Rain on Red Clay

Rain on Red Clay is a wonderful, family oriented, Southern style read in the same vain as John Grisham's The Painted House. The characters have a tangible depth. The plot is well constructed and intriguing on several levels. The dialog succeeds at not being the usual stereotypical "Southern speak" that only a skilled Southern writer can produce. Rain on Red Clay leaves the reader with sense of historical and cultural perspective, and wanting more.

Matt Hickey wanted out of his marriage to Claire. So, with the intent of making her pay for his being unhappy, he walks out the door with their two year old son Jesse in tow. He wants Claire to have nothing but memories of their son. Lon Peterson loves working in the fields but he loves his family more. When Ginger comes home from town one afternoon and tells him about a little boy that had been abandoned in town several months before and shows him a picture that was in the paper, Lon knows the boy is Jesse, his sister Claire`s son. Lon and Ginger go get Claire and find that she is waiting for Matt to come home and return her beloved son. They take her back to Paragould with them so she can claim her little boy, only to find out that three days before Matt had already claimed him. Lon and Ginger start on a journey to find Jesse and bring him home to his mother. The couple find it is going to be harder to find Jesse than they thought. Gloria Lewis has created a story of happiness, sadness, tragedy and love. The story is set in Paragould Arkansas in 1917. It is a truly wonderful story that will capture your heart. Grab a box of Kleenex curl up on the sofa and enjoy. I hope to see more work from this talented author.