Book Review: Rain Falls Like Mercy By Jack Todd

I recently received a copy of the new book Rain Falls Like Mercy: A Novel by Jack Todd to review.


Set back in May of 1941, Rain Falls Like Mercy follows Sheriff Tom Call in Wyoming. A young girl who has been sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend steals money to run away to her grandmother's, but is found brutally murdered in a cabin. The Sheriff is called in to investigate the murder, and ends up meeting Juanita Paint, wife of much older rancher Eli, who he begins to fall in love with.

The murder case is slow to solve, and gets put on hold - like so many other things here in the US - when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. As the Sheriff is also a pilot, he joins the Air Force and becomes a B-17 pilot. Sent to Okinawa, Sheriff Call still manages to focus on the young girl's murder even while he's running dangerous combat missions. He begins to suspect Pardo Bury, who is the son of a wealthy businessman, and a bit of a psychopath. Bury had been convicted of slicing open a prostitute, and when he is released, goes on a crime spree just because. Will Sheriff Call makes it home and solve the girl's murder?

This is the author's third book that shares the story of Paint family, which includes three generations. While you don't really need to read the first two books, it's easier to get up to speed on a few things if you can get ahold of the books and read them.

If you like vintage crime fiction, and especially anything set among WWII, you might want to pick up Rain Falls Like Mercy. Be aware that it does have some strong language, and it can get pretty graphic at times - although, the graphicness works well in the author's favor, as he does a great job describe the war backdrop. (At more than one part, I was left with my eyes widening) If you're looking for a gift for an older book reader, this one might be a good choice.

Rain Falls Like Mercy: A Novel by Jack Todd is a hardcover fiction book published by Touchstone. It is 304 pages long. The suggested cover price is $25.00, but Amazon has it available for $16.16 as of this posting. It is also available as e-book for the Kindle and other e-readers.

I received a copy of this book in order to read it and share my thoughts on it. All opinions are my own, and not that of the author(s) or publisher.