Thank you to Minotaur Books, St. Martins Press, and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for my review.

A follow up to Pay Dirt Road, I enjoyed this slow burn mystery. A terrible flood has devastated small town Texas, leaving several dead and months of repairs ahead. The night of the flood Bethany Richter found herself sitting on a rock as the river pulses around her. A man in the tree next to her persuades Bethany to take his hand and move higher by sharing the tree with him. After pulling her into the safety of the tree, he is suddenly swept away in the flowing river.

Annie McIntyre is just getting her feet wet as a new member of her family's private investigation firm, when Bethany contacts her to find the missing man who saved her life. As Annie searches for the man, she finds herself mixed up with other dead bodies, the local church, drug deals gone bad and lies upon lies.

While this is a slow burn, it was very well written and kept me intrigued until the last page throwing in some surprising plot twists along the way. While this is the second book in the Annie McIntyre Mystery Series, it could be read as a stand alone, but I would recommend reading the first just to have the full back story. Both books are extremely quick reads!

I read the first book in this series (I hope it is a series!) and ended my review saying that I hoped there would be more. And now there is! So I was excited to read Hard Rain and revisit some of the characters in this small Texas town. Hard Rain is every bit as good as Pay Dirt Road and is even more twisty and turny as different characters get involved. I'm getting a sense of this town and a picture in my head.
So, who is dirty? Maybe you will know and maybe you won't and the journey to find the real bad guys is enough to keep you up late at night. I'm going to end this review with the same wish--that Allen keeps giving us more!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I'm hooked!

This is the second in the Annie McIntyre Mystery series. Although I did read the first one, this works well as a standalone.

Annie has returned to her hometown of Garnett in hardscrabble Texas where she has joined her family’s private investigation business. When there is a catastrophic flood, an old school friend contacts her to find a man “who looks like Jesus”and saved her from drowning. Annie’s investigation leads to her discovery of a murder and begins to reveal the underbelly of the town’s drug problems as well as raises questions about the local church leaders.

Well plotted, and a bit of a slow burn, the writing is atmospheric and descriptive. It is a good character study of small town Texas. I could see the river swelling and receding, picture the beautiful bluebonnets, smell the approaching rain and the night blooming jasmine.

It was nice to see Annie growing in her new profession…now, if she would just learn some self defense methods…..

I didn’t know when I chose to read this that it was the second book in this series but I don’t think I missed out on a lot. I think this can be read as a stand-alone but know this is the second book in the series. I found this to be a slow unfolding mystery which was fine because I found myself getting a little confused so the slower pace worked. I did enjoy the time the author took with the characters. If you enjoy PI’s mysteries you will enjoy this

Having read Pay Dirt Road, and finding it to be a good but not great read, I was still eager to read this second novel from Samantha Jane Allen. Unfortunately, I felt about it just as I did Pay Dirt Road. The storyline here is a good one, but it seemed as though some things happened again and again, and this repetition added nothing to the plot. In fact, at times I found the storyline somewhat confusing. However, the characters were interesting and fairly well-developed. I am glad that I had read the first in the series before this one so that I was familiar with the relationships going on, etc.

All in all, I found this to be a decent read, but I don’t know if I liked it enough to commit to read the next in the series (should there be one).

Hard Rain by Samantha Jayne Allen is an engrossing read.. A superb job with plot and characters. Well worth the read.

This book doesn't really say it is a series, but as I started reading it I thought "wait a minute - this girl sounds familiar and so does her situation and some of the other characters". I looked up the author and realized this is just a continuation of what happens with Annie McIntyre after [book:Pay Dirt Road|57693306]! So in Pay Dirt Road Annie had started working in her Dad's private investigation firm with her Dad and his partner. Now she has some experience under her belt and it's time to move forward to get her license.

In this book after a terrible flood leaves Bethany Richter hanging in a tree, lucky to be alive, after being swept into the river, she shares her story with Annie. She wants to hire Annie to find a man who was in the tree and saved Bethany's life before he was swept into the rolling river. With this, Annie gets caught up in a web of drug deals, pill abuse, preachers, and transients while trying to find the nameless man who saved Bethany.

I enjoyed the book and liked the characters. I felt the plot was good and the pacing was well done. There were certainly a few tense moments too. The family drama with Annie's Dad and grandfather was interesting too.

Thanks to Minotaur Books through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on April, 18, 2023.

The book is the second in a series which I didn't know. It was challenging to read because the first book was referenced often and I had no clue what they were talking about. I like the plot of the book / the story but felt I had to push through to get the book finished. It seemed to drag even thou the heart of the actual story was really good. I liked the character development and how they all interacted with each other. Good book but I would definitely read the first one before the follow up.

Hard Rain by Samantha Jayne Allen is the second novel featuring Annie McIntyre and opens with a massive, generational flood that hits the area of the small Texas town of Garnett. 

Annie is now a licensed private investigator working out of a small private firm tasked with her first paying investigation.  

In the opening, in a rented riverside cabin, Bethany, a lifelong friend of Annie’s, has been awakened from sleep by an electronic cellular telephone alarm warning of a flash flood.  

Soon, the cabin rented by Bethany, her husband John-David, and another couple, is overtaken by flood waters with Bethany seeking refuge on the cabin’s balcony. She is then thrown into the raging water when the flash flood destroys the cabin.  

Bethany is able to cling to a section of concrete through the night and when daybreak arrives, the continuing raising water threatens her perch.  She then overhears someone calling to her and sees from a distance through the fast-moving water a handsome young man clinging to a tree and hears him yelling to her to swim to him before the river overtakes the concrete. Bethany swims to the tree and when she gets there, the handsome stranger has disappeared.  

Later, after Bethany is rescued by emergency personnel and when the stranger is not among rescued or recovered bodies, she hires Annie to find her savior.  

With a good description of the stranger, including his wearing of regional clothing and a distinctive tattoo on one of his arms, Annie then starts her investigation into the identity of the man. In her search, she soon is thrown into the dangerous underbelly of the area of Garnett, which includes an underworld as murky and dangerous as the slowly receding flood waters. With each step bringing her closer to the identity of the stranger, her investigation becomes more and more dangerous to Annie while spiraling into directions not safe to go. 

I would describe Hard Rain as a slow-burn read and not a rapid, page-turning thriller, nor do I think it was meant to be.  Hard Rain is instead a crime novel with a rural flavor and with seemingly the intent on character and plot development at a methodical and gingerly pace.

Though Hard Rain depicts a novel of crime and murder, Samantha Jayne Allen’s writing is never exploitative or gratuitous in her inclusion of violence or sex within her storytelling.

Hard Rain is recommended to those that enjoy stories that rely upon a slower unfolding with more meaningful character exploration to tell the tale rather than slam-bang action.  

Netgalley provided an ARC upon the promise of a fair review.

Hard Rain takes us back to Garnett, Texas which as just been experienced the loss of life and damages to property from a record setting flood. A survivor hires Annie, who is now working full time at her grandfather's detective firm, to find the man who saved her from drowning. Annie's search will take her into the dark world of drugs and crime, putting her own life in danger.

My Thoughts

I was hard pressed to get into the pace author set that made up quite a lot of Annie McIntyres second investigation.

The story had a lot a lot of moving parts that took me a good while to connect together.

Not that any of them were hard to understand, just somewhat overwhelming at times.

A very slow buildup for me, until it wasn’t.

I will be happy to continue this series if author has the chance to do so in future.
[EArc from Netgalley]

On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

Hard Rain by Samantha Jane Allen
This was an Advanced Reader from NetGalley. I did read the first book in this series Pay Dirt Road and I did like it but I had a hard time staying with this one.
Bethany Richter is pulled from the flood waters that have deluged the town of Garnett TX and killed many people. Bethany asks Annie, a new PI investigator and the daughter of an eccentric ex policeman to help her find the man who saved her from those waters. The story continues on from there involving drugs, preachers and drifters. At times I found it confusing.

Hard Rain seems to be an understatement! The book starts with a torrential downpour that floods people out of their homes, causing significant damage and loss of life. We first met Annie McIntyre in Pay Dirt Road when she was working as a waitress. Now it’s six months later, and she’s still in Garnett, Texas, working as an apprentice private investigator with her grandfather Leroy and his associate, Mary-Pat Zimmerman. This time around, Annie gets her chance to work her own case when a high school friend asks her to find someone who went missing in the storm. The man is a stranger, but he helped her friend, Bethany, escape the raging river waters that night. Now she wants to find him so she can thank him.

Annie has good instincts, but she’s often insecure and uncertain. Mary-Pat and Leroy are aware of this and support her, offering suggestions along the way. At the same time, they seem to offer her a way out if she thinks she’s not cut out for the job. Annie insists that she is. The same thing goes for her personal life. She’s been dating Wyatt for quite a while, but when he wants more of a commitment, she hesitates, backpedals.

As luck would have it, this turns out to be much more than just a missing person case. As Annie delves deeper into Bethany’s life with her husband’s family and his church associates, she begins to unravel business dealings gone amuck. The more questions she asks, the more danger she finds. Drugs. Murder. A red pickup truck…This is set against the backdrop of a friend who’s married to a minister and is trying to fit in with his family and members of the church. She went through an ordeal the night of the storm, but is she holding something back?

This book could be read as a standalone; the characters are more fully developed after being introduced in the first book. Annie is smart but still inexperienced. Besides the investigation, Annie’s family seems to be in turmoil as well. Sometimes a storm can stir up all kinds of trouble. And sometimes a hard rain can wash away what’s been hiding beneath the surface. Mary-Pat is practically family; she has a tough exterior, but she seems to have a good heart. She knows folks – especially the sheriff – don’t particularly like her. She’s an older woman, not glamourous, and a lesbian. What’s not to like, right? And Leroy has been retired for some time. He has a bum leg and is an alcoholic. He and her father don’t get along and are always bickering. Her cousin Nikki is probably Annie’s best friend. She’s engaged, which comes up as maybe or maybe not a good idea a few times.

As Annie draws closer to the truth, another hard rain comes. It could spell trouble for someone. Will the truth come out, or will it be washed away?

I received a digital copy of Hard Rain courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. My thanks go to Minotaur Books and to the author, Ms. Allen.

4 stars

As a reader I always appreciate descriptives of a region I know nothing about and it’s reactions to natural disasters. The title explains in scary detail the wrath of mother nature and how people need to be aware of their environment.
   This story is set in Texas when a massive rain storm blows in. Creeks and streams over flow and cascade into a larger river which is now moving fast and furious. Bethany and two friends are camping by the river when the weather starts to change. They need to get out but the two friends are trapped in their room and Bethany is swept downstream. In her flailing about in the water she sees a man with an outstretched arm trying to catch her as she passes. He catches her and sends her heading to shore but he looses purchase and is lost in the current.
   Bethany wants to find this man that saved her and hires her friend, a newly minted PI, for the job.
   Annie is determined to prove herself a worthy member of the investigative team and goes to great lengths to discover this man who looks like Jesus…was Bethany just imagining this, because it takes a lot of fieldwork to find this guy.
   In the meantime we meet drug dealers, the importance of church and its hierarchy  in this part of the country, the ardent church goers, politicians, murderers, infidelity…..and they are sometimes the same people!
   Annie does some self appraisal as the story flows……..there’s a boyfriend, a possible commitment decision, friendship reevaluations, family secrets.. the list goes on.
   Annie walks away with another case successfully closed.I think we will see Annie pop up again soon with her next investigative job.

Thanks to Netgalley for this advanced reader copy. The story grabs you from the first few pages; you are wondering who this mystery man is. How did this storm disaster affect all of the characters? The Texas history pulls you into the storyline for a reveal that will have you satisfied. Good read and great writing.

A private eye takes on the case of a missing man, who saved her friend in a flood. Is he alive? Is he a hero or a villain. Lots of secrets are unearthed in the aftermath of the storm. Relationships are tested, beliefs are questioned. A beautifully written book by someone who loves the land and justice

This is an excellent book, a slow moving/ quiet books with lots of wisdom in it. Written in the style of the place, what a storm, floods do to a small town, what dies, what is exposed and what is left after all the damage. A likeable heroine, lots of suspects and inter connected cases.

Garnett, Texas had been in a drought, so when twelve inches of rain came down in just hours, and the Geronimo River crested at a record forty feet, the county flooded, leaving broken homes and dead people behind. Bethany Richter, a minister's wife, was caught in the flood, and only saved by a man who was swept away. She hires Annie McIntyre from McIntyre Investigations to find the man who reminded her of pictures of Jesus. Annie's been training to be a PI for just six months, and she's still restless after returning to Garnett after college. Now, after the flood, Annie's first solo assignment leaves her unsettled. While searching for the unidentified savior, she finds a body and truck submerged in the water, although the search teams had quit looking for people. Her attempts to find answers only uncovers more problems in Garnett, and her own family. Annie's investigation leads her to drug dealers, problems within a local church, and threatens her life.

First off i wished I would have know this was a series book. Since I do love reading series books I would have liked to have read the first one before this one. With the rivers overflowing due to the rain we find Bethany Richter the pastors wife hanging from a tree trying to stay alive. The floodwaters are trying to drag her down until she sees a man who somehow gets her to safety and disappears into the flowing river. Who was this man and why did he save her? Enter Annie McIntyre an aspiring P.I. who works for her grandfathers firm. She is hired by Bethany to find this "Angel of God" to thank him or see if he did die and then find his family. Annie of course accepts the job. Only then does she find out that is angel could also be a killer or drug dealer. You see the city of Garnet has been the hub for drug dealers Annie is wondering if Charlie our angel is one such dealer.
As she investigates Annie starts finding that one lead ends but another one sends her in the direction of the church where Bethany's husband and family the Richter's are the head of. Can these holier than thou people be involved in what is going on in Garnet since the flooding? As Annie gets further involved in the investigation she also sees that a fellow parishioner of the church was murdered. Only whoever did it wanted to look like the victim died in the flood. What is going on in this small Texas town. Why is everyone close to this investigation trying to get Annie off the case, even if it means murdering her. The bigger question is who was that mystery man that Bethany saw the night of the floods?
As always with NetGalley many of these authors are first time authors for me. As much as Ms. Allen really described the town, the people and the mood surrounding the town. I sometimes felt that the chapters said to much. Maybe if we had the background a little faster I might have enjoyed it a bit more. I liked the character of Annie. Even though she was not sure of becoming a P.I. i liked the way she grew withing the book. She became a strong young lady who knew she had flaws yet she wanted to change. The family dynamic was intense yet it was good to see her being the grown up when it came to her dad and grandfather.
Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC copy. All in all I did enjoy the book. Maybe if I read the first one I would have enjoyed it more. Ms. Allen wrote a well described book with enjoyable characters. I definetly would read more of her works. I hope there is more exciting adventures for Annie McIntytre. . Would be nice to read that she is a full fledged P.I and is solving more crimes.

A severe rain, a swollen river, a woman’s rescue, and two deaths are a huge mystery for young private investigator Annie. In the search for the man who rescued her friend, Bethany, Annie uncovers more than she bargained for.
Moving from one strange clue to another, the story is thrilling and well developed. There are great characters filling the pages.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.