The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard

I'm such a huge fan of mystery fiction, it's one of my favorite genres. I actually read this book for a book club I'm in and I am so glad I did. I usually read those little cutesy tootsie mystery series but I may have to branch out and pick up more regular, more adult-like mysteries.
The story centers around Jody, a young woman whose parents were murdered 23 years ago and how the murderer is coming back to town after his being set free by the governor. After the first chapter, it flashbacks to the year the murders happened. Hugh-Jay and Laurie, her parents. were young, twenty somethings who had their whole future ahead of them. Laurie was a spoiled girl who was stealing from the Linders. Hugh-Jay and his family were rich and powerful but a good family in Rose, Kansas. Their marriage was in a rough patch because it turns out Laurie was stealing money from one of their ranches (which didn't surprise me one bit). One of my favorite characters was Chase. He was a rugged cowboy who all the ladies loved but he still worked hard and loved his family. I'm so glad he didn't kill his brother and sister in law since I thought the whole time he did! The man who was convicted of the murders was Billy Crosby, a mean son of a bitch who had a drinking problem and beat his wife and son. His son, Collin, is the one who gets him out of jail because he grew up to be a lawyer. As the story progresses, you find out that the Linder daughter's (Belle) fiance, Meryl, kills them but the way it happens, while horrible, is accidental. Hugh-Jay came home to find Laurie and who he thought was Billy having sex (he thought he was raping her) but really it was Meryl and Laurie having sex as they had been having an affair. Hugh-Jay is shot with his own shot gun after Meryl jumps at him and turns the gun on him. Laurie is taken to the rock formation where she falls to her death. In the end, Colling and Jody fall in love as they were meant to be all along.
I highly recommend you read this book even if you now know who did it. The details are in the book and it's such a good read! It's one of those books you can't put down because it's so well written and suspenseful!

4 out 5 stars! (some typos)