Thunder and Rain by Charles Martin

April 3, 2012 by Center Street

Hardcover, 368 Pages

Review Copy

Cowboy and Texas Ranger Tyler (Ty) Steele is good at his job, protecting the defenseless, putting his life on the line and opening a door for a lady are just normal circumstances in his everyday life. 

However, even with his moral compass pointed at Superman, Ty has had a hard time emotionally connecting to his wife Andie, who ultimately due to stress and his job takes up a life of spending all his money, drinking and sleeping with other men. Needless to say the marriage went down the drain pretty fast and after the fall out of a quiet divorce, Ty is left raising his young son and having to choose between his family and the job. With Andie in rehab and a past dream offering him a chance to raise his son in the footsteps of his own father, Ty chooses to retire from the Texas Rangers. Under the worry of financial stress and the loss of his identity, Ty really doesn't know how to move forward or be this new and improved father ranch man. He knows what his father wanted, he knows what he has given up....what he's lost, what he's gained, but nothing makes sense anymore. 

All that changes one night when he meets Sam and Hope a mother and young daughter on the run from a man who violated them and will stop at nothing to get them back......on top of that he is also a decorated police officer. For Ty, its not a second thought to help them, of course Ty doesn't realize how deep this help will go, not only for him but for them. Desperate to put his own life back together a surprising spark of joy arises when he intervenes in Sam's life. As he sets the girls up in an apartment, a job for Sam, a school for Hope and deals with his own emotions, sparks begin to fly, cracking that hard shell of his to open up. While the new found love and a new found life awaits the characters, lurking under the slow moving romance are questions and outcomes yet to be faced, Hope is healing from her attack, Ty's son is emotional over his mother, Andie is coming home from rehab and that decorated police officer has not forgotten.........whats to come will change them all.

I believe what I love about Martin's style is the fact that he's frank about frank things without being graphically frank. In a nutshell, Thunder and Rain talks about sex, divorce, marriage, body parts, lust, romance, love and abuse in authentic ways that felt real to me and not sugar coated in a five hour sermon about morality lessons. Of course God plays a subtle yet crucial role in the life of Ty and the decisions he makes- not so much as his character tells us, but what his character shows us in his sense of strong chivalry and integrity. In Hope's inner-dialog (as the story is told through Ty and small pieces through Hope) she writes her hurts dreams and fears in a journal to God, the subtle portrayal worked, as it made the faith-factor real and not fake like the overly common dime-store Jesus. I loved the moral dilemma, the strong swoon worthy cowboy, the romance...watching Ty and Sam fall in love was like waiting for the tide to come in...perfect timing. So much more though than a romance, T&R offers a story about redemption, loss, new beginnings and suspense....all in a fast paced, swiftly told story.

Thunder and Rain is Charles Martins greatest work yet, a solid read, laced with classic struggles, grief and romance. Its not often I can relate to, fall in love with and root for such messed up, broken and lovely characters presented in the realm of Inspirational fiction. 

Rating

Thunder and Rain is recommended to adult readers and contains: Violence, domestic and child/sexual abuse, sexual situations (told not shown) mild language (like crap and hell) death/murder, infidelity and divorce.

Thanks to Center Street for Review Copy