Poverty. Drug Addiction. Desperation. Violence. Almost routine for the Native Canadians of Sky Lake. But when Jimmy Raincloud falls to a serial killer that is leaving a trail of bodies outside the tiny village, the animosity that exists between it and the white population of nearby Scanlon Creek threatens to escalate to terrifying proportions.
Hank Gillespie, a nightmare-ridden, mixed race detective from Scanlon Creek, must save his own life as he penetrates the violent criminal underworld of police corruption, drug dealing, and depravity in an effort to find the murderer.
The list of potential suspects is as long as it is deadly. Check them out for yourself (if you dare get that close), weigh the evidence and draw your conclusions.
Professional Reviews
LipstikIndie.com
With lines such as “The air was completely still and odorless...” Richard S. Todd seems to be a writer who could just as easily slip into poetry and govern it as seamlessly as he does crime fiction. This is a book I was recommending five chapters in.
The death of Jimmy Raincloud seems to open up old wounds between the native population of Scanlon Creek and the rest of the town. Detective Hank Gillespie steps across borders with the weight of Scanlon’s strange history in his blood. At the root of the tension is a terrible massacre. Reverend Walter Tillman, took the lives of his native parishioners, then escaped while in police custody. When Jimmy becomes the first of many Native murder victims, Hank feels that the spirit of the Reverend is somehow behind the evil that has poisoned his town. Along with his new partner Stephanie Whirlwind, Gillespie tries to quell racial tensions and solve this multilayered crime.
This is not your typical crime novel. Raincloud could easily be appreciated as a new form of noir legend. A book to read in mist, a book to read in a rainstorm, one is easily lost in the haunting small town of Scanlon Creek.
TheNovelBlog.com
For a debut novel I was seriously impressed with Richard Todd’s RAINCLOUD.
Typically, an author’s first novel is tolerable at best and while I was looking forward to reading this, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about what I was in for—I hate writing negative reviews.
What surprised me is that I found myself emotionally attached to the characters once I started reading, and to top it off, Richard’s ability to write a scene and make it believable is on par with the likes of Stuart Woods. His quirky characters, chilly snow covered winter scenes and controversial subject matter makes him a shinning light in the vast sea of mental de-stimulators out there. If you liked the movie Fargo, then RAINCLOUD is sure to please you.
RAINCLOUD follows detectives Hank Gillespie and Stephanie Whirlwind as they investigate the death of Jimmy Raincloud. Not long after the discovery of Jimmy’s murder, tensions reach an all-time high between the residents of Scanlon Creek and Sky Lake as more bodies turn up. What follows is a mix of racism, drugs and murders as the detectives not only discover each other, but what lies behind the killer’s motive.
It’s always refreshing to read something that’s a break for the norm and RAINCLOUD was like a breath of fresh air for me. If you’re looking for an author that’s not afraid to touch on sensitive subjects, then Richard is definitely worth checking out.
Malcolm Watts, Author of Reflections from Shadow
A serial killer is murdering native people in the town of Scanlon Creek. This debut novel is excellent.
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