Silent Rain

Silent Rain by Karin Salvalaggio is the fourth book in a Macy Greeley Mystery series. Grace Larson (aka Grace Adams) is going to Bolton College in Bolton, Montana. She is trying to move on from her horrific past. On Halloween night, Grace went to K-Bar with her friend, Lara and had too much to drink. Grace notices her latest stalker, Jordan, in the bar and, despite her drunken state, also following her on the way home. As she makes her way home (after a few missteps), she finds Peter and Hannah Granger’s home on fire. Grace had thought Peter to be a friend and confidant until he betrayed her trust. Peter, a novelist, just wanted her story for his latest book (I couldn’t believe she actually trusted him). When firefighters enter the house, they find two bodies inside. Detective Macy Greeley is a special investigator with the Montana Department of Justice. Her latest assignment is the fire at the Granger’s home. It is determined that the Granger fire was arson. Now, Macy needs to positively identify the remains found inside the home. Grace is worried about her friend, Taylor Moore. She is missing and no one has heard from her. In addition, Grace must deal with her latest stalker, Jordan. One of the victims is Peter Granger and Macy finds herself with a long suspect list. It turns out that Grace was not the only person Peter betrayed. Macy discovers that Peter had a dark side. Macy needs to zero in on the killer before he strikes again. Silent Rain has a complex mystery with good clues. Mystery readers will be able to correctly identify the culprit if they pay close attention. I did, though, find the pace of the novel to be very sluggish (it really needed a faster pace). The POV switched back and forth between Grace and Macy. It would take a beat to figure out which character was now speaking. A few details are repeated over and over throughout the book (did the author think we would forget). I give Silent Rain 3 out of 5 stars. Silent Rain could have benefited from some editing and rewriting. It was have made a big difference. I have not read any of the previous books in the Macy Greeley Mystery series, but I found that it did not matter. What happened to Grace in Bone Dust White (first book in series) is told in Silent Rain and the author provides the necessary background details on Macy. Do I want to read the other three books in the series? After reading Silent Rain, the answer is no. I was not taken with the characters or the writing style.