When a rainmaker is bludgeoned to death in the pitch-blackness of a colossal dust storm, small-town sheriff Temple Jennings shoulders yet another burden in the hard times of the 1930s Dust Bowl. The killing only magnifies Temple's ongoing troubles: a formidable opponent in the upcoming election, the repugnant burden of enforcing farm foreclosures, and his wife's lingering grief over the loss of their eight-year-old son. As the sheriff and his young deputy investigate the murder, their suspicions focus on a teenager, Carmine, serving with the Civilian Conservation Corps. The deputy, himself a former CCCer, struggles with remaining loyal to the corps while pursuing his own aspirations as a lawman. When the investigation closes in on Carmine, Temple's wife, Etha, quickly becomes convinced of his innocence and sets out to prove it. But Etha's own probe soon reveals a darker web of secrets, which imperil Temple's chances of reelection and cause the husband and wife to confront their long-standing differences about the nature of grief. Laurie Loewenstein, a fifth generation Midwesterner, is a descendent of farmers, butchers and salesmen. She grew up in central and western Ohio. She has a BA and MA in history. Loewenstein was a reporter, feature and obituary writer for several small daily newspapers. In her fifties, she returned to college for an MA in Creative Writing. Her first novel, Unmentionables (2014), was selected as a Midwest Connections pick and received a starred review from the Library Journal. Her upcoming book, Death of a Rainmaker (October 2018), is the first of a mystery series set in the 1930s Dust Bowl. Loewenstein is an instructor at Wilkes University's Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing where she co-teaches Research for Writers and coordinates the Writing Resource Center. After living in eastern Pennsylvania for many years, Loewenstein now resides in Columbia, Maryland, with her husband, Steven Goldfarb. Sign up for her newsletter at www.laurieloewenstein.com Follow Pamela Fagan Hutchins, Author and Wine Women & Writing Radio at pamelafaganhutchins.com for more great wines, great reads, and kick-ass female characters. This is a copyrighted podcast solely owned by the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network. authorsontheair.com.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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