We all experience Thunder and Rain. Charles Martin takes the hard stuff of life and puts it in perspective with a child's brutally honest letters to God that are laced throughout this novel. Heroes like Texas Rangers and ordinary women down on their luck have a lot to learn from the childlike faith of an abused little girl. All I can say after reading this great story is that "I feel like my side's winning." Thanks for taking me on a journey of right in a world of wrong.

I like reading about people who struggle with life's difficulties and disasters, but find a way, with God's help, to not only survive, but overcome. The main character is one that men can emulate.

Readers who have loved previous books by Charles Martin are going to absolutely love his latest book, "Thunder and Rain". And, readers who haven't enjoyed his previous books are also going to love this book - guaranteed!

Martin has penned a story that will grab you from the first page, engage your mind and your heart, and have you devouring the book as fast as you can read, because it's just that good. The plot is outstanding, with carefully crafted scenes, moving dialogue, and descriptions that paint the setting to perfection. Ty is a character that I wish existed in real life - courageous, strong, learning to admit his weaknesses, a good father, embodying what it means to be a man as God created men to be. The scenes he shares with Samantha are humerous and touching, and the development of their relationship is simply a pleasure to behold. One of my favourite aspects of this book are the letters written by young Hope, which are incredibly moving and poignant, and her story is one that will long haunt me and yet encapsulates the blessings of God at the same time. The conclusion was powerful and deeply satisfying, providing oustanding closure to the story of Ty and Sam, Brodie and Hope, while leaving me craving more.

I have to admit that I have a found a couple of Martin's previous books to be on the slower side - but that is not the case here. The pacing is swift and the story was action-packed and yet equisitely emotional, blending to create a fanstastic story.

Well done, Charles Martin. I award this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Book has been provided courtesy of the publisher for the purposes of this unbiased review.

I discovered Charles Martin when I read his first book, The Dead Don't Dance, published by Thomas Nelson. I saw the title at my local library, and became intrigued with the cover, so I brought it home.

That was one time, I did right in judging a book by it's cover and I fell head over heels for Charles's writing.

Since that first book, I have eagerly awaited every single new release. My favorite thus far? Hard to choose but I would rate The Mountain Between Us right up there with When Crickets Cry. You'll need Kleenex for both!

ALL of his books could be made into a movie, and currently, The Mountain Between Us is in the works. I hope they do the book justice.

I just finished reading Thunder and Rain and wow - it was intense. Charles took readers on a wild, painful ride and blended some history about authentic Texas Rangers (nothing to do with baseball) into this story. The main characters are quite a blend of past and present. There's some tough subject matter in this book dealing with rape. It's not a sticky sweet, easy kind of romance all wrapped up in a nice, neat package.

I hurt reading this book. I wanted to scoop up Hope and take her far away. At some points, I wasn't sure I wanted to finish this book. And then I couldn't leave it alone. Charles's books do that to me. They get me every-single-time. They are deep, painful, and emotional. This one at times, was disturbing.

Honestly?

Thunder and Rain wasn't my favorite. (I just can't get over Annie and her lemonade stand!!), and I found it to be much different than the other books I've read in the sense of tough subject matter and language. But it was still a story worth reading and when I arrived at the end, I was wrung out emotionally, just as I've come to expect when reading a Charles Martin novel.

Some of his other longtime readers appear to be confused, thinking this book is being marketed as Christian fiction, as his previous titles were, when published by Thomas Nelson.

I've read a few comments where readers have been disappointed with some of the content, language and subject matter, however, the newest three books are with a different publisher. I am just putting this out there, to clear up that Thunder and Rain is not being sold as Christian fiction, as far as I can tell.

Center Street has this book listed on their site as Genre: FICTION , SUSPENSE & THRILLERS

More conservative readers should approach this as a PG rating, due to some strong language and light sexual innuendos. God's name is NOT taken in vain in this book and there are no sex scenes. Hope, the little girl in this book, writes letters to God and talk to him about everything and anything. Some parts of the book may be a little "TMI" for some folks.

I was appreciative of the way Charles created one of the main characters, Ty, as a man of integrity throughout this book. As always, I am left anxiously awaiting the next book by Charles Martin!

This was different from the other Charles Martin books I have read. It had some suspense and action in it, and was more intense than his other novels, but still had his usual writing style also. I have been bothered by his free use of "pissed" and "hell" in his other novels, and he branched out to use "damn" some in this novel also, which bothered me.

I liked the characters, especially the main character and his son. And as with his other novels, this one tugged at the emotions a lot and caused my eyes to water on more than one occasion. Readers of his other books may be a bit disappointed in this one, but I still liked it overall.