Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Rain Gods

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
"America's best novelist" (The Denver Post) brings back one of his most fascinating characters—Texas sheriff Hackberry Holland, cousin to lawman Billy Bob Holland—in this heart-pounding bestseller.
In a heat-cracked border town, the bodies of nine illegal aliens—women and girls, killed execution-style—are unearthed in a shallow grave. Haunted by a past he can't shake and his own private demons, Hack attempts to untangle the grisly case, which may lead to more bloodshed. Damaged young Iraq vet Pete Flores, who saw too much before fleeing the crime scene, and his girlfriend, Vikki Gaddis, are running for their lives. Sorting through the lowlifes who are hunting down Pete, and with Preacher Jack Collins, a Godfearing serial killer for hire, in the mix, Hack is caught up in a terrifying race for survival—for Pete, Vikki, and himself.
  • Creators

  • Series

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 13, 2009
      Burke returns with a masterfully told, high-octane thriller in which a young Iraqi war veteran and his girlfriend find themselves on the run after a series of brutal murders in the Deep South. Fortunately, Sheriff Hack Holland is on the case and back in a world he'd tried to leave behind so long ago. While there are familiar aspects to this story, Burke's writing never fails to captivate nor does Will Patton's narration disappoint. As Sheriff Holland, Patton is gritty and intense, but subtly heartbroken and grieving over the death of his wife. As war veteran Pete Flores, Patton creates a relatable character who is at once terrified and exposed while still as heroic as one can possibly be. "A Simon & Schuster hardcover (Reviews, June 1). (July)" .

    • Kirkus

      June 15, 2009
      The murder of nine Thai prostitutes in a border town kicks off fireworks for a Texas cousin of Billy Bob Holland, who left plenty of violent miscreants behind when he retired to Montana (In the Moon of Red Ponies, 2004, etc.).

      The nine women were hijacked, herded out of a truck to a lot behind a gas station, methodically executed and buried in a mass grave, at least one of them before she was quite dead. Who could have done such a ghastly deed? wonders Sheriff Hackberry Holland. Almost everybody it seems. The massacre certainly wouldn't have been beneath Artie Rooney, who's run prostitutes in Galveston since Hurricane Katrina chased him out of New Orleans, or Hugo Cistranos, the dead-eyed contract killer who followed him. These heavily armed lowlifes seem determined to put the crime off on Nick Dolan, whose family restaurant adjoins his topless bar. Scariest of all is Jack Collins, aka the Preacher, a one-man apocalypse whose most unnerving tactic is to bring his enemies face to face with imminent death and then decline to pull the trigger. Given the high-casualty infighting among the criminals and the Prince of Darkness as antagonist, it's hard for Hackberry, who's haunted by the requisite Burke demons (war, drink, women), to make much of an impression, especially when the most heroic characters are Nick's wife Esther and truck-stop waitress Vikki Gaddis.

      Nearly every scene builds to a fine crescendo of tension, though the story as a whole is too ritualistic to do the same.

      (COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

    • Booklist

      Starred review from June 1, 2009
      Burke brings back a character from one of his early novels, Lay Down My Sword and Shield (1971). Hackberry Holland, cousin to Billy Bob Holland, star of his own series, is the sheriff of a sleepy Texas town near the Mexican border, the last stop for the aging Hack after a tumultuous personal life and an up-and-down career as a politician and lawyer. His downshifted lifestyle is torn asunder when Hack discovers the bodies of nine illegal aliens, buried in a shallow grave behind a church. The trail leads to a troubled Iraq vet, who knows something about the killings, and his country-singer girlfriend, both now on the run from various baddies who want to make sure the kids dont tell anyone what they know. Hack and his deputy, Pam Tibbs, who has a romantic interest in her boss despite his insistence that he is much too old for her, join the chase. It will come as no surprise to Burke fans to learn that the chief baddie is a seriously bent, Bible-spouting stone killer who sees Hack as the other side of his coin, but this is no by-the-numbers retread of familiar Burke tropes. Hackberry, more so than his cousin, Billy Bob, is his own man, shaped by the unforgiving Texas soil the way Robicheaux bleeds bayou blue, less of a powder kegwaiting to explode than Dave but, in Burkes signature phrase, still stand-up all the way. Burke fans will notice much that is familiar herethe lyricism, the minor key, the elegiac refrainbut the melody is new and haunting. And, besides, you just have to love a guy with a name like Hackberry.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 1, 2009
      MWA Grandmaster Burke spins a tale replete with colorful prose and epic confrontations in his second novel to feature smalltown Texas sheriff Hackberry Holland (after Lay Down My Sword and Shield
      ). An anonymous phone call leads Holland, a Korean vet who survived a POW camp, to the massacre and burial site of nine Thai women, a crime that brings FBI and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officials running. As a slew of bad guys relocated from New Orleans after Katrina grapple for advantage in new territory, mercurial killer “Preacher” Jack Collins finds plenty of work. Pete Flores, a possible witness to the massacre, and his girlfriend are targeted by Collins for elimination, and by the FBI for bait. Holland must protect the hapless Flores and his girl from both. Three strong female characters complement the full roster of sharply drawn lowlifes. The battle of wills and wits between Holland and Collins delivers everything Burke’s fans expect.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 28, 2009
      Burke returns with a masterfully told, high-octane thriller in which a young Iraqi war veteran and his girlfriend find themselves on the run after a series of brutal murders in the Deep South. Fortunately, Sheriff Hack Holland is on the case and back in a world he'd tried to leave behind so long ago. While there are familiar aspects to this story, Burke's writing never fails to captivate nor does Will Patton's narration disappoint. As Sheriff Holland, Patton is gritty and intense, but subtly heartbroken and grieving over the death of his wife. As war veteran Pete Flores, Patton creates a relatable character who is at once terrified and exposed while still as heroic as one can possibly be. A Simon & Schuster hardcover (Reviews, June 1).

    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 13, 2009
      Burke returns with a masterfully told, high-octane thriller in which a young Iraqi war veteran and his girlfriend find themselves on the run after a series of brutal murders in the Deep South. Fortunately, Sheriff Hack Holland is on the case and back in a world he'd tried to leave behind so long ago. While there are familiar aspects to this story, Burke's writing never fails to captivate nor does Will Patton's narration disappoint. As Sheriff Holland, Patton is gritty and intense, but subtly heartbroken and grieving over the death of his wife. As war veteran Pete Flores, Patton creates a relatable character who is at once terrified and exposed while still as heroic as one can possibly be. A Simon & Schuster hardcover (Reviews, June 1).

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Loading