Bitter Rain

I read this book so quickly! Living out west, I love a good reservation story! Especially a thriller. This book in this series was a fabulous read. I love learning more and more about the rural Nebraska lifestyle.

Kate has one job and she does it perfectly. Great quick read!

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Sheriff Kate Fox is investigating a kidnapping. The suspect list keeps growing with no answers in sight. Thus book kept me guessing from the start.

This is a thriller with a definitely surprising ending. Arrows point the wrong way, investigations are thwarted, and baddies lurk around every corner in this riveting novel.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Third book in the Series – I did not read the other 2 books, and it didn’t hinder me reading book 3, instead they just made it to my TBR shelf!
We follow Sheriff Kate Fox, as she helps Deputy Kyle Red Owl’s looking for his sister, Shelly, who vanishes from the nearby Lakota reservation.
Their search uncovers Red Owl family secrets, and more then just Shelly is in danger. Neighbouring Sherriff departments are more of a hinderance then a help, and the “old boys” club is not helping.
Great book, page turner from the start.
Thank you to NetGalley and Servern River Publishing for an early read of this book.

The storyline centers around the Nebraska Sandhills and the crushing poverty of the Lakota at the Antelope Ridge Reservation. The cattle outnumber the humans in the area by approximately fifty to one.

Sheriff Kate Fox is called to the site of an apparent accident but finds only Sheriff Lee Barnett from a different county. He sends her away. It’s obviously good ole boy territory and as a newly elected female sheriff, she’s not totally accepted, particularly when it appears to be a local Indian issue.

But Kate had gotten a call from a terrified young female pleading for help. And the missing female turns out to be her own Deputy’s sister, Shelly. Kate is pretty much blocked in her investigation at every turn, but she does manage a small lead every now and then.

In the meantime, the area not known for friendly rain is experiencing one gully washer after another. Further hampering interview efforts besides the divisive racial issue is her own family.

There is a lot going on in this novel, the mystery, the family, and the deeply descriptive prose of the area. The author is nothing if not full of analogies and philosophical thoughts.

As a newly elected sheriff, Kate has a lot to prove—not just to the county apparently—but also to her family. There is a theme of hanging in there, overcoming, concessions, and adapting. The conclusion included a twist I certainly didn’t see coming, although all the leads were to the over-obvious. Interesting, thoughtful, deeply disturbing, and also engaging and entertaining.

I enjoyed reading this book, I liked the main character Kate. The setting was interesting and there was a lot going on ,prejudices ,family relationships, discrimination to name a few. I do have a longstanding interest in Native American's and this book did not disappoint. I don't want to give too much away, but would recommend this book it, is well written, and well worth a read, I liked the humour running through it as well.

Bitter Rain is the third instalment in the Sheriff Kate Fox series, set in The Sandhills, Nebraska. Sheriff Fox is rudely awakened one night by a phone call from a frantic woman. Screaming down the phone and begging for help, she says the only phrase that gives an indicatation of where she is: “I’m on my way from the rez.” Kate rushes to put on her uniform and grabs her jacket and gun before setting off in the direction of the Lakota reservation of Antelope Ridge 100 miles north of Hodgekiss. As a sovereign nation of the Lakota Sioux, it had its own government and law enforcement but still Grand County Sheriff Kate begun the hour drive towards the Rez. Along the highway she comes upon a car by the side of the road. The silver and red Ford F-150 was idling empty and had its headlights shining towards an even more concerning problem; a car laying overturned in the pasture having taken out the barbed wire fence and come to a stop. Kate was relieved that there was no one still in the vehicle as she approached, but then she notices a guy dressed in cowboy gear coming towards her. It was Spinner County Sheriff Lee Barnett and he wasn't too happy to see her. She goes for a closer look at the upended Mercury Grand Marquis but he ends up being very snarky and cold towards her and she knows exactly why. He's part of the old boys network where men believe women should stick to the kitchen, painting their tootsies and childbearing. It's a circumstance she's slowly come to accept as she's been subjected to this ever since she ran for Sheriff against her cheating ex-husband, Ted, and won in a male-dominated work environment.

Luckily, she’s impervious to their collective discriminatory mindset. Having departed the accident scene she discovers that the woman missing, and that she likely heard on the phone, was her Deputy Kyle Red Owl’s sister, Shelly. Despite the roadblocks put in her path by male members of law enforcement, Late, much to the chagrin of the guys, stands strong and continues her investigation persevering even when she had been subjected to incessant verbal sniping. After all, it was the right thing to do and she was not about to cease running down leads and searching for this young woman despite the hindrance from those who should be equally as invested in getting to the truth. As secrets and skeletons come tumbling out of the Red Owl family closet by the truckload, can Kate continue to forge a path to the truth? This is a riveting and absorbing read but what really stood out to me about it was the originality of it as it felt a refreshing take on a police procedural with it including the reservation and its natives; it's not often a book includes such cerebral and progressive details but this not only talks of their culture and lives but the rampant prejudice against them, too. I also appreciated the all-too-real issues Kate is going through surrounded by men who believe her job should be theirs. It makes for tasty reading and a complex plot that captivates and scintillates from first page to last. Highly recommended.