist them together into a suspenseful, intriguing story. I appreciate her ability to have a strong male and female protagonist, yet let the female take the lead without dimensioning the role of the male. Rozen makes the people and the city of New York come alive. This was a very good, one-sitting suspenseful read.
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3: I guess I disagree with everyone!
I'm a really big fan of Bill and Lydia and looked forward to something different from Rozan but I must confess that this book does not live up to my expectations. While the writing style is excellent and the plot convoluted and interesting - as one would expect - the book was just too darn long and drawn out! I did not find the characters particularly appealing - especially the one-dimensional political figures and the heroine - and I found myself wishing (by about chapter 75) that someone would just shoot Montgomery to stop all the hysterics and whining. Why, oh why, did it take sooooo long to tell this story?
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4: Better than Ever
I so enjoyed all the Lydia & Bill books that I couldn't wait to get my hands on In This Rain. I was not disappointed. In fact, Rozan's writing has reached new heights. The characters are well-drawn and nteresting people and the details of the NYC back drop and real estate scene are engrossing. The book allows the thrill (and unexpected ending) of a detective book with lots of twists and turns and wonderful tales woven in. As one who does not live in NYC, it was a vacation trip all by itself. Don't miss it!
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5: Building and Gardening
I loved the theme of gardening, both city and country gardening, that runs through the book, starting with the title; it poetically parallels the plot about New York City real estate development. In the end it seems a sort of hopeful symbol for the two main characters, but not for NYC. The city is the third main character of the novel -- maybe the first main character. Rozan's love for and knowledge about the city are enormous.
This is a more serious and dark book than many of Rozan's. She is a wonderful writer and one can see her growth. The last one fifth of the book or so changes pace dramatically. It works, I think, as the building suspense explodes into action.
The form is unusual and effective. The story is told in small (sometimes tiny) chapters from four different characters' points of view.
I recommend this novel; I found all the characters, including secondary ones, convincing, moving, and memorable, and the writing is beautiful as always.
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