Before the Rain Falls by Camille Di Maio shows just how far a person will go to protect loved ones. The back story of Della Lee's sacrifice and hardship broke my heart into a million pieces, and the modern story of Paloma Vega and her family and budding relationship with Mick pieced it back together again.

Jumping back and forth across decades can be difficult to pull off without becoming disruptive and annoying, but Di Miao does it seamlessly and effortlessly. The two stories intertwine and become one solid story, culminating in a bittersweet ending that will have you marveling at the sheer beauty of it all and lamenting Della's lost years and her long road to redemption for putting family first.

While the overall story is compelling and wonderful, the developed characterization and descriptive settings bring it all to life and make you feel as if you are experiencing it right along with the characters. The writing is lyrical, and the plot is captivating, resulting in a story that will leave you breathless and running to hug your own family.

The romance aspect is realistic and not overdone, both between Della and Tomas in the past, and between Paloma and Mick in the present. The relationship between Della and Tomas shows the importance of cherishing every single minute together because your whole world can be turned upside down at any moment, even on your happiest of days.

I love the entire story, but I can't stop thinking about that kooky prison rodeo. It's like a dog and pony show that's both funny and heartbreaking.

What a story! I could not put it down once I started. The story explores, loves, loss, faith, hope and the length someone would go to, to hide a family secret. Set in a small town in Texas the story involves 3 main characters. Paloma - returns home to the small Texas town to help her ailing Grandmother and teenage sister. Della - newly married in the 1940's is accused of killing her sister and spends most of her life in prison. She is released as an old woman ready to share her story. Mick - who on the verge of losing his job as a reporter in Boston is sent to explore if there is a story with Della's release. Mick finds out more about himself and discovers Della has a heart wrenching story to tell and befriends Paloma and Della. The author did an incredible job with character development. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of the book for an honest review.

I enjoyed this story. The author takes moves seamlessly between the past and present in the story.

A very captivating story that pulled me in from the first page!

I received this book "Before The Rain Falls" from Netgalley for my honest review.

Della Lee has served 70 years in prison for killing her sister Eula. She has had a terrible time in prison but she has secrets. What really happened that day that Eula died? This was beautifully written and a very touching story. Della has made a lot of sacrifices in her life and she could have had a different life if she made different choices. The book grabbed my attention and kept me interested to the end.

I enjoyed this book, even though it was more of a romance type novel than what I usually read.
The ending was interesting. I would give 3 1/2 stars if possible.

Those looking for a sweet, light romance will find it here and come away happy. It was just published, and you can get it now. Thanks go to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for the DRC, which I received free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

The story is divided between three protagonists, and the narrative alternates to include each of their points of view. Two of the characters are Della Lee, a very elderly woman recently paroled from a life term in prison for the murder of her sister, and Paloma Vega, a young doctor that’s returned to her hometown on the Texas border to take care of family business.

One thing that drew me to the title is that the most important characters are both women, and it is they that prove to be the most dynamic. Our third character, Mick Anders, is a journalist seeking Della’s story. He is changed by it, and yet really his character exists as a foil for the two women. So far, so good.

Because the premise starts with the woman who’s spent her entire adult life in prison, I was expecting something grittier. Women in prison haven’t really made it into a lot of fiction, and so my interest was piqued. I was also hoping for a social justice angle, and to be fair, the teaser promises no such thing, and so to an extent, this disappointment is one I brought on myself. Though Della’s reminiscences as she unspools her memories for Anders recount some of what she went through, it really isn’t a prison story, but the story of Della’s own life and the sacrifice she has made.

The parallels between Della’s life and Paloma’s intrigued me and I was hoping the novel would veer in the direction of literary fiction, some allegory perhaps; something subtle and open to the reader’s interpretation. This isn’t that either. Soon the parallels feed into a tidy package, and the coincidences are just too many. I had reconciled myself to the likelihood that this really would, in fact, be a straight up historical romance, and if the end had been crafted in a more nuanced way I could have given it four stars, but instead it is predictable, and when that happens there can’t be magic, because the Great-And-Powerful-Wizard’s curtain has been pulled away by the unlikeliness of the story. Toto has the curtain in his mouth, and instead of looking at Della, at Paloma, and Nick I am looking Di Maio and saying, Oh come on. Seriously?

Some of the better moments in the story are the side elements, the interaction between Paloma and her sister Mercedes, an adolescent smarting from Paloma’s abandonment when she moved away. Paloma is wooing her back into a sisterly relationship, and her clumsy missteps and the ways in which she corrects herself are resonant and absolutely believable.

Although Della’s back story feels over-the-top to me, her present, the return to her home after seven decades away, the changes in the home and the strangeness of being back in the world and at liberty are also well done. The author does a nice job in crafting Della’s present-day setting and wedding it to her story.

Those looking for a traditional romance, something to pack for a vacation that will leave a warm, fuzzy afterglow will enjoy this novel, and to them I recommend it.

Received an ARC from Net Galley for an honest review.

I was excited to read this book from a new to me author. While I did enjoy her style of writing and turned the pages rapidly, I was a little bit disappointed about how predictable the story was. This book tells two stories at once, one set in the 1940s and one in present day. As is often the case with these types of books, I found the story from the past to be the more interesting one. Della Lee's story was quite sad and filled with tragedy and you really feel for this character.

A nice, quick summer read.

This book is outstanding! So beautifully written with characters that I grew to love and care about that I was sad to say goodbye when it ended. Told in dual time periods from the 1940's where we hear Della Lee's story of growing up in the small border town of Puerto Pesar, Texas and of her time spent in prison serving a life sentence for the murder of her younger sister Eula, and in present day Puerto Pesar where we meet journalist Mick Anders who hopes to meet Della and get her story plus find out about the painting of Eula hanging in the local church that supposedly sheds tears. My heart hurt for Della for what she went through and the sacrifice she made. I was completely pulled into this story. It's one of those books that you're eager to get to the end and sad when it does end. I wanted it to go on. But that ending!! Didn't see it coming at all. So very well done. I highly recommend this book. It shouldn't be missed!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

As Della was released from prison after her life sentence and returning to Puerto Pesar, The Port of Regret, she wondered if she would regret going back since her life had definitely been a regret for more than one reason.

Della had been found guilty of murdering her sister Eula. The trial and the story became well known, and portraits of both Della and her sister became famous. Eula's portrait, the Santa Bonita, was most talked about and rumored to have actual tears falling from her eyes. Della should have been the one with tears for having to spend her life in prison only four hours after she had married Tomas.

We move to another family in town that also had two sisters and a grandmother that raised them. They were sisters, Paloma and Mercedes, who knew the story of Della and Eula. Paloma went to New York to become a doctor and has returned for a month to take care of her grandmother who had a heart attack. The younger sister, Mercedes, was trouble from the beginning and still was but Paloma was trying to reconnect and help Mercedes.

Another person who knew the story of the murder, Della's prison term, and the crying portrait was, Mick, a reporter from New York looking for a story to boost his career. When all three of these
characters meet, an intriguing story is created that you won't want to put down.

BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS has a mesmerizing cover and a mesmerizing story line. The characters are very easy to connect with and love. We follow the story and the characters as the author takes us back and forth between what Della's life was like before and during her prison term, when she returns home, and her interaction with the town and its residents. All characters are connected to Della's story in one way or another.

BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS had me completely absorbed. Ms. Di Maio has a writing style that just pulls you in, allows you to meet characters you will fall in love with, and meet characters you would want to have in your life.

BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS has love, family, tears, heartbreak, and yearning, but ultimately gives you a warm feeling inside.

BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS has a beautiful cover, a beautiful story line, and beautiful, heartfelt characters.

Do NOT miss reading BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS. Absolutely LOVED this book.

It is a perfect book for women's fiction fans and makes you feel the need to hug all your women friends and family. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by Net Galley in return for an honest review.

From the bestselling author, Camille DiMaio of The Memory of Us, the smashing debut landing on my Top 50 Books of 2016 returns with another stunning follow-up, equally as gripping.

An enthralling modern mystery: BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS —Beautifully written and incredibly poignant, a story of love, loss, and redemption. 5 Stars + Top Books of 2017

A tragic tale which will restore your faith and strength of the human spirit to rise despite adversity― A courageous woman who keeps a dark secret and makes tremendous "sacrifices" that will change her family forever.

Emotional and intriguing. At the same time— a timeless love story, reminding us that often in our darkest hour, hope shines a candle to light our way.

Set in humid South Texas (author's hometown San Antonio), a dual storyline (almost three), alternating between Della’s dark and horrific experiences of the 1940s; her parents: Herman and Eva, and sister Eula (the beloved songbird); and Paloma (grandmother Abuela) and Mick’s present-day search for answers―paths destined to cross, decades apart.

Two sisters. A death. Two mysterious portraits. One found, another lost. A town in need of hope and much-needed rain.

Told in alternating chapters between the 1940s and present day. A washed-up journalist and a young doctor cross paths while searching for the truth behind the mystery murder decades earlier.

Della Lee and Tomas Trujillo had been married only four hours when it happened, their newly minted future ripped apart by an ivory-handled knife.

Tomas said he understood why she’d done what she did. But the fairy tales that Della had imagined for them ever since that day were over. Someone had attempted to break that bond.

She made a choice that would change her world forever, and alter the path of someone she holds dear.

Texas 1943— Eula Lee had been murdered. The tiny border town was devastated for the second time by the Lee family. The daughter everyone cherished. Della Lee Trujillo was convicted. Guilty of murder in the death of her younger sister.

"The drops of rain make a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling."—Lucretius


Alternating from Puerto Pesar—Present Day: Della was back in the place that consumed her memories through seventy years in prison. Now, in her nineties. Tomas had lived in the house for a few years until going off to war, but he had the foresight to take care of all the legal bits that Della never had the chance to consider.

It was not until she returned to her childhood home that phantoms and memories stirred her, making it impossible to rest. There were births, deaths, marriages, joys, sorrows that were absorbed into these walls.

Did their ghosts mingle, along with those of Herman, Eva, Tomas, and Durla—all watching her this old woman in this old house? The painting, the shrine, the beloved girl. Where was the second one?

She looked back at her life. The forties —when she learned to be a champion, catcher of greased pigs. The fifties— when she discovered a love of reading. The sixties— when she sabotaged her chance at parole. And yet they seemed like yesterday.

The days in which her sister was no longer the belle of Puerto Pesar— drawing crowds from around the country to the little church on Sunday mornings. The days instead when Eula resided six feet below the parched soil in the churchyard.

These were her Freedom Days. She would walk around without bars to block the view. That was one kind of freedom. It was the freedom in telling your secrets before it was too late. Her guilt over not being a good enough caregiver for her sister.

Della had a story and she was ready to tell it. This would be the Truth Days.

Present Day: Mick Anders, a reporter for the Daily Talk in Boston, looking for a story to revive his career. He is in Texas to research the origins of a church painting depicting a “crying girl”. He is staying at the La Palma Inn the only lodging in the small border town of Puerto Pesar. He is struggling with his own battles.

His editor wanted him to lie low regarding a fiasco with a senator (backstory here). He had been told to work his magic in this Podunk town and turn the story into a Pulitzer winner. Go to Texas until his other deal blew over. Two weeks of leave. His orders were to find a knockout story or he was finished. No per diem of course since this was not a real assignment.

His girlfriend Stephanie had taken the keys to the Lexus and kicked him out of their condo. He was going to get a story and spin straw into gold and return to the newspaper as the prodigal son.

The area had not had rain for one hundred and eighty-two days. The photo had shown rosaries and holy cards outside the church as people begged for salvation from this hell. Would he discover the mysteries of this family before the rain falls? Before the woman dies without telling her story. He wanted to be the one.

It all boiled down to this: A portrait found in a thrift store and was thought to be leaking tears. The image of a young girl about four years old. Eula Lee, whose father owned the fish cannery that had been the town’s largest employer at the time. Her sister had murdered her years later. Della Lee had gone to prison and recently returned to the family house after seventy years of incarceration.

However, what was the real story?

The people of the town had enjoyed a regional notoriety for a while. Then the heat, the drought, and skepticism sent people away. Mick had received his Hail Mary pass. “Had one mistake, one reckless grasp at advancement been worth banishment to a Hades what seemed so out of place in a civilized country?"

And could any kind of salvation be found in a convicted nonagenarian and the portrait of a long-dead girl named Eula?”

Mick meets Paloma Vega by chance, who is back in her hometown to help her grandmother recover from a heart attack. An unexpected meeting. He does not realize how this girl and her family will change his life.

Present Day: Paloma Vega. She had moved away ten years earlier. She was a bona fide New Yorker now and grew up in Puerto Pesar. She had a restless heart. She graduated from high school and received a letter from her father in Connecticut. There was a trust large enough for her college and grad school.She had to leave her sister Mercedes who was only six at the time. At nineteen she left for a new future.

Now a few months away from thirty, she was a different person. Four years at NYU, four more at Columbia for medical school, and a two- year residency and a job offer for a permanent position. Her dad would be proud.

Her sister, Mercedes was only sixteen. How was she going to communicate or help her? Who was this creature with the dark eyeliner and darker mood? How would she reach her? She is feeling guilty.

Abuela’s own mother had been a product of the Depression and learned to hoard items for reuse. She had only made four visits in ten years. Not often enough to visit the intricacies of her sister growing up or her grandmother growing old.

Puerto Pesar. Family. There was something comforting about returning home, even if you’d dreamed of leaving it. She had done what any girl from a small border would do when her upper-class father offered her a way out; escaped. She had been too young to think twice. Too starry-eyed to feel guilty.

Until recently. The hospital had agreed to hold her new position for a month so she could go home and help Mercedes take care Abuela after her heart attack. This was the woman who had raised her while her own mother flitted in and about town.

Abuela needed her, even if she denied it. So here she was. She could never repay her grandmother for all she had done raising Paloma and then Mercedes while holding down three jobs to do so. Paloma quickly realized the toll her absence had taken on her sister. What could she do about it in the short period of three weeks while here?

Past 1943: The author takes us back to Goree State Farm for Women— Della Lee Trujillo was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole in twenty years and would live out those days at Goree State Farm in Huntsville. At the prison, there she met the musical group and friends, the Goree Girls. The good, bad and ugly. Not much good.

Tomas had said he would wait for her. She drove him away.

On the way to prison, the driver had something else in mind and pulled over at the motel. She had never been with a man, not even her own husband.

Reporters wondered why she killed her sister. To others, she was not a victim help by a captor. She was a convicted murderer being lawfully transported by an agent of the state. She was now helpless. The violation. The humiliation. She could not think about the future ahead of her. No one would listen to a murderer.

While in prison . . . she was consumed with darkness. She feared for her life. She was angry with her mother for leaving, with her father for checking out, with her sister for dying. Eddie for raping her. They had all failed her, and because of them, she failed Tomas.

Everyone thought she was a murderer. It had been her wedding day. In prison, she could not read his letters. She loved him too much to make him sacrifice his happiness for her. She was stubborn. She had to raise a headstrong Eula.

It was all about Eula. It had always been about her. Della and Eula only two years apart. Essentially, momma and daughter. Eula had an effect, on everyone. She had a fearsome temper. The same look on her mother’s face on that last day at the beach with the painter. An unspoken triumph.

However, was she really a murderer? Who was she protecting?

“Regret. A word she knew intimately. Only three people knew the truth about what happened that day, and two of them resided in this cemetery.”

Present day: Paloma and Mick meet, while in town. . . Two East Coasters here for a brief time.

The scandals of the Lee family had been talked about for years. Mick and Paloma discuss speaking with Abuela to find out more about Della Lee. She would know stories to help point him in the right direction. Abuela begins telling what she remembers. She is recently home from the hospital and weak.

Where it all started: She recalls a trip where Eva and the girls and the painter went out of town. Eva packed up and left while Herman was at work and the little girls were in the house alone until he returned. Two young girls, ages six and four. Eva never came back. Herman retreated from everything except his office and the girls had to fend for themselves.

Della Lee was no murderer. Her mother had thought she was innocent. There was no proof and it was complicated by the fact Della pled guilty. However, uncle Tomas was convinced of her innocence.

Tomas came back from service defeated by Della rejection. He volunteered for combat and joined the Marines, and turned down a safe post with the army locally. Was Eula like Eva? Carrying on with the boys—rages. But to everyone else a saint?

DiMaio takes us back to the Lee family when they came to Puerto Pesar around the turn of the century. Herman fell for a local girl Eva. She was troubled, beautiful. Some said she was unfaithful. Herman Lee had money. They had a daughter, Della and a few years later another girl named Eura. The mid-twenties and Herman was a slave to keep Eva happy.

Then along came a vagabond from El Paso. He earned his keep as he went along painting landscapes and portraits. They said his name was Teddy Brown. Eva and Teddy caused quite the scandal. The husband was busy with work and she would meet him at the coast.

Herman Lee found out something about the painter Teddy Brown and he died in an airplane crash on his way to Europe. A tragedy. Two young girls left alone. Eula’s troubles started when her mother left. The paintings.

Mick is drawn into the story and, Paloma is a real distraction for him. Seeing the painting, and going to her grandmother’s house. However, he was here for a reason.

He needed to meet Della Lee, now ninety years old and lived alone. This woman seemed normal. How strange it must be for her at this age reentering the real world. He had come originally to see the portrait of her sister. Santa Bonita. He soon comes to respect this woman. Why had her mother gone away for ten years and then go find her? They lost a mother so young and a father so tragically.

“Things aren’t always as they seem. Don’t assume you know everything you might have read about me is the truth. Only I know the truth. And the only other two who did have long since died.”

An exclusive interview with the woman herself. Incarcerated for seven decades. He needed this knockout story. He felt alive. Difficult to think this woman could have murdered anyone. Mick must learn the mysteries behind Eula. He hoped she could hang on and have enough strength to get it all out.

"Sacrifice is sanctifying." Mick was learning this family was about religion. However, it was cryptic. What drove her to murder her sister if so much had gone into protecting her?

There were also two portraits. One of Eula and one of Della. A story which needed to be told before it could be snatched away, as so many other things in here past. Holding on to things so deeply driving you to do things that seem inexplicable.

So much fun reading about the tales of the Goree Girls All Strings Band! The friendships of these women. The letters from poor Tomas pouring out his heart. A doctor and a journalist pulled into this saga.

Two people from the East Coast, visiting a small border town, and transformed by a place that did not even show up on most maps.

At 95% was dying to learn what happened that night. This lady can write folks! She has a knack for tugging at your heart strings and never letting go.

A beautifully told, tragic tale. Women enduring facing insurmountable hardships. Loved ones separated. Choices and consequences which trickle down through generations. A sacrifice. A strong parallel between the generations.

With memorable characters, and conceptual depth, and heart-pounding tension, DiMaio’s novel is one that simply unputdownable. I love this author! From her first book, I knew this one possessed a God-given talent. A gifted storyteller.

Both timeline stories were equally developed, absorbing, and engaging. The characters jump off the page and you feel their intense pain, agony, and difficult decisions. Both heartbreaking and a very satisfying ending. This saga and its characters will remain with long after the book ends.

There are also religious tones with both her books regarding Roman Catholicism and its distinctive beliefs including certain doctrines, beliefs, and sacraments: Other distinctive Catholic practices include veneration of saints, use of the crucifix, and the use of rosary beads in prayer.

Through all the pain, loss and tragedy there is hope and life gives us surprises and something beauty out of tragedy when we least expect. For fans of historical, women’s, literary and contemporary fiction as well as romance, suspense, and modern mystery.

Perfect for fans of Nicholas Sparks, Charles Martin (Long Way Gone), Richard Paul Evans, Fredrik Backman, Catherine Ryan Hyde, Karen White, Kristin Hannah, Katherine Hughes (The Secret and The Letter), Sarah Jio, Kate Morton, Lisa Wingate, and Diane Chamberlain.

I adore the author’s book trailers: They are powerful, moving, emotional and will immediately draw you into the lives of her characters. Oh, and the stunning cover . . .

View Book Trailers:
Before the Rain Falls
The Memory of Us

What a great way to spend a Saturday! Set aside the time—Unputdownable. Spectacular—another smashing hit by Camille DiMaio! Fans, you will want to pre-order BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS, now.

In the meantime, if you have not read The Memory of Us , highly recommend. Would love to see both these played out on the wide screen. Movie worthy!

A special thank you to the author, Lake Union, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

JDCMustReadBooks

I loved it, until the very end. I still enjoyed it, but somehow the motivation for the event that set others into motion just didn't ring true. I'd discuss it further but that would be a spoiler.

Camille Di Maio is a Catholic writer but while there are references to Catholicism in the book, and an element of Catholicism was a prime mover in this book, I don't really see this book as religious or Christian fiction. There are no conversion scenes and religious faith does not seem to be a motivating factor for any character's behavior in the story.

The story follows two different timelines, and the chapters are labelled as to the dates of the action. The parallels between the modern day story of sisters Paloma and Mercedes and of the 1940's sisters, Della and Eula are revealed bit by bit through the story and leave the reader realizing that while eras change, people really haven't.

I like Di Maio's writing and use of language. Her prose is vivid and emotional.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. Grade: B+

Skillfully written story. Could NOT put it down! The characters will be with me for a long time ❤

Before the Rain Falls was such an interesting book that had it all: historical facts, mystery, romance, suspense, and family drama. The characters were so torn by family responsibility, guilt, and career driven goals, that they were continuously questioning how to precede. I loved reading about a totally different topic locating in a tiny border town in Texas. Camille Di Maio masterful writing creates a complete picture in your mind about the characters, the small town, and even prison life in the 1940's. This book is even better than her debut, and I loved that one too!

I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is not the type of book that I normally choose and unfortunately this latest work of Camille Di Maio has not heightened my desire to read this genre in the future. In the early pages, Della Lee, accused and convicted of killing her sister, is sentenced to "forever" in prison. The descriptions of the treatment a prisoner could expect at the Goree Women's Facility in the 1940s was chilling but not unrealistic nor unexpected. While the book was fairly well written, the story, the characters, everything moved along in a predictable straight line. The characters held few secrets, the plot was not new nor exciting. Predictable was the defining concept for me. It was a quick read.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy.

This was my first time reading this author. So glad I found her. Loved this book; loved the characters! Will go back and read this authors other book and look for more. Excellent read!!

Della Lee has never spoken about the night of her sister Eula’s death. Ruled a homicide, Della was convicted of the crime and has spent the last seventy years in prison. Most of the people associated with the tragedy have passed away, including Della’s husband. Released at age ninety, Della has returned to her Texas hometown with few connections to her past.

Mick Anders is a journalist from Boston looking for a fresh story to revive his career. He is in Texas to research the origins of a church painting depicting a “crying girl”. Mick meets Paloma Vega who is back in her hometown to help her grandmother recover from a heart attack. A friendship is formed and Mick learns some details of the painting after meeting her family. Mick is also introduced to Della who agrees to provide background information. Della, Mick and Paloma combine their efforts and slowly unlock buried secrets.

This novel is presented from alternate points of view with details emerging from Della’s life in prison. There is a wonderful blending of each story with smooth transitions moving towards the conclusion. This was an engrossing novel by Camille Di Maio.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. If you love historical fiction I recommend you read this and her other books!!

One of my favorite books this year! I loved this story of sisters and family and judgement. I laughter, I cried, I got angry. All of the characters were well developed and the story was so good! I loved Memory of us and this was better!

A book full of emotion, family, a little mystery, and a strong personal history. The book introduces us to Della Lee who has just been released from prison, after serving punishment for the murder of her sister. The book alternates effectively between present day and the 40's when Della Lee finds herself in prison. This story line will draw you in and pull the emotions out of you.