The Scent of Rain and Lightning

Tavia Gilbert demonstrates remarkable range in her narration of Pickard’s spine-tingling thriller set in a rural Kansas ranch community, where mysterious secrets surrounding the wealthy and prominent Linder family come to light in chilling detail. Gilbert’s performance as convicted murderer—and town pariah—Billy Crosby crackles with pentup rage. The scene in which protagonist Jody Linder—a 20-something woman who lost her parents in a crime spree for which Crosby was imprisoned two decades earlier—encounters the newly paroled Crosby in the parking lot of a local tavern demonstrates Gilbert’s remarkable ability to heighten the suspense through vocal nuances and pacing. Gilbert also delivers an especially winning turn in her portrayal of Jody as a little girl too young to understand the sordid events around her. An edge-of-your seat listen. A Ballantine hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 8). (June)