Evan Ramspott

3.5*

When I thought about rainmakers, it was usually in the context of Native Americans performing a rain dance. Rain making is obviously a misunderstood concept among most folks. In this story, set in Tulsa in 1921, readers will come to know three individuals who are each very different, but who happen to share the gift of rainmaking.

Readers meet Imogene Parker while she is on the road making rain throughout the drought-stricken panhandle. Also known as Rainmaker Jane, Imogene soon finds that things are getting way out of hand with the rain she brings.

Imogene discovers that a young black man named Walt, has mistaken her for someone else and has been tampering with her rainmaking. Walt has rainmaking ability also, but his gift is new and he is still learning how to use it.

Walt and Imogene make their peace and Walt offers to give Imogene a ride back to Tulsa so she can save in train fare. In the meantime, Thomas Finn, another rainmaker, has come to Oklahoma. To make matters worse, he and Imogene have a history—one that Imogene has not quite recovered from.

When Imogene and Walt arrive in Tulsa it’s not long before racial tensions start boiling over. Thomas Finn gets into town soon after and each one suffers from the racial violence that occurs after a newspaper article fans the flames of racial hatred.

I have to say, I was not expecting the book to turn out the way it did. It ended up being mainly about the race riot and less about rainmaking. I was captivated by the last half of the story, mainly due to the fact that it was such a pivotal time in history. As for the rain making, I fall in with the skeptics. There were really no revelations in how these characters made it rain, other than having intense emotions stir it up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Storyteller Press for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.… (altro)