A Long, Cool Rain (by Linda Seed)

(Amazon UK link)

As with many of the free ebooks I have downloaded for my Kindle, I had never previously heard of the author, Linda Seed. But, back in 2018 I was willing to try almost anything if it looked interesting. So I acquired ‘A Long Cool Rain’. It said that it was the first of a series about the Delaneys of Cambria. It’s a fairly common idea for Kindle authors to offer a first book free, in the hopes that readers will then want to buy subsequent books in the series.  

Occasionally I have discovered a new (to me) author this way, and liked their books very much - but not often. I read this one on recent travels, and at times found it quite compelling reading. I finished it last night. But I won’t be looking for others in this series, or by this author, even though I thought it started out well. 

It’s set in the United States, mainly in the town of Cambria which is apparently a real place in California. The novel opens with a funeral on a rainy day. It’s not an unusual trope in fiction, and can be a good way of introducing some of the main characters. Desmond is the person who has died. He was only in his sixties and was found after falling from a horse. Nobody knows why he went out, as he had more-or-less retired from looking after the family ranch and riding around it. 

It’s quickly clear that this isn’t just an ordinary ranch, but the property of a very wealthy family. Desmond’s brother Orin has four adult children: Ryan, Liam, Colin and Breanna. Ryan is a gentle, peace-loving man while Liam is hot-tempered and passionate, although he would willingly die for any of his family. Ryan was probably closest to Desmond of all the children. Breanna is widowed with two young children and I never really discovered what her purpose was in the book. 

Colin, however, is an important viewpoint character who never really fit in with his family. He was asthmatic as a child so could not join in most of the farm activities. He was also very academic, loving school and going on to an Ivy League university to study as a lawyer. He deals with the family finances at a distance. He loves his family but finds them difficult to live with.

Desmond, as far as everyone knew, was a confirmed bachelor. But now he’s gone, the family learn some very surprising news. They have been speculating that he might have left his money to a charity, or he might have divided it between his nephews. Not that any of them needs money. But they are still shocked to learn that he has left his entire fortune to a young man called Drew whom they have never heard of… and still more shocked to be told why, and who Drew is.

The story then moves to a different state in the US, where a young woman called Julia is feeling frustrated at the lack of communication between her mother and her brother Drew. For the last few years they have refused to speak to each other but won’t tell her why. Eighteen months earlier, Drew’s wife left him, after cleaning out his bank account and spending his credit cards up to the limit. So he’s deep in debt, but trying to work to clear it. However we don’t actually meet Drew until a few chapters later…

It’s quite an interesting storyline, albeit rather far-fetched. A lot of back story is given about why the Delaney family have so much wealth (they are more than millionaires, although the author wisely doesn’t give any exact sums). I quite liked Colin’s family. His mother is rather brusque and outspoken, but very hospitable. His brother Ryan is a bit of a shadowy character but Ryan’s wife Genevieve is delightful. Liam comes across as a hormonal teenager although he’s also an adult; he’s regularly in trouble with his mother in a way that would normally lead to increased rifts. 

Colin himself prefers a more luxurious lifestyle although he’s a bit lonely deep down despite going out with a string of beautiful women whom he ‘dates’. It’s obvious that he and Julia are going to find each other attractive, and at first this storyline is nicely done. Julia is initially suspicious, and gradually realises that he’s essentially a good person as well as startlingly attractive. She is nothing like any of his previous women but he finds a strange pull towards her as they are forced in each other’s company. I just wish I could have found him more likeable. He doesn’t feel three-dimensional and his lifestyle is very self-centred. 

Worse, when they eventually get together, there are pages and pages of description about their bedroom activities, which I  skipped once I realised. I have much more respect for writers who close the bedroom door, if they must mention that this happens. If I like a character - and I did like Julia very much - I really don’t want to know what she gets up to in bed. And it’s not just the first time - there is a second, similarly unappealing section, later in the book. 

In addition, I felt there was a bit too much heart-searching and navel-gazing as the characters internalise their emotions as thoughts. There are switches of viewpoint, so we get this from both Julia and Colin. And there’s rather a lot of ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’, meaning that the text often feels drawn out and long-winded.

I don’t mind a bit of that, even if it’s not my preferred style of writing. And while I didn’t particularly like Colin, Julia started to get under my skin. There were times when I was quite engrossed in the storyline despite the long-windedness. So if it hadn’t been for the pages I had to skip, I might have rated this a bit higher. As it is, I don’t have any interest in reading any more about the Delaneys of Cambria and wouldn’t personally recommend this book. 

But it's quite popular and has received high ratings on Amazon, so don't necessarily take my word for it. It's still free in Kindle form, six years after I downloaded it. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's Book Reviews