A Place Called Rainwater
(Libby/OverDrive eBook)

Garlock secures her standing as the premier writer of Americana romance with her third book featuring the Jones family and friends. Jill has traveled to the rough and tumble oil-boom town of Rainwater, Oklahoma, to help her ailing aunt by managing her hotel, the only one in town. Thad Taylor, who years earlier had saved Jill from a serial rapist (The Edge of Town [BKL Ap 15 01]) turns up, sent ahead of her brother Joe to keep an eye on her until he can arrive. When out walking, Thad and Jill find a severed arm that turns out to belong to a young woman who has been murdered and dismembered. Garlock provides top-notch, edge-of-the-seat suspense as an evil predator stalks Aunt Justine and imperils Jill and everyone connected with the hotel. «Jelly» Bryce, the FBI's most famous real-life sharpshooter, plays a role in this Prohibition-era tale of romantic suspense that features three well-developed love relationships and an authentic feel for the time. Diana Tixier Herald.

The Midwest in the 1920s is the setting for this romantic melodrama featuring the spunky, independent little sister of Julie Jones, the heroine of another Garlock novel, The Edge of Town. Jill Jones has recently come from Missouri to the boomtown of Rainwater, Okla., to help her ailing Aunt Justine run her hotel, a former house of ill repute. Shortly after her arrival, her flirtatious childhood friend and self-appointed protector, Thad Taylor, shows up and sweet-talks his way into a job. He is wary of the attention Jill is receiving from some of the other men in town, including Hunter Westfall, a womanizing oil tycoon, and Lloyd Madison, a creepy lawyer with "the mark of the devil" on his face and a longstanding vendetta against Justine. There are scads of supporting characters, including Radna, Justine's devoted mixed-race housekeeper, and Laura Hopper, an attractive young widow who catches Westfall's eye. Things turn grim when Thad and Jill discover the remains of a badly mutilated young woman buried in the sand. The detailed depiction of the Oklahoma oil town lends an air of authenticity, as does the colorful (if at times overdone) period slang. Garlock is most entertaining when she focuses on the love affairs percolating among the cast members, but the murder-mystery subplot feels out of place and the identity of the killer is obvious from the beginning. Overproduction may be cramping Garlock's style-her last novel, High on a Hill, came out in June of this year. (Jan. 2) Forecast: Garlock's habit of reintroducing familiar characters is a handy tool for hooking readers, and should keep fans on board despite the lapses of her latest. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Roustabouts and romantics in the Tulsa oilfields. Throw in a serial killer and things start happening in Rainwater, Oklahoma, circa 1927. First, a flashback to a dreadful scene years ago: teenaged Justine, poor and friendless, gives birth to a child by the Judge, a venomous old man who wants an heir. Not that he's satisfied with the result: the infant boy has a bright red birthmark on his face. The Judge throws the girl out on the street and raises the child to be as spiteful and strange as he is. In due time, Justine becomes the local madam (under guise of running the hotel), eventually achieving respectability, but she loses track of her woman-despising son. Enter Jilly, Justine's country-bred niece, who's come to help run the hotel. Pretty, young Jilly attracts a lot of unwanted attention from the roustabouts, and it's not long before her husky friend Thad Taylor steps in to rescue her. Aw, shucks-why him? Why can't he let handsome, debonair Hunter Westfall, oil entrepreneur, do the rescuing? But Hunter is smitten with lovely Laura Hopper, young widow and mother of an adorable tot. All the good men of Rainwater rally round when a dog drags in a severed arm from a female body also sans head and breasts. The killer tried to cover his crime by setting fire to the house, so it takes a while to identify the victim-but a distinctive earring amid the ashes belonged to Carsie, a woman of easy virtue with whom Hunter once had a fling. Other clues lead out of town, to the nasty young Lloyd Madison, whose bright red birthmark identifies him as the son of Justine, now on her deathbed. Yes, her secret shame and sorrow will be exorcised, and the killer will be stalked by Okalahoma lawman and sharpshooter Jelly Bryce. Old-fashioned mellerdrama with nonstop action, true lovers, and sneering villains-all in this third hardcover from veteran romancer Garlock (The Edge of Town, not reviewed).

Garlock secures her standing as the premier writer of Americana romance with her third book featuring the Jones family and friends. Jill has traveled to the rough and tumble oil-boom town of Rainwater, Oklahoma, to help her ailing aunt by managing her hotel, the only one in town. Thad Taylor, who years earlier had saved Jill from a serial rapist (The Edge of Town [BKL Ap 15 01]) turns up, sent ahead of her brother Joe to keep an eye on her until he can arrive. When out walking, Thad and Jill find a severed arm that turns out to belong to a young woman who has been murdered and dismembered. Garlock provides top-notch, edge-of-the-seat suspense as an evil predator stalks Aunt Justine and imperils Jill and everyone connected with the hotel. "Jelly" Bryce, the FBI's most famous real-life sharpshooter, plays a role in this Prohibition-era tale of romantic suspense that features three well-developed love relationships and an authentic feel for the time. ((Reviewed October 1, 2002)) Copyright 2002 Booklist Reviews

The Midwest in the 1920s is the setting for this romantic melodrama featuring the spunky, independent little sister of Julie Jones, the heroine of another Garlock novel, The Edge of Town. Jill Jones has recently come from Missouri to the boomtown of Rainwater, Okla., to help her ailing Aunt Justine run her hotel, a former house of ill repute. Shortly after her arrival, her flirtatious childhood friend and self-appointed protector, Thad Taylor, shows up and sweet-talks his way into a job. He is wary of the attention Jill is receiving from some of the other men in town, including Hunter Westfall, a womanizing oil tycoon, and Lloyd Madison, a creepy lawyer with "the mark of the devil" on his face and a longstanding vendetta against Justine. There are scads of supporting characters, including Radna, Justine's devoted mixed-race housekeeper, and Laura Hopper, an attractive young widow who catches Westfall's eye. Things turn grim when Thad and Jill discover the remains of a badly mutilated young woman buried in the sand. The detailed depiction of the Oklahoma oil town lends an air of authenticity, as does the colorful (if at times overdone) period slang. Garlock is most entertaining when she focuses on the love affairs percolating among the cast members, but the murder-mystery subplot feels out of place and the identity of the killer is obvious from the beginning. Overproduction may be cramping Garlock's style-her last novel, High on a Hill, came out in June of this year. (Jan. 2) Forecast: Garlock's habit of reintroducing familiar characters is a handy tool for hooking readers, and should keep fans on board despite the lapses of her latest. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.