“As long as there are writers like Sean Doolittle out there, American crime fiction has got a sterling future ahead of it. Rain Dogs is tense, evocative. . .A terrific novel.”
–Dennis Lehane
author of Mystic River and Shutter Island
“Sean Doolittle is a young writer with serious chops. With Rain Dogs he brings it strong.”
–George Pelecanos
author of The Night Gardener
SYNOPSIS:
It was one hell of an inheritance for former Chicago reporter Tom Coleman: a broken-down pickup truck, a ramshackle campground, a canoe livery, and one pot-smoking, barely working employee he doesn’t need and can’t afford. But the truth is, after losing a child and a marriage, Tom doesn’t really care. And life is nice and quiet in the middle of nowhere. Until a drug lab blows up near his property–putting Tom in contact with the woman he once loved, a small-town cop with a chip on his shoulder, and a powerful local who doesn’t want him poking his nose where it doesn’t belong.
Now a quiet summer on the river is turning into a dangerous season of grudges, betrayal, and violent reckoning–and it’s already too late to find shelter. . . . .
REVIEWS:
“[Rain Dogs is] superb, suspenseful. . .a beautifully written work with idiosyncratic humor and a lot of heart.”
–The Wall Street Journal
(written by Tom Nolan)
“Rain Dogs is a full-press body-parts exerciser: a heart-stopping, gut-clenching, eye-opening, brain-tingling effort that brings to vivid life a place I knew little about. . . .”
–Chicago Tribune
(written by Dick Adler)
“[Readers will be] drawn in by the quality and authenticity of the writing. Doolittle’s lean, mean prose evokes the hardscrabble territory of the Nebraska badlands that serve as the story’s setting. His style is likewise stark and spare, casting the story in the hardboiled tradition of James M. Cain and Jim Thompson.”
–Chicago Sun-Times
(written by David J. Montgomery)
“In Rain Dogs, plot is subordinated to character (wonder of wonders in genre fiction!) and, even more amazing, emotional depth is given center stage over cheap, superficial narrative pyrotechnics. This is a novel that never panders to its readers. Doolittle’s prose shows great range, resource and subtle sophistication. For all of that, Rain Dogs is still a crime novel and, as such, is as lean and gritty as they come. . .a refreshing break from more run-of-the-mill, testosterone-driven crime fiction. . .Rain Dogs is a very, very good crime novel because it is, in the first place, a very, very good novel.”
–The Mean Streets
(written by James Clar)
“This is a terrific, complex thriller, and Doolittle can write hysterically funny prose even as he breaks your heart with the pain of Life Itself.”
–The Day – New London, CT
(written by Rick Koster)
“Doolittle’s style is clipped, his dialogue terse, but the story is lifelike and nuanced. Rain Dogs will satisfy fans of hard-boiled fiction and classic noir, as well as any crime fans who don’t like their plots tied up too tidily.”
–Booklist
(written by Keir Graff)
“In this third novel, Sean Doolittle proves that he is one of the genre’s real rising stars. . .Rain Dogs moves at a fast clip as Doolittle keeps the twists well timed and the plot full of surprises.”
–South Florida Sun-Sentinel
(written by Oline Cogdill)
“Ride out the storm, Doolittle’s book is worth it.”
–Lincoln Journal Star
(written by George Wright)
“Rain Dogs is a departure. . .Doolittle is clearly striving to take his game to the next level. . .a talent to watch.”
–Omaha World-Herald
(written by John Keenan)
“One of the several things I admire about Sean Doolittle as a writer is how different each of his books has been from the others; it’s as if he’s teaching himself something new with each book. [Rain Dogs] is a bleak midwestern thriller. . .as moody and memorable as the Tom Waits album, though the book’s title refers to something else altogether.”
–AnswerGirl
(written by Clair Lamb)
“The key to this powerful crime thriller is Tom who holds the exciting story line together with his shaky relationships with his family, his ex, and his new acquaintances. In many ways his only friend is the bottle. . .but the Rain Dogs belong to Tom.”
–Midwest Book Review
(written by Harriet Klausner)
“A few gunshots, a couple of corpses, a mysterious plotline and voila! — you have a mystery. This one, however, takes a different angle. Instead of gruesome car chases and intriguing deaths, the mystery is about the characters. . .You’ll have to read to find out for yourself.”
–Fresh Fiction
(written by Samantha Andrick)
“Rain Dogs is more of a character study than a true mystery.”
–I Love a Mystery
(written by Maddy Van Hertbruggen)
“Fresh and absorbing crime fiction from a young writer to watch.”
–Lee Booksellers
(written by Linda Hillegass)
“Doolittle uses his immense skills to tell a tale of a changing middle America. . .This is the book that will stick with you. . . .”
–Crimespree Magazine
(written by Ruth Jordan)
Sean Doolittle 