Devil Sent the Rain

The murder of 29-year-old Caroline Lee, an attorney from a prominent Mississippi family who was shot dead in her 1968 Camaro Z28, kick-starts Edgar-finalist Turner’s engaging third novel featuring homicide detective Billy Able of the Memphis PD (after 2014’s The Gone Dead Train). Billy and his partner, Frankie Malone, are especially motivated to catch Caroline’s killer—Frankie because she’s ambitious and wants a promotion, and Billy because he’s loved Caroline since they were teenagers. Caroline ended her engagement to domineering neurosurgeon Raj Sharma five weeks earlier, making Raj a prime suspect, but if Caroline was single, why was she wearing a wedding dress when she died? A missing cousin, a greedy brother, and shady dealings at the Lee family law firm further complicate the case. The old South looms large over this sultry, melodramatic tale. Turner’s characters lack nuance, but a shifting narrative, a keen sense of place, and a steady stream of suspects and red herrings propel the mystery to a satisfying conclusion. [em]Agent: Robert Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (Sept.) [/em]