Late Rain

As a writer, I can imagine the amount of time and effort Mr. Kostoff poured into this novel. That time and energy paid off in terms of the brilliant phrasing and vivid imagery throughout the story (despite some sentences so long they lost me now and then). But where it really fell short for me was the actual story. It depressed me. I can take dark stories as long as there are elements of lightness here or there to break the mood, but I didn't find that in Late Rain. I found page after page of sad, self-absorbed or sick characters doing selfish and creepy things. The exception would be the protagonist Ben Decovic. He's an honorable man who tries to do the right thing, but even him I couldn't like too much because he felt too show more one-dimensional, like I never really got inside his head. Aside from that, it felt at times like I was reading scenes from a play that never actually connected, or worse, were meaningless. Even the last scene, which somehow gives the title to the book, was never really explained. Or perhaps I'm just not intellectual enough to get it. It's apparent to me that Mr. Kostoff is a wonderful writer, so I can't help but think that a different editor would have crafted this into a much better story. I'll definitely check out Mr. Kostoff's other novels. show less

Throw together a beautiful woman with a lot of secrets and a new husband, the murder of her husband's wealthy uncle, and a policeman trying to escape his past and discover a future; mix in some great writing by Lynn Kostoff, and you have a winner in Late Rain.

The well developed characters and storyline make this an intriguing book. Murders mount up, but will the guilty pay for the crimes in the end?

Good story, and a very quick read.

From Patrick - "“The basic set up is classic
noir: Corrine Tedros is a career grifter whose knock out looks
have gotten her far, and this time she thinks she’s really nabbed
a goldmine this time: her neutered male husband Buddy’s uncle
is a South Carolina soft drink mogul whose latest product, Julep
soda, is the flavor of the moment. He refuses, however, to sell
out to a larger company that would ensure his fortune. Corrine
sees her opportunity and hires a hitman to hasten the old man’s
demise. Things get complicated when the murder is witnessed
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by a man with Alzheimers whose daughter is dating a haunted
former homicide cop, Ben Decovic. A patrolman for the
Magnolia Beach PD, Decovic is trying to lie low and put his own
past behind him, show more but he seems to be the only capable of solving
the murder" show less