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Garlock's Jones family trilogy that began with "The Edge of Town" and continued in "High on a Hill" concludes in this novel set in 1920s Oklahoma, where oil turns a small town into a boomtown—and danger is about to turn one woman's life upside down.
The Midwest in the 1920s is the setting for this romantic melodrama featuring the spunky, independent little sister of Julie Jones, the heroine of another Garlock novel, The Edge of Town. Jill Jones has recently come from Missouri to the boomtown of Rainwater, Okla., to help her ailing Aunt Justine run her hotel, a former house of ill repute. Shortly after her arrival, her flirtatious childhood friend and self-appointed protector, Thad Taylor, shows up and sweet-talks his way into a job. He is wary of the attention Jill is receiving from some of the other men in town, including Hunter Westfall, a womanizing oil tycoon, and Lloyd Madison, a creepy lawyer with "the mark of the devil" on his face and a longstanding vendetta against Justine. There are scads of supporting characters, including Radna, Justine's devoted mixed-race housekeeper, and Laura Hopper, an attractive young widow who catches Westfall's eye. Things turn grim when Thad and Jill discover the remains of a badly mutilated young woman buried in the sand. The detailed depiction of the Oklahoma oil town lends an air of authenticity, as does the colorful (if at times overdone) period slang. Garlock is most entertaining when she focuses on the love affairs percolating among the cast members, but the murder-mystery subplot feels out of place and the identity of the killer is obvious from the beginning. Overproduction may be cramping Garlock's style-her last novel, High on a Hill, came out in June of this year. (Jan. 2) Forecast: Garlock's habit of reintroducing familiar characters is a handy tool for hooking readers, and should keep fans on board despite the lapses of her latest. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Eric Thayer
reviewed Place Called Rainwater on January 26, 2011
Place Called Rainwater
This book was almost another disappointment for me. In it, we are reintroduced to old characters, Jill, Joe, and Thad from the first book (they, with the exception of Thad are siblings of the main character) and are introduced to several new characters.
Jill has traveled to Rainwater, an oil town, to take over the running of a Motel while her namesake Aunt is sick. Not shortly after she arrives, Thad comes along to look after her until her brother Joe gets there.
Unfortunately, while she and Thad are out on a walk, they find the headless body of a woman. All signs point to the rich oil baron of the town, at least the signs pointed out by Lloyd Madison, a lawyer with a strange red devil mark on his face.
Madison doesn't just cause trouble for the oil baron though, he also seems to like to antagonize Jill's aunt for a reason unknown to all but the aunt. He also likes to stir others into a frenzy when it suits him.
The story revolves around finding the killer and the budding romance between Thad and Jill. There's a lot of drama and mystery with just a touch of a love story thrown in.
Like the other two novels I've read by her, this one shares a common theme. In each of the three books thus far in the Missouri series, at least one girl is a victim of a rape. There is also a great deal of mentioning breasts. While I can understand these as use for plot motives, does it have to be in every single book? Some variety would be nice. In addition, this one's language and the character's actions still don't fit with the time period.
Garlock's writing is nice but I wonder if she wouldn't be better suited to write about a different time period. Her language and the character's actions would much fit better for around the fifties or sixties. She does tend to be pretty crude at times and has no problems with profanity or sexual descriptions in her books.
I'm not sure if I'll be reading any more books by Garlock. It might be tempting just to see if she adds the same elements to every other book she writes. But anymore they are just different variations on the same theme.
A Place Called Rainwater
Copyright 2003
404 pages plus notes
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