Set in Los Angeles in 1946, After the Blue, Blue Rain recalls the time when GI's returned home from the war, many in damaged condition, physically or mentally. Private eyes Kit Comfort and Henry Richman are hired to find a missing doctor who boarded a train for LA but never arrived. Finding him doesn't take much time. Finding the Nazi that delayed him, and their mysteriously absent employer, does. As they work the case, Kit helps to attend to her brother, who has returned from the Pacific with part of his memory missing. Henry's wife is also fragile mentally, and she is always his primary concern.
Author A.D. Price's strongest suit is characterization. Each of her characters is well developed, with a detailed back story and set of unique traits. While I can't say I could actually visualize the main characters, I found their behavior consistent. The story is told primarily in third person, with the focus of each short chapter on one of the main players, usually in present tense. The exception is that the Nazi culprit's tale is told in first person, past tense, interspersed with the other characters' chapters, roughly in the same timeline, as part of a confession statement. This, unfortunately, reveals beforehand that the Nazi survived, and produces an uneven narrative.
While the fast-paced ending gives the novel a thriller feel, for the most part this is a PI procedural, not really a mystery or a thriller. It's worth reading for its interesting characters and their stories as much as the primary plot. I'll look forward to the next installment.
This book was provided to me by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.
Author A.D. Price's strongest suit is characterization. Each of her characters is well developed, with a detailed back story and set of unique traits. While I can't say I could actually visualize the main characters, I found their behavior consistent. The story is told primarily in third person, with the focus of each short chapter on one of the main players, usually in present tense. The exception is that the Nazi culprit's tale is told in first person, past tense, interspersed with the other characters' chapters, roughly in the same timeline, as part of a confession statement. This, unfortunately, reveals beforehand that the Nazi survived, and produces an uneven narrative.
While the fast-paced ending gives the novel a thriller feel, for the most part this is a PI procedural, not really a mystery or a thriller. It's worth reading for its interesting characters and their stories as much as the primary plot. I'll look forward to the next installment.
This book was provided to me by the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.
