N. E. Brown

Blurb from Goodreads:

1972, DALLAS, TEXAS

Pounding rains flooded the rivers, streams, and lakes in Dallas, Texas, depressing the city, darkening the days, and leading to murder. Detective Mark Wilder had been weathering some storms of his own for a long time. The loss of his beloved several years ago remained stained deep into his heart. Detective Wilder was good at his job and then the storms came. The first body was found on the banks of the Trinity River, the rain wiping away any hopes of clues to the murderer.

One morning at a café, Mark meets Sarah Mason, a legal secretary, and is instantly drawn to her. Is it a coincidence she leads him to his first key piece of evidence? Before he can find out, another corpse is found on the banks of Bachman Lake. Again, the evidence is washed away by severe thunderstorms the previous night.

Sarah’s volunteer work at Calvary Baptist Church’s thrift shop connects her to the case. Her co-worker at the thrift shop may also, but Mark’s concern has more to do with the man’s abusive background and his unholy fascination with Sarah. Is he the man stalking her?

Although his and Sarah’s relationship deepens, and sparks fly, he can’t completely rule out her involvement. Especially when a third murder occurs on another rainy night and more evidence is discovered at the church.

Mark must solve these murders. He must stop whoever is murdering members of Calvary Baptist, and he must still the storms in his heart. He’s convinced of the first two, but even he wouldn’t bet on the last one.

My Review:

I found The Rain Man Murders to be a fantastic romantic suspense story. I was completely drawn into the dynamic of the relationship between Mark and Sarah. The investigation of the murders required Mark's full attention and put quite a damper on the progression of their relationship. Aside from that, they both had baggage that required caution to be necessary.

Mark's dedication to his job, almost singly at times, read true to me, especially during the setting in this book. He was stretched really thin, and was portrayed remarkably well as a true hero, one that I truly admired. Sarah was a wonderful character as well, and her motives played quite true. Frances, Sarah's co-worker at the thrift shop, well, he not only creeped Sarah out, he creeped me out as well.

In all, I think that N.E. Brown did great characterization in this book. It was quite interesting and was a really quick read. I kept turning the pages because of wanting to see the murders solved, Frances caught out, and of course, progression in the relationship between Sarah and Mark. I would definitely read Ms. Brown's books again in the future.… (mehr)

Catherine's life is the best its ever been, a loving family, a new husband. she even has a prospering medical practice. Then there's the icing on the cake, she's pregnant. The whole family is worried when difficulties occur during the pregnancy. But a beautiful baby is born only to be stolen and sold on the black market of the time. I really liked the way this book holds your interest and the characters are portrayed in a vivid manner. The story had great continuity. Although this book is a stand alone book, it is a well-established book in The Indignities Series.… (mehr)