In this Rain [Paperback]

S.J. Rozan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 26, 2007

Three years ago, a child’s death blew open a vortex of corruption inside Manhattan’s lucrative construction industry. And it sent one innocent man to jail. Joe Cole is a former city investigator who now lives a broken life, cut off from his wife and daughter, and from the city he once knew so well. But for Joe, everything changes when a woman’s murder and a teenager’s rooftop freefall rip open old wounds—and reveal a shocking layer of rage and deception.

It is Joe’s former partner, beautiful, hard-charging investigator Ann Montgomery, who first sees the lies, forcing Joe out of his self-imposed isolation to help her unravel the cover-ups and secret relationships that allow the powerful to hide their crimes. Soon, the two are entering the darkest corners of their city, delving into the hidden desires of a borough president who wants to be mayor, the motivations of a charismatic community activist, and the machinations of a mayor whose ambitions know no bounds. As the secrets of each player are exposed, as the primal forces of greed, sex, and power come to the surface, Ann and Joe know they must press their search all the way to the end—because the most powerful revelations are yet to come.

From a brilliantly choreographed press conference to a scandalous love affair gone terribly wrong, In This Rain takes us into the heart of a sprawling, brawling city—in a masterpiece of suspense that proves once again the unique and daring genius of S. J. Rozan.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Edgar-winner Rozan (Absent Friends) draws on her experience as a professional architect in this complex thriller that focuses on New York City's construction and development business. Ann Montgomery, an officer in the New York Department of Investigation, shows up on former partner Joe Cole's doorstep with a file containing evidence pointing to a murder at a Mott Haven construction site. She needs Joe's help, but he's fresh off a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence connected to an earlier DOI investigation and wants nothing to do with the case. Meanwhile, the mayor of New York, Charlie Barr, is having problems with the press and political opponents who are questioning his dealings with big-time developer Walter Glybenhall, the mayor's pal and chief financial contributor. This is a New York story, steeped in political intrigue, ripe with descriptions of the city and its history. The payoff will be particularly rewarding for readers interested in big machines, both the kind that move earth and those behind political parties. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Rozan (Absent Friends, 2004) is a highly decorated mystery writer--she's won the Shamus, Edgar, and McAvity, among other awards. But it is her experience as a New York architect that provides the expertise behind this compelling, if somewhat convoluted, stand-alone tale of corruption in Manhattan's construction industry. In the novel's early pages, Rozan spins a web of seemingly interconnected characters and events, then gradually (perhaps, too gradually) untangles them. There's freshly paroled Joe Cole, wrongfully imprisoned after a child's death near a construction site; his former partner, Ann Montgomery, fueled by a toxic combination of ambition and wrath; and a host of politicians and community leaders with prickly personalities and dubious pasts. When a series of accidents, one fatal, takes place on a building site in the Bronx, Joe temporarily abandons his new, quiet life (and the garden that has become his salvation) to help Ann right some age-old wrongs. From the mean streets of Harlem to the chilly corridors of City Hall, Rozan vividly evokes New York City in all its sound and fury. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Delta (December 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385339240
• ISBN-13: 978-0385339247
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.9 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #692,173 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

SJ Rozan was born and raised in the Bronx and is proud of it. She spent over twenty years as an architect in New York City and is kind of proud of that, too. Now she writes and teaches. She's done 10 books in the Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series (the newest, ON THE LINE, comes out Sept. 28, 2010) and two standalones. She's also published three dozen short stories. A collection of her stories, A TALE ABOUT A TIGER, is available, and a second volume is coming.

SJ's work has won the Edgar, Anthony, Shamus, Nero and Macavity Awards, and she's a recipient of the Japanese Maltese Falcon. She's served on the National Boards of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She's a past President of the Private Eye Writers of America. She's been Guest of Honor at Left Coast Crime (El Paso, 2003), Toastmaster at Bouchercon (Indianapolis, 2009), an invited speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (2003) and as if that weren't enough, she has the key to the city of Fort Worth, Texas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Race and Politics in the Big Apple, January 23, 2007

By 

Grace (Alameda, US, Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In this Rain (Hardcover)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Building and Gardening, February 15, 2007

By 

Laura Rosen (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In this Rain (Hardcover)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good, one-sitting suspenseful read, May 6, 2007

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In this Rain (Hardcover)

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.