A Killing Rain

big thumbs up a 10

This is the second Kincaid mystery I read, and I must admit to not having been able to stop reading. I began the book just before breakfast, read throughout breakfast, kept going all day as I ran errands using public transportation, then finished it just before arriving at home. My only quibble was with myself--why, oh why, hadn't I bought more Parrish novels to read after "Killing Rain"? Silly me. To take care of that problem, I purchased most of the rest of the series just a few days ago, and those books are waiting for me to devour them. Back again to this book--Kincaid is a superbly drawn character. From the start of this book to its end, I found him enthralling. From his efforts to handle a date to the resolution of the book's main mystery, he made me want to get to know him as a human being. Parrish's writing is that good; Kincaid is someone I wish were human so that I could sit and talk with him. I'd like to know which moral lines he feels it's okay to cross, which experiences from his childhood make him so desperate to be a good friend/father/role model for the children he comes to love as an adult. I want to know why he doesn't just take his female cat in to get her "fixed." Bottom line: I want to know Kincaid. Added to that, there are other elements of this book that enthrall me. For one, the bad guys are just as interesting as the good ones. Now, that's not all that unusual, but I REALLY want to know more about these guys. I want to know about a killer who won't touch a child because of his own past experiences and how they've shaped him. I want to know about a killer whose soul is so damaged that he can't do much more than reshape his reality to fit it in the only box that allows him to keep breathing. I guess I just want to KNOW, to find out more, and that always makes me want to keep reading an author's work Kudos to Parrish!

Kudos for P.J. Parrish's "A Killing Rain." I truly enjoyed this book. I do believe I've just found a new favorite detective in Louis Kincaid. "A Killing Rain" caught my attention from the very beginning. I truly found it hard to put down. A real page turner.

After waiting a year for another P. J. Parrish novel about the exploits of Louis Kinkaid, I was not disappointed. A great read-great characters. great story-BRAVO!. Now I have to wait another year, alas.

Private detective Louis Kincaid tried for over a year to get a date with Susan Outlaw; when he finally succeeds and goes to her house, she informs him they will eat here with her son Benjamin. Louis does not mind because he likes Benjamin. While the trio dines together, Susan's estrange husband Austin arrives after an absence of a few years. For her son's sake, she lets her spouse stay in her home. A few days pass before Louis calls to see how Susan and Ben are doing. She frantically tells him that Austin and Ben are missing. After a search turns up nothing, Louis returns home to ponder his next move, but Austin waits for him there. A panicked Austin explains that his business partner and secretary were abducted and ultimately killed; he fears for his son. Louis believes Ben is bait to lure Austin into a deadly trap. He continues his search although the police believe the lad is dead. P.J. Parrish is a fantastic thriller writer with his latest winner filled with plenty of action and chase scenes and the author insures the key cast seems genuine. Austen is an interesting antagonist as readers will feel dismay towards him for abandoning his son to save his own skin and feel further ire when he refuses to reveal to anyone how he became a target of a professional hitman though that might help save Ben's life. In some ways he steals the show, but in contrast to the courage of Louis, who loves Susan and Ben, placing himself in danger to save someone else's son turns A KILLING RAIN into an enthralling gothic tale in the middle of the Everglades. Harriet Klausner

Killing Rain by P.J. Parrish is another great thriller. What I enjoy about this author's work is that he writes intelligent, complex thrillers. The main character is a loner (by choice) although you feel, in this book, that he is starting to get weary of it. Enters the sexy Susan, a defense attorney who has turned Kincaid's eye. Unfortunatley, she also comes with lots of baggage. Which is where the story really starts unfolding. We have kidnapping, murder and general mayhem. The author has a way of making the action kind of gather momentum and yet, his storytelling is never boring. This book is a must read for any lover of good thrillers.