Rainsong

Hollis Sands (who is 23) met famous pop singer Ricky Sands when she was 18 and he was 39. Ricky came to perform a concert in Berkeley, California, where she went to college. But he had a motorcycle accident and ended up in the hospital. Hollis had written a song that she thought was perfect for Ricky and she wanted him to hear it. So Hollis went inside the hospital with a demo of her song, put on a hospital gown, pretended to be a patient, and boldly snuck into Ricky's room. He eventually found out she wasn't a patient and ended up listening to her song. His career was in a slump and he could use some fresh, original material. Hollis's song was perfect for him. She played another song for Ricky and his manager, Norris, and he liked it. show more Ricky recorded her songs and they became instant hits. In time, Hollis and Ricky married and lived in a penthouse apartment in New York City. Hollis knew there was a side of Ricky's life that he always kept private from her, including his hard drug use. Their marriage became rocky but he still wanted her songs.

One day Ricky's shrewd and hard hearted manager Norris takes Hollis to Ricky's former girlfriend's apartment (Coral Caine). Apparently Coral (a popular soap-opera actress who's career is declining due to drugs and alcohol) has been giving Ricky a hard time, claiming to be pregnant with his child, etc... Norris rudely wants to show has-been Coral lovely Hollis so Coral will let go of Ricky when she sees his beautiful and talented wife (in comparison to Coral's aging looks and downward spiraling soap career.) Hollis is shocked and disgusted with what Norris did and they leave Coral's apartment. Later they learn Coral committed suicide. Some time later Ricky also commits suicide in a hotel room---supposedly of a drug overdose.

After mourning and hiding from the press and Ricky's fans who have been outside her apartment, Hollis gets an invitation from an older lady (Geneva Ames) to stay at her home, Windtop, located in Cold Spring Harbor in Long Island. Alan Gordon, who is friends with Geneva takes Hollis to meet the woman. (Alan lived with Geneva at Windtop when he was young and his parents died.) When Hollis meets and talks to Geneva she discovers Geneva knew her father many years ago. She gladly accepts Geneva's offer to stay at Windtop for a while. But once she's at Windtop strange things start happening. She sees a shadow of a mysterious man in the garden from her bedroom. She hears Ricky's songs in the night. She hears noises upstairs. She sees shadows in corridors and she feels like she is being watched. She also finds out Ricky had been to Windtop in the past and played a gig there.

One day Hollis drives back to her New York apartment to sort through some of Ricky's belongings that are in boxes that were to painful to go through before. She brings them back to Windtop along with a sealed envelope addressed to her from Ricky. Inside is a note written by Ricky in which he claims that his life is being threatened and that he feels that someone is following him. Was Ricky really in danger? Did he die from a drug overdose, or was it more, maybe murder?

Hollis was an interesting heroine. She was no shrinking violet. When she wanted answers she boldly went off looking for them. At other times she was sheltered and closed off from Ricky's rock 'n roll world. She was talented, she played the piano, guitar, and wrote lyrics.

I liked the storyline---with musicians, a gloomy old mansion, and a possible murder. This book had a lot of suspects. I was surprised at the end at who the villain was!

This was an entertaining and very enjoyable mystery-suspense from the 80's. show less

I was reading this for suspense, but finding it quite dull. Plus it's really dated, can't seem to transcend its 80's setting. Just not very interesting to me, so I skimmed the ending, was still unimpressed, and called it DNF.