Death of A Rainmaker, Loewenstein - B+

               This is an intriguing police procedural set in rural Oklahoma at the height of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. A flim flam man who is selling the town his rainmaking skills, is murdered in the middle of a dust storm less than 24 hours after he arrives in town. The sheriff begins the search, and with some unwelcome advice from his wife, eventually finds his man. What makes this novel special though is the character development and the amazing background on just how horrible it was at that time. These are the Okies, those who fell upon such hard times that they up and left, many heading west. This is the first in a series. The author acknowledges being inspired by 'The Worst Hard Time,' which is the only book on this blog to which I added a picture, of a dust storm, when I read it last year.