Devil Sent the Rain (Billy Able Series #3)

by Lisa Turner

Overview

Edgar-nominated and bestselling author Lisa Turner’s hard-boiled Detective Billy Able returns in this dark Southern mystery about the murder of a dazzling Memphis socialite—and the scandals revealed in the wake of her death

The heart can be an assassin. Detective Billy Able knows that from experience.

Fresh from solving Memphis’ most sensational murder case, Homicide Detective Billy Able and his ambitious new partner Frankie Malone are called to a bizarre crime scene on the outskirts of town. A high society attorney has been murdered while dressed in a wedding gown. Billy is shocked to discover he has a very personal connection to the victim. When the attorney’s death exposes illegal practices at her family’s prestigious law firm, the scandal is enough to rock the southern city’s social world.

In a tale of the remnants of Old South aristocracy and entitlement, twisted by greed and vengeance, Billy must confront the secrets of his own past to have any chance at solving the murder of the girl he once knew. But as he seeks the truth, he’s drawn closer to an embittered killer bent on revenge—and eliminating the threat Billy poses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062136213
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/27/2016
Series:	Billy Able Series , #3
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Born in Memphis, Lisa Turner travels between her ancestral home in the Deep South and her writing getaway on the wildly beautiful coast of Nova Scotia.

Editorial Reviews

07/25/2016
The murder of 29-year-old Caroline Lee, an attorney from a prominent Mississippi family who was shot dead in her 1968 Camaro Z28, kick-starts Edgar-finalist Turner’s engaging third novel featuring homicide detective Billy Able of the Memphis PD (after 2014’s The Gone Dead Train). Billy and his partner, Frankie Malone, are especially motivated to catch Caroline’s killer—Frankie because she’s ambitious and wants a promotion, and Billy because he’s loved Caroline since they were teenagers. Caroline ended her engagement to domineering neurosurgeon Raj Sharma five weeks earlier, making Raj a prime suspect, but if Caroline was single, why was she wearing a wedding dress when she died? A missing cousin, a greedy brother, and shady dealings at the Lee family law firm further complicate the case. The old South looms large over this sultry, melodramatic tale. Turner’s characters lack nuance, but a shifting narrative, a keen sense of place, and a steady stream of suspects and red herrings propel the mystery to a satisfying conclusion. Agent: Robert Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

A murdered bride, old money, betrayal, and lost love fuel this superb Southern Gothic mystery. DEVIL SENT THE RAIN is Turner’s best novel to date. I can’t wait to read her next.” — Eric Rickstad, New York Times Bestselling author of The Silent Girls and Lie In Wait

“A well-wrought procedural that takes a hard look at the old South’s influence on the new. ” — Kirkus Reviews

“[A] shifting narrative, a keen sense of place, and a steady stream of suspects and red herrings propel the mystery to a satisfying conclusion.” — Publishers Weekly

“[Detective Billy Able’s] outlook is what gives this series its fresh perspective. Untangling his disdain for privilege from his lingering feelings from the woman he once loved, his quest for justice must overcome his empathy for those whose lives have been warped by the insular world of Southern aristocracy.” — LA Review of Books

“Drawing on the history of some of America’s most troubled times, Turner’s gripping account is thought provoking.” — RT BOOKReviews

“A good Southern police procedural and should appeal to Caroline Haine or Margaret Maron readers.” — Booklist

“Turner has an eye for detail and moves her story along with a new question, a new clue, and a new suspect in every chapter.” — Memphis Magazine.com

From the Publisher

Drawing on the history of some of America’s most troubled times, Turner’s gripping account is thought provoking.

RT BOOKReviews

Turner has an eye for detail and moves her story along with a new question, a new clue, and a new suspect in every chapter.

Memphis Magazine.com

[Detective Billy Able’s] outlook is what gives this series its fresh perspective. Untangling his disdain for privilege from his lingering feelings from the woman he once loved, his quest for justice must overcome his empathy for those whose lives have been warped by the insular world of Southern aristocracy.

LA Review of Books

A murdered bride, old money, betrayal, and lost love fuel this superb Southern Gothic mystery. DEVIL SENT THE RAIN is Turner’s best novel to date. I can’t wait to read her next.

Eric Rickstad

A good Southern police procedural and should appeal to Caroline Haine or Margaret Maron readers.

Booklist

A good Southern police procedural and should appeal to Caroline Haine or Margaret Maron readers.

Booklist

I was so impressed that halfway through this advanced reader copy (the second book in the series), I bought the first of the series.

Mallory Heart Reviews on The Gone Dead Train

Lisa Turner has skillfully interwoven Memphis ambience, bizarre murders, Santeria practices, civil rights history, relatable characters, civil rights icons, and twists and turns that will keep readers on the edge of their seats . . . Suspense continues to build until the stunning and completely unexpected climax is reached.

Suspense Magazine

You know the great satisfaction you feel after eating a gourmet meal served with great service? When I finished this book I felt the same way.

The Reading Room

This is only the second installment of this new series but already Billy Able has collected quite a group of appreciative fans.

NightOwlReviews.com Top Pick

Turner takes her protagonists on a wild and dangerous ride where the boundaries are unclear and the good guys are hard to tell from the bad.

CurledUp.com

Memphis, the Mississippi River, and the underbelly of human nature they’re all exposed in the dark brew of this fast-paced Southern Gothic suspense. Page-turning and atmospheric, this tightly-plotted novel turns the screws and sends readers racing to its surprise conclusion.

Memphis Magazine on A Little Death in Dixie

Santeria voodoo, the civil rights movement and unexpected treachery propel Turner’s story of new and old Memphis to a surprising conclusion.

RT Book Reviews on The Gone Dead Train

2016-06-30
A police officer’s past relationship with a wealthy family poses problems for a murder case.Billy Able, the most successful detective in the Memphis PD, responds with his partner, Frankie Malone, to the scene of a crime in a buffalo pasture at Shelby Farm. The dead woman was found by a very likely suspect, an ex-con who was about to make off with her cash when help arrived. But Billy (The Gone Dead Train, 2014, etc.) quickly discovers that the crime won’t be so easy to solve. He’s shocked to identify the dead woman, who’s wearing a handmade lace wedding dress and driving a muscle car whose vanity plates say SPARROW, as Caroline Lee, an old friend. Billy’s known the wealthy Lee family, which owns a large plantation, a bank, and a law firm, from the time he lived with his uncle and helped him run a diner near their home. The Lees considered Billy’s father white trash, but his mother was a member of a Southern society family, and Billy had a high school romance with Caroline before she went off to college and became a lawyer. Because he'd had almost no contact with her for years, he’s allowed to work the case, though he soon finds that his past with her family may be more hindrance than help in plumbing their many secrets. Caroline had recently broken off her engagement to a high-powered doctor from a wealthy Indian family who had been trying furiously to get her to return to him. So who was she on her way to marry the night she was shot? Billy must take a painful in-depth look at the Lee family’s past, and his own. A well-wrought procedural that takes a hard look at the old South’s influence on the new.

Kirkus Reviews