Review: Excellent Thriller
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 26, 2014
"A cleansing was about to take place in this city. He wondered just how many souls would be swept away in the rain of God's wrath.And his own."Having begun reading Stephen King in junior high school, not much scares me. The beginning of 'A Hard Winter Rain' by John Inman with his beautifully descriptive writing about the man with the cold, hard, blue eyes, sent shivers up my spine. I could see the man he described in my mind's eye and even worse, I could feel his malevolence like a presence in the room with me. It might also have had something to do with the fact that religious fanatics of this ilk frighten me more than just about anything else.Harry is a forty-five year old hairdresser in San Diego. He's had three long-term lovers in his life. He's at the point where he figures everything is downhill from here. Sean is a twenty-one year old hustler. A year ago, Harry's friends at the bar bought him Sean's services for the night and Sean, unwittingly, changed Harry's life. Harry paid for Sean twice more after that night and he can't get over his attraction to this young kid. Now, Sean has come rushing into the bar needing safety from someone who scared him. Sean believes he inadvertently interrupted the murder of one of his tricks and Sean fled with the killer chasing him. Harry is more than happy to offer to help. Neither Sean nor Harry have any idea what is about to descend upon them and change both of their lives forever.Harry and Sean battle back and forth about whether to go to the police or not. Harry believes that Sean is safer if he just lies low to allow the cops to find the real killer. The killer, however, has a sick, psychopathic desire to torment and toy with Sean as long as possible. One tragedy after another begins to pile up leaving Sean stranded in the middle. Luckily for Sean, the two detectives investigating the murder are smart and intuitive and don't believe in coincidence. And that's a good thing because this killer is going to lead them on a merry chase before it's all said and done.If you're looking for a sweet romance with a little drama, this isn't it. 'A Hard Winter Rain' is a thriller of the very best kind, in my opinion. Yes, there is a romantic sub-plot with Harry and Sean, but that is, by far, not the importance of this book. This book is about family, it's about faith, it's about betrayal, and anger, and hatred, and fear. And somewhere, in the midst of all of that, it's about love.NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews