At first, I cared little for this story of a wealthy ranching family of a small western Kansas town. The family cohesiveness I look for in such stories, I did not see: the relationships between the family members, while not virulent in a ‘soap-opera’ way, seemed more antagonistic than familial. However, as I continued into it, I discovered this level of reality was mere setup for the tragedy within its Shakespearian theme: a powerful family struggles with the murder of their son, the disappearance of their daughter-in-law, the reappearance of the murderer, and the questions that still linger over that fateful night of Rain and Lightening.
I also missed sensing any feeling of Kansas resonant within the story. Rose was to be a typical small Kansas town. From my experience, I did not sense that - when I've visited typical small Kansas towns consisting of a main street a timid block in length. Add a 'ranch' family into that mix, and it failed to create a picture of a Kansas landscape.
When I considered this being in western Kansas, rather than the central or eastern lands to which I am more accustomed, I could accept those minor discrepancies in my experience and enjoy a good story. Pickard's previous work, "Virgin of Small Plains", it resonated with more of the Kansas feel I am accustomed to seeing.
I also missed sensing any feeling of Kansas resonant within the story. Rose was to be a typical small Kansas town. From my experience, I did not sense that - when I've visited typical small Kansas towns consisting of a main street a timid block in length. Add a 'ranch' family into that mix, and it failed to create a picture of a Kansas landscape.
When I considered this being in western Kansas, rather than the central or eastern lands to which I am more accustomed, I could accept those minor discrepancies in my experience and enjoy a good story. Pickard's previous work, "Virgin of Small Plains", it resonated with more of the Kansas feel I am accustomed to seeing.
Nevertheless, this was an extremely well-written story. Nancy Pickard delves deep into the motivations of each character, making them real to a reader, instead of characterizations people may have already experiences in other attempts at Mid-Western tales.
I was particularly impressed with the character of Billy Crosby’s wife and son. When he is sent to prison, this timid young woman struggles to care for her son Colin, an innocent in the crosshairs of a town who despises his father. One amazingly poignant scene has him meeting young Jody in the grocery story where his mother works. What the innocence of two children can speak to a collection of supposed ‘mature’ adults speaks profound and true volumes across all generations.
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