Pete says, "It gets wild out there on the range sometimes, and this book ratchets up the intensity about as high as you can get it. "

In the tradition of true crime narratives such as In Cold Blood, acclaimed author Jack Todd’s new novel grips the reader from the first page; and as it spans continents and generations of one family, its taut and shocking undercurrent of violence builds to a stunning crescendo. Todd’s first novel, Sun Going Down, which introduced the Paint family, won praise from reviewers and major authors such as Michael Korda and Michael Blake. His second novel, Come Again No More, recounted the Paints’ saga of triumph and tragedy through the Great Depression, inspiring the Ottawa Citizen to label Todd “a first-rate novelist with a tender heart.”

Rain Falls Like Mercy opens with the murder investigation of a young girl in Wyoming in mid- 1941. Tom Call, the young sheriff running the investigation, falls in love with Juanita, the wife of Eli Paint, whose son Leo and grandson Bobby Watson are on duty with the U.S. Navy. Almost overnight, the case is derailed by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, disrupting the lives of all involved. Bobby mans an antiaircraft gun during the attack. Tom joins the U.S. Air Force and is deployed to England to fly bombers, still trying to pursue his murder investigation. His suspicion falls on Pardo Bury, the psychotic son of a wealthy rancher in Wyoming.


As Pardo and Tom make their ways to their inevitable and shattering confrontation, Rain Falls Like Mercy displays Todd’s uncanny ability to zero in on his characters’ emotional lives while simultaneously painting a sweeping picture of the historical events that shape their destinies.

Todd's writing is all about family, as you learn here:


Pete says:
"In 1940's Wyoming they're used to the occasional mean drunk, some stolen cattle, or Friday night fights. But what's new to them is the killing and mutilation of a young girl for perhaps no reason at all.  Sheriff Tom Call is on the case, and all he can tell from the crime scene is that the killer has remarkably small feet. That's not much to go on, and when World War II breaks out there's nobody left to care about the fate of one little girl when the rest of the world has gone to hell.

Jack Todd's novel reads like a three-part play. There's the initial murder investigation involving several key players, then the war years where our players are sent overseas to experience multiple versions of terror and brutality, and finally post-war, where our killer is back from the shadows and ready for fresh blood. I would recommend this novel to fans of westerns, crime (even true crime), mystery, and even history (the WWII section could be a book of its own).

Rain Falls Like Mercy. A good title about hard land, tough people, and a good sheriff standing his ground against a truly wicked man. It gets wild out there on the range sometimes, and this book ratchets up the intensity about as high as you can get it. You'd better pray that rain is all there is in the forecast, and that you keep some distance from a killer with remarkably small feet.

**Also, don't forget to read the author's note after the ending. You get a good sense of the motivations behind this wonderful novel and a greater understanding of the book in general."