Customer Reviews

In This Rain

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I finished the book, I had two reactions. One was, my head is spinning. The second was, I want to read it again! "In This Rain" was a fairly quick read, and I didn't want it to end. The plot is pretty intricate, and it keeps you guessing. There are several unpredictable twists and shockers that come in pretty close succession beginning in the middle of the novel, and they ended up making me devour the rest of the book, just to satiate my curiosty as to what the heck was going on. I admit at the end it took me a few minutes of flipping back in the book to see if every important plot line was figured out and tied up. They were.

I found the political intrigue fascinating, as well as the issues of urban communitites and big-city real estate. You don't need to have too much knowledge of those things; Rozan take you through it. The police-talk and jargon was fun to read too. I've read all of her books but one, and although this one is differnt in style from the Bill/Lydia mysteries, it was finely plotted and very entertaining. As long as Rozan continues to deliver novels that are smart, entertaining, and pleasures to read, then I will surely continue to be her fan.

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.

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.

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!

Every time I finish one of Rozan's books, I start to worry that she'll have set such high standards for herself, she won't be able to surpass it with the next one. But every time, she does. In this Rain is her best yet! How's she going to top it?

S. J. Rozan has a mantle full of literary awards, most of them acquired as the result of her novels featuring Bill Smith and Lydia Chin. She has been taking a break from this series of late, and if her fans are understandably disappointed that this newest work is not a Smith/Chin title, they should not be downtrodden.

IN THIS RAIN, while another stand-alone book for Rozan, interestingly introduces another couple who easily could form the basis for a second ongoing series. Joe Cole is a former New York City building department inspector who found himself at the center of a major scandal involving Manhattan's construction industry, which resulted in the death of a child. Ironically enough, Cole was innocent of the charge of which he was convicted and imprisoned for three years. His culpability in a related matter, more an error of omission than an actionable offense, continues to weigh on him. Cole, newly released from prison, is content to live out his days doing mindless roadwork by day and carefully gardening the area around his rural cottage by night.

Cole's quiet, if not necessarily idyllic, existence is shattered by a series of apparent accidents, one of which is fatal (surrounding Mott Haven, a Manhattan building project). Ann Montgomery, Cole's former Building Department partner, suspects that the incidents are not accidents at all, but works of sabotage carried out by Walter Glybenhall, a major Manhattan developer for whom Mott Haven is but his latest project. Montgomery initially suspects that Glybenhall is using the occurrences as a catalyst for an insurance fraud scheme. He must tread carefully, as Glybenhall's influence extends right into the office of the mayor of New York. Montgomery quietly enlists Cole as an unofficial advisor, and his methodical if enigmatic investigation soon establishes --- at least to Montgomery's satisfaction --- that Mott Haven's difficulties are not the result of happenstance.

It soon appears, however, that Glybenhall's interests go beyond Manhattan and into Harlem, where he apparently covets the last undeveloped piece of land in the neighborhood for a gentrified condominium and entertainment project that he feels will make him the premier developer of New York City. The land, incidentally, is also coveted by a group of local activists who see it as being better utilized as affordable community housing rather than as a theme entertainment center. When a series of apparently unrelated murders occur, one of which strikes close to Montgomery, it slowly becomes clear that the trail of deceit extends far beyond the parameters Montgomery originally suspected.

Matters are complicated when the evidence, which initially seemed to lead directly to Glybenhall, unexpectedly exonerates him. Montgomery is certain of Glybenhall's complicity, yet her investigation appears to be biased due to her family's unfortunate history with the man. Undaunted, she takes a calculated risk that will either reveal the extent of the duplicity and the identities of those involved in the plot, or put her career and possibly her life in terrible danger.

The plot of IN THIS RAIN is a complex one, as would befit the various elements --- construction, architecture and New York City politics --- that comprise the main plot. But Rozan knows her territory well and her narrative is surefooted and appropriately world-weary. As with Rozan's other works, however, the unrelenting grimness of her storyline is interwoven with unrelated, disparate elements that by turns subtly educate the reader and stir the pot without disturbance or distraction from the main plot thread.

Cole's gardening hobby/therapy provides not only a quiet counterpoint to the intrigue that dips and swirls through the novel but also serves as an unexpected backdrop for one of the multiple climaxes that brings Rozan's story to an explosive conclusion. A couple of other elements --- the science of architecture, New York's diamond district --- also provide additional and fascinating elements to a tale well worth reading.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

This was enjoyable enough, but I can't say that I found the characters engaging enough that I actually cared what happened to them. And, while I don't really demand that a novel be believable, and I've loved many improbable thrillers, this was one where I got to the end and said, You've got to be kidding... But it was an ok way to spend a few evenings -- Ms. Rozan is always very readable.

I just keep wondering if Bill Smith and Lydia Chin are gone forever. I suspect that S.J. Rozan can't figure out what to do with their relationship, after so many books full of will-they-or-won't-they, and has decided to just let them go. Too bad -- I like them better than either of her last two books.

OK, I moved to NYC 20+ years ago, fell in love, and never left. So maybe I'm that most lapel-grabbing kind of person, a convert; but I love New York and I love this book. New Yorkers are preoccupied with real estate. We always suspect all kinds of underhanded things go on but we don't know what they are. IN THIS RAIN shows us. And S.J. Rozan's an architect in NYC, so she probably knows. I've read most of her Lydia Chin and Bill Smith books, which are very New York-y, and liked them a lot. I chickened out on her 9/11 book, ABSENT FRIENDS, but I may go back and try it now, if it's as good as this one.

Some people will do anything to get their hands on a valuable piece of land in New York City--even murder. When an entire block in regentrified Harlem comes up for grabs, everyone--from lowly gangbangers to ruthless multibillionaire developers to the mayor himself--gets into the act. Someone is even willing to kill for it, and only one person is standing in their way.

Ann Montgomery of the NY Dept. of Investigations is a brave young woman determined to stop the violence and bring the guilty to justice. Facing some of the world's most powerful men, with huge fortunes at stake, she has her work cut out for her. As the big deals and political machinations escalate, even human life becomes expendable. And Ann Montgomery's life is the most expendable of all....

Anyone who lives in NYC (and everyone else in the world) will instantly recognize the people in S. J. Rozan's shocking new thriller. The multi-award-winning author of the popular Lydia Chin/Bill Smith mysteries draws on her other profession (NYC architect) to bring an impressive level of realism to this story of corruption, murder, and justice in the highest--and lowest--places. IN THIS RAIN gives you an eye-opening education as it entertains you. Don't miss it.

Nurse's aide Harriet Winston was walking past a construction site in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx when she hit by a falling object and dies. She is the third victim to be killed at the location. New York City's Buildings Department of Investigation case worker Ann Montgomery is assigned to look into the deadly incidents to ascertain neglect, another type of violation or sabotage as three is too much for coincidence though the first two are linked.

Her inquiry has wider implications. The developer Walter Glybenhall, a campaign donor and personal friend of Mayor Charlie Barr, has put in a bid for a bigger project in Harlem that has racial overtones as Harlem developer Ford Carrington has put in a bid too and political impact too as Manhattan Borough President Edgar Westermann covets moving to Gracie Mansion. Within the department others want to push the case against Glybenhall for personal reasons, complicating a messy investigation. Harriet realize she needs help so she turns to her former partner, Joe Cole, who just spent two plus years in prison due to perjury while testifying on a wrongful death probe; he wants nothing to do with this mess.

Timely with the recent elections, this is a terrific look at the link between local politics, campaign funding and business deals in which the Big Apple is the star for sale by its leaders. The story line is action-packed and filled with a myriad of believable characters from Harlem to Gramercy Park to the Bronx and elsewhere. The cleverly designed construction investigation enhances the vast lifestyles of New Yorkers that range from corrupt, lethal, to fast-paced and adrenaline pumping.

Harriet Klausner